"Grow Old Along With Me!" - Rabbi Ben Ezra

 

Robert Browning: Poems Summary and Analysis of "Rabbi Ben Ezra"

Summary

The poem is narrated by Rabbi Ben Ezra, a real 12th-century scholar. The piece does not have a clearly identified audience or dramatic situation. The Rabbi begs his audience to "grow old along with [him]" (line 1). He stresses that age is where the best of life is realized, whereas "youth shows but half" (line 6). He acknowledges that youth lacks insight into life, since it is characteristically so concerned with living in the moment that it is unable to consider the deeper questions.

Though youth will fade, what replaces it is the wisdom and insight of age, which recognizes that pain is a part of life, but which learns to appreciate joy more because of the pain. "Be our joys three parts pain!" (line 34). All the while, one should appreciate what comes, since all adds to our growth towards God, and embrace the "paradox" that life's failure brings success. He notes how, when we are young and our bodies are strong, we aspire to impossible greatness, and he explains that this type of action makes man into a "brute" (line 44).

With age comes acceptance and love of the flesh, even though it pulls us "ever to the earth" (line 63), while some yearn to reach a higher plane. A wise, older man realizes that all things are gifts from God, and the flesh's limitations are to be appreciated even as we recognize them as limitations.

His reason for begging patience is that our life on Earth is but one step of our soul's experience, and so our journey will continue. Whereas youth is inclined to "rage" (line 100), age is inclined to await death patiently. Both are acceptable and wonderful, and each compliments the other.

What complicates the philosophy is that we are wont to disagree with each other, to have different values and loves. However, the Rabbi begs that we not give too much credence to the earthly concerns that engender argument and dissention, and trust instead that we are given by God and hence are fit for this struggle. The transience of time does not matter, since this is only one phase of our existence; we need not grow anxious about disagreements and unrealized goals, since the ultimate truth is out of our reach anyway. Again, failure breeds success. He warns against being distracted by the "plastic circumstance" (line 164) of the present moment.

He ends by stressing that all is part of a unified whole, even if we cannot glimpse the whole. At the same time that age should approve of youth and embrace the present moment, it must also be constantly looking upwards towards a heaven to come and hence simultaneously willing to renounce the present.

Robert Browning: Poems “Rabbi Ben Ezra” Summary and Analysis | GradeSaver

Critical Analysis of Rabbi Ben Ezra (mmhapu.ac.in)

Words & Deeds Alone Do Not Make a Man

Harry Emerson Fosdick

"The Meaning of Faith" pgs. 257-8

Judgment based on deeds alone can never truly estimate a man, because in every important decision of our lives an "unpublished self" finds no expression in our outward act.  Duty is not always clear; at times it seems a labyrinth without a clue. Perplexed, we balance in long deliberation the opposing reasons for this act or that, until, forced to choose, we obtain only a majority vote for the decision.

Yet that uncertain majority alone is published in our deed; man's eyes never see the unexpressed protestant minority behind. And when the choice proves wrong, and friends are grieved and enemies condemn and what we did is hateful to ourselves, only one who knows how much we wanted to do right, and who accounts not only the published but the unpublished self can truly estimate our worth.

Peter, who denied his Lord, it may be because he wanted the privilege of being near him at the trial, is not the only one who has appealed from the outward aspect of his deed to the inner intention of his heart: "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee" (John 21:17).

Moreover, even when we choose aright, no deed can ever gather into utterance all that is best and deepest in us. A mother's love is as much greater than any word she speaks or act she does, as the sunshine is greater than the focused point where in a burning glass we gather a ray of it. We are infinitely more than words can utter or deeds express. No adequate judgment, therefore, can rest on deeds alone. A machine may be estimated by its output, but a man is too subtle and profound, his motives and purposes too inexpressible, his temptations and inward struggles too intimate and unrevealed, his possibilities too great to be roughly estimated by his acts alone.

    "Not on the vulgar mass

    Called 'work' must sentence pass,

Things done, that took the eye and had the price;

    O'er which, from level stand,

    The low world laid its hand,

Found straightway to its mind, could value in a trice:

    But all, the world's coarse thumb

    And finger failed to plumb,

So passed in making up the main account;

    All instincts immature,

    All purposes unsure,

That weighted not as his work, yet swelled the man's amount:

    Thoughts hardly to be packed

    Into a narrow act,

Fancies that broke through language and escaped;

    All I could never be,

    All, men ignored in me,

This, I was worth to God, whose wheel the pitcher shaped."

