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Some Thoughts on Baseball and Human History, by Aaron Hecht

 



I've lived more than half of my life outside America now, and the rhythms of life that were once so familiar are becoming less and less distinct with every passing year. For instance, I found out just this morning by scrolling through my news feed that the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series. I had so completely lost track of things that I didn't even know the World Series was going on, much less which teams were playing in it.

But it got me thinking about the greatest World Series of all time back in 2016, when the Chicago Cubs beat the team from Cleveland (I've also lost track of what the mascots are these days, and whether we're allowed to call them by their former names). It was a thrilling series for all kinds of reasons, including because the Cubs were down 3 games to 1 and then came back to win the whole thing, and it was decided by one run in the 10th (overtime) inning of the seventh game.

But that's not why it was the greatest World Series of all time.

It was the greatest World Series of all time because it ended the longest dry spell in professional sports, as the Cubs had not won a championship since 1908. No other professional sports team in existence had gone so long without winning it all.

Nevertheless, the Chicago Cubs, despite being one of the worst-performing professional sports teams in the entire world, had one of the largest and most loyal fan bases of any professional sports team in the world. At the end of every season, no matter if the Cubs made it to the post-season playoffs (which was rare) or even if they managed to win more games then they lost during the season, there would always be confident predictions made that "we'll win the World Series next year". There are literally people who lived their whole lives saying that same thing every year, and they died having never seen it come to pass.

That's why, when they finally won the World Series again in 2016, the celebrations were so huge.

All of that has been on my mind today, and it makes me very sad, because I compare it to something that's kind of similar, but which is proceeding on a very different track.

I am talking about the Second Advent of the Lord God Jesus Christ to this earth, which was prophesied to happen almost 2,000 years ago. There are today around 2.6 billion people walking this earth's surface who identify as "Christian" in one denomination or another, and every single one of them has been told that "Jesus could come back at any time" just like Chicago Cubs fans tell each other "next year we'll win the World Series."

The prophecies about His Second Coming appear in the pages of the Bible, especially the Book of Revelation, and some of them are very specific. For hundreds of years, people who call themselves Christians have been looking forward to this event with eager anticipation. Sometimes they were too eager, getting ahead of themselves and talking themselves and others into believing that they'd figured out the exact date it would happen, and that has led to a lot of damaged people as well as a great deal of damage to the reputation of the Bible and those of us who point to it as a source of Authority.

This last part is a great tragedy, because the truth is, someday the Rapture will happen. Someday, Jesus Christ WILL return to this Earth, and many of the signs that these events are drawing closer are observable for all to see, but a VERY large percentage of the people walking this earth's surface in November of 2025 are not paying the slightest bit of attention to these things.

Can you imagine if all those millions of people who called themselves Chicago Cubs fans, who said every year, and apparently believed it, that "next year the Cubs will win the World Series" were unmoved in the summer of 2016, when the Cubs had a great regular season, winning 103 games, then advancing to the playoffs and eventually winning the National League Pennant and earning the chance to play in the World Series? Can you imagine all those fans shrugging their shoulders and saying "there's more to being a Chicago Cubs fan than watching as they actually go to the World Series for the first time since before my parents were born. I'm busy. I've got lots of stuff going on in my Chicago Cubs fandom. I can't be expected to get excited just because this is happening."

That, obviously, is an utterly absurd scenario which would never play out in the real world.

But that EXACT scenario is playing out in the world today among Christians.

The signs of the culmination of this Age in human history, which the Bible tells us will come some day, are all around us. The most tangible, visible and undeniable sign is that the State of Israel is back on the map after 2,000 years. That state is doing things that are impossible to explain naturally, and can only be a miracle of God. It is winning wars that it has no business winning, producing inventions that it has no business producing and it has a GDP which is orders of magnitude larger than it has any business having. Last but certainly not least, there is a revival of the Gospel today among Jews, both in Israel and around the world, like we have not seen since the First Century.

Many other events that were prophesied to happen in the Last Days, just before the Second Advent of Jesus Christ to this earth are happening all over the world. But the percentage of professing Christians who appear to be paying attention is very low. Those who are speaking out about it are dismissed as "looney toon" or whatever. To be fair, the previously mentioned false prophets, frauds and charlatans who have confidently declared the date of the Rapture or even Jesus' Second Advent have given Bible prophecy a black eye, and made others hesitant to be seen as making a big deal out of it.

