LULAV OF THE YEAR AWARD 5781

 Once a year, the eyes of the whole world turn to Hollywood...and a distinguished movie star opens an envelope...and announces the name of the best actor of the year....and the audience goes wild with excitement as the movie star hugs those that are sitting near him, and then, to tumultuous applause, climbs up to the stage and receives the Oscar.

 And once a year, the eyes of the whole world turn to Hollywood…and a famous television star tears open an envelope and reads the name of the best actress of the year in a television program and the audience goes wild as an excited actress hugs the people sitting near her and then comes up on the stage to receive an Emmy.

 And once a year, the eyes of the whole world turn to Congregation Shaarei Shamayim on Sukkot, and before a congregation that listens with baited breath...I announce the “Lulav of the Year Award.” What is the “Lulav Of The Year Award?” (With thanks to Rabbi Jack Reimer for the thought.) And why does it have that name?

 It’s the award that I give to a person who has shown outstanding courage. Why do I call it “The Lulav of the Year Award”? Because while a Shofar you can hide in your pocket, if you want to, and a tallis, you can carry in a bag, even a plain brown paper bag...and no one will know what you have inside…but a lulav you can’t hide. A lulav sticks out, and stands tall.

 The Jerusalem Talmud tells us that in ancient times, the residents of Jerusalem would take a lulav with them wherever they went on Sukkot. It was a strong affirmation of who they were, for a lulav can’t be hidden. The Midrash teaches us that a lulav is symbolic of the spine. And therefore it is an appropriate symbol to give to a person who has had the spine to stand up tall for what he believes is right.

 And now the envelope, please…and the winner is…Zach Banner. Who is Zach Banner? Let me set the scene for you. On July 6^th, Philadelphia Eagles wide-receiver DeSean Jackson went on an ill-fated Instagram spree, posting this anti-Semitic quote to his 1.4 million followers, which he attributed to Adolf Hitler: ...because the white Jews knows that the Negroes are the real Children of Israel, and to keep Americas secret the Jews will blackmail America. The[y] will extort America, their plan for world domination won't work if the Negroes know who they were. The white citizens of America will be terrified to know that all this time they've been mistreating and discriminating and lynching the Children of Israel (the blacks)...After I die I will one day cause World War 3 by this message which will be like planting a seed in a people minds until it sprouts once they nurture that seed and seek more truth and learn Hitler was right.

Needless to say, Hitler was not right, and, as it turns out, he never said this. However, one who does preach this bile is the notorious hate monger Louis Farrakhan. Not surprising, the same day Jackson sent this Instagram, he also posted an array of Farrakhan’s hateful content.

Zac Banner, Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive tackle—also an African American—was shocked: “I was so upset by DeSean’s comment…It just ate at me...It wrenched my heart.” Instead of ignoring it, Banner posted an emotional video to his social media feeds in response where he said: There’s a common misbelief that among Black and Brown people—and I know this from growing up and I’ve heard it and I’ve listened to it—that Jewish people are just like any other white race. You know, you mix them up with the rest of the majority and you don’t understand that they are a minority as well...

We need to understand that Jewish people deal with the same amount of hate and similar hardships and hard times. I’m not trying to get emotional right now, but I want to preach to the Black and Brown community that we need to uplift them and put our arms around them just as much. When we talk about Black Lives Matter and talk about elevating ourselves, we can’t do that while stepping on the back of other people to elevate ourselves...

What’s so striking about Banner’s statement is how genuine it is. He doesn’t tear anyone down, including Jackson, he simply attempts to build everyone up—and educate them through experience. Most impressively in this cancel culture we now live in, there are many who put Israel and Jews down, so he’s got nothing to gain for speaking out when so many are silent.

 As it turns out, the Eagles’ owner, Jeff Lurie, is Jewish and was disgusted by the posts. Jackson soon took all his hateful posts down and apologized—committing himself to do better in the future. The Eagles fined DeSean Jackson and required him to take steps to educate himself on anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. He met with a local rabbi and spoke with a Holocaust survivor. Lurie recently commented that he’s pleased with Jackson’s progress: “It doesn’t take away the hurt, it doesn’t take away the words, but I think that with DeSean, he’s doing the right things, and that has to continue.”

 Unfortunately, this was not the end of the story. Rather than letting Jackson’s apology stand, several other athletes jumped in to defend him—heaping additional anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on top of the original ones. Like former NBA champion and current Showtime podcast host Stephen Jackson who took to his own Instagram video saying about DeSean Jackosn: “He was trying to educate himself, educate people, and he’s speaking the truth. Right?...You know he don’t hate nobody, but he’s speaking the truth.” Truth, what truth?

 And former NFL running back Larry Johnson also echoed Jackson’s thoughts—sharing with his 147,000 Twitter followers—the hateful conspiracy theory that a “Jewish cabal” is involved in human trafficking, pedophilia, murder, and child torture.

 Thank Gd there are others who stood up to this madness, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who, in his column in the Hollywood Reporter condemned the recent torrent of anti-Semitic tweets, Instagram posts, and other social media targeting Jews in the vilest terms. Our thanks go out to him along with Zach Banner for being rare Black leaders and role models who are not afraid to stand up and condemn hatred when it’s directed against Jews. Why is it so hard for some people to learn that no one is free until everyone is free? As Martin Luther King Jr. taught: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

 Zach Banner deserves our Lulav of the Year Award not just because he blasted DeSean Jackson over his anti-Semitic comments on social media, telling the Eagles football star not to uplift black people by trampling on others. Zach was also one of the 1^st donors to establish a fund for the emergency relief efforts following the massacre at the Tree Of Life Synagogue 2 years ago in Pittsburgh. Congratulations and Kol HaKavod to Zach Banner!!! We need more people like you in this world. Amen!