- from the poem "Rabbi Ben Ezra" by Robert Browning

- an interpretation on Browning's message in the poem

Goliath Joins Dodgers for $700 mil.

 

Shohei Ohtani has selected the L.A. Dodgers as his new baseball team. It comes at a hefty $700 mil. price tag for the Dodgers. As a San Francisco Giants fan, I look forward to seeing the phenom go up against my team. The best west coast rivalry in baseball just got an injection of 'must watch' entertainment. 

As for the strength of the two ballclubs, Ohtani is a Goliath joining an organization that's made the playoffs eleven straight years, winning one of three world series. Meanwhile, my Giants have been more like David with a slingshot, making the playoffs three times in that same eleven-year period and winning one world series.

But I must admit, with Ohtani joining the already stacked Los Angeles Philistines line-up: 

"We're Gonna Need a Bigger Slingshot"

Top 10 Deals ever doled out in MLB:

1. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers: (Reportedly) 10 years, $700 million

2. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels: $426.5 million over 12 years

3. Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers: $356 million over 12 years

4. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: $360 million over nine years

5. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres: $350 million over 11 years

7. Fernando Tatis Jr, San Diego Padres: $340 million over 14 years

8. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies: $330 million for 13 years

9. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins/New York Yankees: $325 million over 13 years:

10. Corey Seager, Texas Rangers: $325 million over 10 years

Whatever Happened to DISQUALIFYING CHEATERS?

There was a time when cheaters caught in competitions were "Disqualified," or "Suspended" from future competitions. And if a cheater won the competition they were 'Stripped" of the championship medal. So, what has changed over the years? Why is it we make so little of cheating today, letting them off the hook with a slap on the wrist? Do we expect embarrassment of being caught cheating enough to deter future cheating by them or others? 

In politics we need look no further than George Santos, an incessant lying and cheating republican Congressman from New York, who is facing possible expulsion from Congress. Better yet, how about former president trump who's been caught lying and cheating over and over, and yet continues to lie while facing conspiracy charges for promoting the "Big Lie" during and after the 2020 Election.

Here’s Every Single Lie Told by George Santos (nymag.com) 11/28/2023

We expect lying in politics, it seems to come with the territory. But sports we somehow hold to a higher standard. Sure, there's the old saying "if you ain't cheating you ain't trying," but that's a motto usually used as an excuse when caught cheating, and not as a winning motto. 

This year's sports cheating scandal has the spotlight on one of the country's darling college football programs, the Michigan Wolverines. Under coach Jim Harbaugh, Michigan has been caught cheating not in one game or one season, but over multiple seasons. 

“these were not isolated or haphazard incidents. The violations were pervasive, systemic, and occurred over multiple years.”   yahoo.com sports

Harbaugh was suspended for three of the final regular season games, however, he is allowed to coach in the upcoming College Football Playoffs of which Michigan currently holds the #2 ranking. I don't think a three-game suspension for gaining advantage over opponents by cheating is a fair-minded punishment. We must conclude that lucrative NCAA earnings from college football are simply too influential, causing the organization to choose profit over principle. 

One of my favorite biblical verses shows contentment with competing in life: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  This verse is not stating he won the fight or the race, but clearly states he finished the race while keeping true to his faith. In other words, more important than winning is finishing with Christian principles still intact. 

Here's a biblical breakdown on cheating by renown pastor-teacher Charles R. Swindoll,

from the book "Living the Proverbs":

Better is a little with righteousness

Than great income with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

In the 1980 Boston Marathon, a previously unknown amateur runner named Rosie Ruiz stunned the running world by completing the 26.2-mile race in a remarkable time, just under 2 hours and 32 minutes - then, the fastest woman's time in the race's history. She labored the last several hundred yards looking visibly fatigued, crossed the finish line, and then collapsed into the arms of race officials. The media swarmed around the unexpected winner, who acknowledged training hard on her own to prepare for the historic event.

Unfortunately, Rosie didn't run the entire course. She started, ran a portion of the first few miles, hopped a subway, waited a couple of hours, and then rejoined the race half a mile from the finish. Race officials became suspicious because of her dramatic improvement on her time in the New York Marathon (2 hours, 56 minutes, 33 seconds) just one year earlier. As it turned out, however, she hadn't run that course either. She had taken the bus.

I simply don't understand what one gains from cheating! How can anyone possibly enjoy the spoils of victory knowing he or she could - and probably would - get caught? Rosie Ruiz will always be known among runners as "the marathon cheater."