In particular, Christians who support Israel are beginning to face some very strong headwinds in general society and even within the Church.

Tucker Carlson recently called Christian Zionism a "mind virus" and is speaking out more and more forcefully against the idea that Christians should support Israel.

As sad and infuriating as it is to see a man who has such vast influence in American Christian circles saying such things, at least he's talking about it. At least he's taking note of this phenomenon and drawing people's attention to it so that they can have the opportunity to think about it for themselves if they have the courage and ambition to do so.

So many other Christian leaders and pastors are simply ignoring Israel, not to even mention the Revival among Jewish people, not to even mention the large and growing revival in traditionally Muslim countries in the Middle East and beyond.

If you try to bring these topics up, or even talk about those parts of the Bible that provide the prophetic revelations about the Last Days, many pastors shut down. They don't teach their congregations about it, they don't talk about it even amongst themselves. They say it's "too confusing" and "too divisive." They claim that Israel is a "political subjects" and they don't want to bring politics into their congregations.

It is simply mind-boggling.

Going back to my earlier analogy, it would be like someone saying they're a fan of a certain sports team, but they think the regular season will go on forever. There will never be a post-season. There will never be regional, league, or national championships. Just an endless regular season, in which it doesn't even matter much who wins and who loses this or that game, as long as the teams all just keep showing up for the next game.

The whole idea of a "post-season" in which some teams will advance and others won't, and there will eventually be a final event that will culminate in the eternal separation between winners and runners-up up is just "too controversial" or "too political" or whatever for these pastors. So they pretend like it's never really gonna happen, we'll just have an endless regular season forever.

Brothers and sisters, please hear me.

Life has proceeded on this planet for the last several thousand years at a pretty slow pace, just as the regular season of Major League Baseball usually does. But just like the regular season of Major League Baseball has a beginning, middle and end, and is then followed by the post-season, the playoffs, the pennant races, and then finally the World Series, which ends with one team or the other walking away with the trophy, and then baseball season is completely over for the year, so with human history.

The metaphor isn't perfect (no metaphor ever is) but you get the point.

This is not my personal opinion. This is what the Bible very clearly and unambiguously tells us.

It tells us that "in the beginning," God created the physical universe and everything in it, including this planet and the human race. Then, for several thousand years, we had days and seasons, years, decades, centuries, etc., during which there was uneven progress in many different areas of human endeavor in different places all over the world. That was the "regular season" of human history.

For many reasons, which I wrote about in a blog several years ago, I believe 1860 was the year that human history entered the "post-season" and the pennant races and then, with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, that was the beginning of the World Series.

Brothers and sisters, I can't be certain but it sure does feel like we're in Game 7. 

I don't know which inning we're in, but we're getting very close to the end. The signs of this are everywhere, and the Church of Jesus Christ around the world, especially in the West, DESPERATELY needs to wake up. Like I said before, Tucker Carlson is making the wrong call, but at least he's got his eyes on the ball.

What about you?

Maimonides and the Apostle Paul agree: You need a job even if you study the Bible full-time

Thousands of Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox Jews) protest Israel's mandatory military service. Last year, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Haredim are no longer exempt from service.

Studying the Bible but not working is a recipe for trouble. This is affirmed in both the Jewish and Christian worlds.

In Israel (and New York City!) this week, there's been massive protests from the Haredim, the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, regarding Israel's compulsory military service and, well, working for a living.

Last year, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Haredim, like everyone else in Israel, must serve in the military for a mandatory period of time: 3 years for men, 2 years for women.

Prior to this, the Haredim had a sweet deal. They study Torah and other religious texts full-time, and they receive welfare checks from the state of Israel. Basically, the Haredim receive money from the state, but give no service to the state.

This was the arrangement at the rebirth of Israel in 1948, when the Haredim made up just 1% of the Israeli population. Since then, however, the Haredi population has exploded. The average size of an Israeli Haredi family is 6.1, making up 13% of Israel's total population. This number is quickly growing.

Israel has begun enforcing this new law, including arresting draft dodging Yeshiva students. And this is the cause of the recent protests.

The Haredim frame this as religious persecution:


Some even describe Israel as an enemy state:


They make rather outlandish claim that their Torah study keeps the nation safe:

Some of these protests turned ugly (just like last time), with scenes of Haredi youth throwing objects at reporters:

But many Israelis see this all as religious hypocrisy. 