Nothing obtained by injustice will bring satisfaction. The sage declared that his honest gain, meager though it might be, gave him greater satisfaction than ill-gotten riches ever could.

note: story of a winner forgiving a cheater

John Madden Thanksgiving Day Honors

NFL Teams wore a John Madden Thanksgiving Day jersey patch to commemorate the late, great coach/commentator who paced the sidelines for 10 years as head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Madden, who passed away two years ago, was known for accomplishing many great things.  

Whether it was on the sideline coaching like a mad scientist, or up in the broadcaster's booth commentating games with gusto, Madden was a visual/audible lightning rod of entertainment. 

EA Sports Madden NFL video game, now in its twenty-fourth series annual release, continues to entertain and inspire young football fans. What young'uns coming up with today's football will sadly miss however, are traditional Thanksgiving Day football games broadcast with John Madden in the booth.  He was an original to say the least.

If a young'un is reading this, just google "NFL Turducken!"

All six teams competing in NFL games this Thanksgiving Day wore the symbolic Madden Patch on their jersey. One game's half-time show (not starring Dolly Parton) featured a very touching segment on Darryl Stingley, who suffered a spinal cord injury on the field in 1978, leaving him a paraplegic. 

After the injury, John became close with Stingley and his family, privately giving support when and wherever it was needed. The feature highlights a recent meeting between John and Daryl's sons. Daryl's grandson, Derek Stingley, Jr., currently plays for the Houston Texans.

John Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Raider Nation will always be proud of what coach John Madden stood for in life; Commitment to Excellence!

Thanks Coach!

 

Scuffle at Chase Center

 

It got ugly early. And after all the excitement and ejections the Warriors lost a close game without Klay, Dray, and Curry. But the good news is coach Steve Kerr got to experiment with lineups that might benefit the Warriors moving forward.

Final Score

Timberwolves 104

Warriors 101

Raiders Riding Jetstream to Miami

After defeating the New York Jets 16-12 Sunday, the (5-5) Raiders believe they can compete against anyone. Their offense, led by rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell, weathered what many say is one of the best defenses in the league, while the Raiders defense played lights out with drive stopping tackles and takeaways. 

We are watching a Raiders team awakening from a slumber, learning how best to attack an opponent while limiting their own mistakes.

Raiders had 3 penalties for 25 yards, reflecting mistake-free football.

Watching this teams' infusion of energy translate to productive execution on the field is a beautiful thing to see. They may not be on the NFL top 10 list for any team statistics, but their enthusiasm and "Will to Win" makes this unit a threat to all opponents come gameday. 

They carry their two-game winning streak into Miami this Sunday to put the 6-3 Dolphins to the test. None of the experts are picking the Raiders to win. The betting spread favoring the Dolphins was a whopping (-12) Monday. But the oddsmakers had the Jets favored against the Raiders too. There's no stat for the fight in a dog. Especially a dog fighting for respect in the pack.

So, damn the odds Raiders, just play with that dog mentality and let the chips fall where they may. "The Fire that Burns Brightest .  .  . "

Win, Lose or Tie

 

Michigan Wolverines Cheated! (allegedly)

Michigan college football is right up there with all American sports pastimes. They play football in "The Big House" underneath the lights. I personally own a Wolverines football jersey along with two Michigan t-shirts just for the nostalgia of it all. And I've never set foot in the state. From the stadium, to the fans, to the uniforms and players, Michigan Football has been a classy part of American lore. And then it wasn't.

The Big Ten decided that Michigan conducted "an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition." It stated that such activities compromised sportsmanship and affected the "integrity of the competition" cbssports ncaafb

The Michigan football team is being investigated for cheating, and though its "alleged" at this time, the evidence appears to be .  .  .  Damning! Upon arrival at their opponent's regional airport on Friday, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was informed of his suspension pending an NCAA investigation. 

Michigan won the game today, 24-15 over their Big Ten rival #10 Penn State, without coach Harbaugh on the sideline.  They are currently ranked #2 on the AP college football poll, with two games left in the regular season. One of those games is against division rival, #3 Ohio State. They must topple the Buckeyes in order to win their division and have a shot at the College Football Playoffs #1 seed. 

The Bigger hill the Michigan Wolverines face is whether they will be allowed to participate in the CFP this season, or seasons down the road. Many will see a three-game suspension of Harbaugh as a slap on the wrist. Fasten your seatbelts college football fans, this cheating scandal has just taxied up to the runway and is ready for takeoff. Based on the weather forecast, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. 

@stevepipenger4651

2 weeks ago

It strikes me they are missing what’s going on here. This is not about a team stealing signals in a game. This is about a team sending people to other stadiums to record what those teams are doing, to steal signals. That seems to take it to a different level.

Raider Down

 

Former Raiders #1 draft pick D.J. Hayden has died in a car accident that claimed six lives. Hayden spent four seasons playing cornerback for the Raiders. He also played for the Lions, Jaguars, and Redskins. He was 33 years old.

Rest in Peace Raider!

"So Let It Be Written, So Let It Be Done!"

Final Score

Giants 6

Raiders 30

Congratulations Coach!

Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterNov 5, 2023, 10:34 PM ET

LAS VEGAS -- Antonio Pierce said he has had "butterflies" only three times in his professional football life -- before his first game as an NFL player in 2001, before the Super Bowl he played in for the New York Giants in 2008, and on Sunday, before his first game as interim coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

So he went back to basics.

At the beginning of the work week, hours after he was promoted from linebackers coach in the wake of Josh McDaniels' Halloween night firing, Pierce handed out blank sheets of paper to Raiders players.

The thinking? To symbolize a fresh start. The result? The Raiders could use their finest penmanship to write "30-6," the final score of their win Sunday against the Giants, the NFL's largest margin of victory immediately following a midseason coaching change since 2015.

And as Pierce noted, the Raiders made history with a Black interim coach, a Black interim general manager in Champ Kelly and a Black female team president in Sandra Douglass Morgan.  Cont'd

Raiders-Reset-2023

The Autumn winds have blown the Raiders Flagship toward unchartered territory. With a mid-season reset, the raiders field a new Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, and General Manager come week 9. 

The changes were desperately needed. The replacements are committed, hungering to lead our Silver & Black soldiers on their first mission. Eastern Giants are planning to storm the gates of Allegiant Stadium come Sunday. The Raiders mission is clear, repel the attack, protect homefield. 

Quarterbacking the Raiders offensive battalion will be #4, young rookie Aidan O'Connell. He's got the strongest arm in the QB corps., replacing oft-injured, ineffective Jimmy Garoppolo. The rest of the battalion are confident in young O'Connell's abilities and backing him 100%. 

New head coach Antonio Pierce has set the battle tone, bringing a jolting, much needed energy to the helm. The soldiers appear to be taking to his lead, welcoming the loose comradery and brotherhood infecting practices this week. We will see if the changes have an instant impact Sunday on the battlefield.  

Shields Up Men! 

Finally! Raiders Move On From Coach & GM

Almost a year to the day of my posting a "Fire Da'Bum plea," Raiders owner Mark Davis answers the call. After an abysmal Monday Night Football game loss to the Detroit Lions, Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels and General Manager Dave Ziegler have been relieved of their duties. 

Happy Halloween Treats 

Josh & Dave!

Rangers Eliminate Cheaters in Game 7

No, this post is not about cheating husbands and wives, but good 'ol American Baseball. For those not in the know, on January 13, 2020, a Major League Baseball investigation confirmed the Houston Astros organization did illegally use a video camera to STEAL opposing team pitching signs in 2017 and parts of 2018. 

RaiderLegend: Cheating Astros Should Forfeit A Season And/Or Series (powellsplace.blogspot.com)

This season marked the seventh straight season, beginning 2017, the Astros have been to the American League Championship. Prior to 2017 they had one playoff appearance in eleven years. Since being exposed for CHEATING, the Astros have continued making the playoffs, but with only one World Series championship win. 

Houston Astros Postseason Results

Year	Record	Result
2023	90-72	Lost AL Championship Series (Won 1 Round)
2022	106-56	Won World Series
2021	95-67	Lost World Series (Won 2 Rounds)
2020	29-31	Lost AL Championship Series (Won 2 Rounds)
2019	107-55	Lost World Series (Won 2 Rounds)
2018	103-59	Lost AL Championship Series (Won 1 Round)
2017	101-61	Won World Series

I dislike cheaters, just as much as liars. Thanks to the 2023 Texas Rangers we Will Not see the Houston Astros, verified cheaters in past seasons, play in this year's World Series. 

I congratulate the Rangers for a great season of baseball. In this seven game ALCS they proved their medal by winning all four games on the road in Houston, the last two being must win games. I look forward to seeing if the Rangers can keep it going against the winner of today's NLCS game 7 (Diamondbacks vs Phillies).

As for the CHEATERS, I find it so hard to forgive the Astros their cheating ways. I almost look at them as I do liars, "once a liar always a liar." It took three years for their cheating to be exposed and addressed by the league. Since that exposure in 2020, the Astros are 1-1 in the WS, and 2-2 in the ALCS. 