How can Haredim refuse service to the nation while cashing the nation's welfare checks? How can you refuse to serve in the army of "the Israeli enemy state" while living off state benefits for your food, housing, and education?

When I visited Israel some time ago, I stayed with a secular Israeli friend who had spent nearly a decade in the military. He had anger and even disgust towards the Haredim. I asked him why. He told me that they have become leeches on Israeli society, taking but never giving. He resented the hardline religious for doing it, and I suspect it may have contributed to his own anti-religious viewpoints.

As it stands today, Haredi families receive substantial child benefits from the government, funding to support thousands of Haredi yeshiva students, as well as public housing assistance and food vouchers. They also enjoy Israel's unemployment benefits, disability payments, and other social safety nets.

One can argue that Israel ought to allow for genuine religious objections to military service. But it seems to me that such exemption should come with exemption from welfare benefits. 

I'm not alone in this. Israeli rabbi Josh Yuter posts an excellent thread on religious military service. He notes that while the Haredim often cite Maimonides for support of their exemption, this is disingenuous because Maimonides asserts that the whole nation must go during commanded wars, citing Joel 2:16 and Mishna Sotah 8:7.

Additionally, R. Yuter notes Maimonides has harsh words for those who study Torah but don't work and instead rely on charity for their wellbeing:


"All Torah that is not accompanied by work will eventually be negated and lead to sin."

How prescient.

Haredi communities in Israel and the US have been plagued with abuse and scandals. While Haredim make up 13% of Israel's population, a full 63% of all Israel children who have suffered child sexual abuse has occurred within the Haredi community. And this number is likely underreported, as Haredi youth often feel reaching out to external authorities is a betrayal of the Haredi community.

On a lesser scale, even the verbal abuse and bottle-throwing shown in the above video is an example of sin resulting from Torah-without-accompanied-work.

This brought to mind the words of the Apostle Paul. In his second letter to the Thessalonians, he writes a similar warning:

Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, to keep away from every brother who behaves irresponsibly and not according to the tradition they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, for we did not behave inappropriately among you. And we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but worked night and day with labor and hardship, so as not to burden any of you. It wasn’t that we had no right, but rather to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate.

For even when we were with you, we would give you this order: if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that some among you are behaving irresponsibly—not busy, but busybodies. Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Messiah Yeshua to work in a quiet demeanor, so they may eat their own bread. 

For both Maimonides and the Apostle Paul, if you don't work and instead rely on charity, it erases any of the good you're doing by studying the Bible.

Work was a curse by God in Genesis. But in some ways, God's curses are, in the long view, blessings. It's through work that I provide for myself and my family. It's through work I can flourish and prosper. It's through work I learn new skills and grow as a human being.

Work is a disguised blessing. I hope the Haredim will discover this in time.


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Some Thoughts on Saving the World, by Aaron Hecht


If you ask anyone who works in public policy or the the non-profit world, social workers, teachers, police officers, etc. they will all tell you the same thing, that society is falling apart.

People are lonely, feeling overwhelmed by their own problems and completely helpless to do anything about the big problems they hear and see being reported on in the news. People are reacting to this by, for the most part, simply giving up, turning inwards, avoiding contact with other human beings and spending all their time, money, effort and energy on escaping.

Most of the things they’re turning to to escape are unhealthy. They include alcohol and narcotics but they also include junk food, cheap entertainment, and above all else their internet connected devices. I saw a statistic recently that said the average person living in the US State of California spends 7 hours a day online for non-work-related activities. That means people are scrolling social media, watching videos, playing video games and chatting with their favorite AI avatar almost every moment that they’re not working (and probably quite a bit also while they’re working) or sleeping.


On that subject, many studies are showing that human beings aren’t getting enough sleep these days, and this, on top of everything else,  is also causing all kinds of neurological, emotional, psychological and physical health issues for pretty much everyone.


The thread that connects all of these issues is loneliness. People are disconnected from each other and they’re also disconnected from God. The phone and all the other internet-enabled technology and devices offer a cheap, relatively easy way to try and feel connected to SOMETHING or SOMEONE but it’s a very poor substitute for real connections with real, flesh and blood people, to say nothing of the God who created us.