So, either the Astros have found new ways of hiding their cheating, or perhaps cheating in baseball has little impact on the final outcome of winning or losing baseball games. I leave it up to baseball fans to decide. 

Final Score (ALCS GM 7)

D'Backs 11

Astros 4

Congratulations Manager Bruce Bochy and the 2023 Texas Rangers

Update: Arizona D'Backs 4   Final   Phila. Phillies 2

D-backs top Phillies in Game 7, make 1st World Series since '01 - ESPN

Raiders Embarrassing Themselves

With four minutes left in the 3rd quarter and ahead 21-3, the Bears have the Raiders in chokehold submission. 

Raiders defense, the strength of the team so far this season, looks overmatched and out of synch. against a 1-win/5-loss Bears team fielding a backup rookie quarterback. 

Offensively, the Raiders are yet again, inconsistent, predictable, and non-competitive. Poor execution across the board. I'm putting a fork in this game. 

The Chicago Bears are roasting the Raiders, and I just can't "BEAR" to watch.

Raiders vs. Bears (Oct 22, 2023) Box Score - ESPN

Raiders Hard to Watch MNF Game

The Good: 

Raiders 17 - Packers 14

Raiders DE Max Crosby and crew forced three turnovers which included a spectacular game-saving interception by cornerback Amik Robertson. Just Win Baby never felt so good!

The Bad & Ugly:

So, what made the Raiders Monday Night Football game so ugly and offensive? Offense, of course, or lack thereof. The Raiders have yet to score 20 or more points in five games. Their offensive play-calling looks conservative and predictable, their offensive line looks porous, their quarterback(s) and running game struggle behind a porous O-line, everything offensively looks out-of-synch. Yes, it starts up front.

po·rous

/ˈpôrəs/

adjective

1. (of a rock or other material) having minute spaces or holes through which liquid or air may pass.

Observations:

When it comes to an underachieving or inconsistent team, responsibility falls flatly on the head coach. Many have pointed to Raiders second year coach Josh McDaniels as the problem. He has three Super Bowl victories as offensive coordinator of the Patriots and was considered by some to be "one of the top offensive minds in the NFL." 

Yet, it's the Raiders offense that has weakened their chances of winning four of the five games they've played so far this season. Josh McDaniel must bear the blame for conservative play-calling and a number of questionable calls throughout games, two in last night's win. 

He and/or his handpicked QB Jimmy Garoppolo seem unwilling or unable to utilize their full complement of receivers. One sports radio show host pointed out the slowness with which the Raiders offense operates. From plays getting sent in, to players getting on and off the field, to huddling and calling the play. He stated everything about the team overall just looks slow. And if you look at a winning team, you'll notice they play fast, confident, mistake free football, with an overall identity. The Raiders have shown none of these 'winning team qualities' so far this season.

Questions:

With the Raiders record at 2-3, and twelve games left in the season, do you fire the Head Coach and/or his handpicked Offensive Coordinator Mike Lombardi? In putting together his coaching staff, McDaniels pulled much of it from New England Patriots personnel he had experience with. Same with free agents he brought in. 

Can it be QB Tom Brady was the real stable genius throughout the Patriots dynasty? Ask Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.

Since Brady left with little resistance in March 2020, Belichick has a 26-29 record, one postseason appearance and zero playoff wins.

With starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo looking "lost in translation" in the pocket, do you give rookie Aidan O'connell another start after his turnover-filled debut game while filling in for concussed Jimmy-G in week 4? The kid did bounce back in the second-half of that game, but his third turnover sealed the teams' losing fate. There are rumors out there that teammates might want to see O'connell get another chance this season. Most Raiders fans also wanna see the kid at the helm. Raider Nation has likely seen enough of Jimmy-G to know that, "that dog just won't hunt."

With last night's impressive Defensive showing, do you continue with the same offensive formula of play while leaning on the defense, and hope that in time O-line play improves and things come together overall offensively? After all, a lot can happen in twelve NFL regular season games. Is the O-line issue a coaching/scheming problem or a personnel problem?

And lastly, does majority owner Mark Davis begin looking for a replacement head coach now instead of later? Maybe let McDaniel finish out the string and bring in a new HC for next season? The Raiders haven't had any real consistency at head coach since .   .  .  John 'freakin' Madden. We can blame Big Al for a lot of that. After all, it was he who forced two-time Super Bowl winning head coach Tom Flores into a front office job, and it was he who forced the trade of head coach Jon Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Well Mark, what's it gonna be? You're in Las Vegas Now. Are you gonna Hold'em or Fold'em?

Win, Lose or Tie!