This is the real reason society is crashing down around our ears. It is the reason people are lashing out in violence, or lashing in by harming themselves (suicide rates are at terrifyingly high rates in almost every Western country across all demographics) and it is the reason for the horrifying rise in substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and all the other thigns that are causing so much misery and despair everywhere you look.


So the question, as always, is what is to be done?


Mother Theresa of Calcutta is credited with having once said, while speaking to a group of people that she was talking to that “if you want to save the world, go home and love your families.”


Back in the late 1980s, there was a surge of interest in environmental issues. A popular saying that came out of that surge was “think globally, act locally,” and that’s almost the same thing as what Mother Theresa was saying.


Another similar slogan that I’ve heard many times is “make a dent where you’re sent.”


All of these slogans contain some very good advice, but I think the time has come to expand on them a little bit.


Because, as I said in a previous blog, the world is in very bad shape and there are some REALLY big problems almost everyone feels are completely beyond their ability to do anything about. The really big problems are too big for most ordinary people like you and me.


But I’ve got some good news.


You and I don’t have to solve the big problems, even if we theoretically could. We just have to look around the place where we live and find some small problems that we can help solve.


If enough people solve enough small problems in the immediate vicinity of where they live, then maybe the needle will start to move on some of the big problems.


There’s probably someone living in your apartment building, or in one of the other houses in your subdivision, who is lonely, and you can be a friend to that person.


You don't even need to go looking for these people. If you show up and let them know you care just a little bit, they'll find you.


If you’re blessed to live in an area where there’s some kind of community center or school, go to that facility and ask whoever runs it if there’s some work you can volunteer to do. In the course of doing this volunteer work, you will almost certainly come into contact with people who need a friend. It’s as easy as falling off a log.


Even if there’s no community center or school, or even any organized community activities, you don’t have to move very far from the place where you lay your head down to sleep every night to find people who are lonely, sad, tired, fed up, freaked out, beaten down, etc. 


If you just set up a card table and couple of chairs on the sidewalk somewhere and put a little plate of cookies or whatever on the table and a sign which says “sit and have a cookie with me and tell me what’s on your mind” you’ll have plenty of people take you up on the offer.


The point is to not be one of those people who spend their entire evening after coming home from work or school scrolling on the phone. Instead, be one of those people who comes home from work (and, while you’re at work, try to be a friend to your co-workers as much as you can, because that’s a good way to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem as well) has dinner with your family, spends time with them and then, maybe together with them, goes out into your community and makes some kind of positive contribution to what’s going on there.


A really easy and obvious place to go is a local church congregation. It’s not just the place to go once a week to sing some worship songs, listen to a message, eat some coffee cake and then go home. Most churches have all kinds of activities going on during the week, and it’s a great place to invest your time, money, effort and energy.


That’s because there are people there who need you too, and the first person who needs you there is the pastor of the congregation. He’s trying to do what God called him to do in that congregation, in that neighborhood, in that community, and he needs help. He needs your help and he needs my help.


If you’re not attending a local congregation yet, find one and give everything you possibly can to what God is doing in and through that congregation. Give your tithes and offerings to that congregation. Give your time to that congregation. Be one of the people who goes to the prayer meeting at that congregation. Be one of the people who teaches the childrens classes at that congregation. Go to the Men’s group meetings at that congregation. If you’re a women, go to the Women’s group meetings. If there aren’t Bible studies and other kinds of meetings there for men, women, students, or whatever group you think you belong to, go to the pastor and tell him you want to start having such meetings.


Another old saying that comes to mind in this context is “pray as if it all depends on God, but work as if it all depends on you.”


Brothers and sisters, please hear me.


None of us can do everything, and most of us can’t solve the big problems.


But every one of us can do something, and we can all help with the small problems.


If enough ordinary, everyday people do enough ordinary positive things every day, the big problems will begin to get more manageable.


The people who are relatively high-functioning need to become producers of positive things, not just the consumers of positive things. Help the lower-functioning people get their act together so that they can become more high-functioning and eventually they’ll also start becoming producers and not just consumers.


We save the world one small step at a time. A billion small steps in the right direction will add up, and so will a billion small steps in the wrong direction. Be one of the people who takes steps in the right direction, not one of the people who takes steps in the wrong direction. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.


So, to conclude, if you want to save the world, make a dent where you're sent, think big but act small and go home and love your neighbors as yourself.
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