Manhattan—Touchdown for Teaneck! Liat Clark, an 11th grader at Ma’yanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, and DJ Wartelsky, a 6th grader from Yeshivat Noam, took the top two prizes at the first-ever Super Torah Bowl, a d’var Torah competition designed to combine rigorous Torah study with the region’s most fervent Jewish football enthusiasts.
The contest, which was open to all Jewish children in the tri-state region between 5th and 12th grade, began with a written submission and was followed up by live presentations, the second of which took place on the morning of Super Bowl XLVIII with participants competing for two tickets to the historic MetLife Stadium event for that very evening.
Clarke, as winner, took her father Nissan to the Super Bowl, while Wartelsky, as runner-up, was given Jets tickets for next season. He plans to take his dad, Ari, to that game. All participants received a variety of souvenirs.
Super Torah Bowl was organized by three individuals associated with Manhattan’s West Side Institutional Synagogue (WSIS): A former NFL player, Dr. John Frank; Eyal Shavitsky of Bank Leumi USA; and WSIS’s mara d’asra, Rabbi Joshua Strulowitz. The event had major sponsorship from Bank Leumi USA, and served as a fundraiser for brain and pancreatic cancer research, with proceeds going to Champion Charities and the Nathan S. Arenson Fund for Pancreatic Cancer Research at the University of Pittsburgh.
In addition to several rabbeim, including locals Rabbi Shalom Baum of Congregation Keter Torah and Rabbi Kenneth Brander of Yeshiva University, who helped judge the written divrei Torah before the event, three Jewish professional sports champions participated in the live judging. They included contest organizer Frank, a two-time Super Bowl Champion who played with the San Francisco 49ers; Shlomo (Alan) Veingrad, who won a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys; and Art Shamsky, who won the 1969 World Series with the New York Mets.
For the live event, the judging divided the 40 competitors by age groups for oral presentations, and then the four finalists were selected to present their divrei Torah to the Super Torah Bowl audience of approximately 100 people.
DJ, or David Jacob Wartelsky, an 11-year old sixth grader from Teaneck, was Super Torah Bowl’s runner-up. His d’var Torah drew parallels from the clothing worn by the football players to the clothing worn by Kohanim in service to Hashem in relation to the week’s Torah portion. “The Kohanim have to wear an explicitly stated, gone over in great detail uniform, just like the players of the NFL. There is a huge difference though. Football players wear their equipment for very physical reasons—for protection and identification. The Kohanim wore their uniforms for very spiritual reasons, so that they’d always keep in mind who and what they are serving while performing their holy jobs,” he said.
Wartelsky, when contacted by JLBC after the event, said that his experience at Super Torah Bowl was very exciting, as it combined two of his favorite things: Torah and football. He was also able to draw a valuable lesson from this year’s Super Bowl, even though he didn’t get to watch it in person at MetLife Stadium. “When a star player messes up, like Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl, it shows that even the best of the best can make mistakes,” the 11-year-old said.
Winner Liat Clark’s d’var torah took inspiration from what she has learned about timing from football. “There are valuable lessons that we can take from the Super Bowl: that every individual matters, that our time is important and should not be wasted, and that we can be in sync with those around us rather than being absorbed in our own little worlds.
“…When we watch it, it is important that we make the conscious effort not to get lost in the food, in the parties, in the alcohol. It is important that we not close ourselves off from the potential to gain from the experience, the way B’nei Yisrael did at Har Sinai, but look for the meaning, the impact, and allow ourselves to gain from the values of the Super Bowl,” Clarke said.
Nissan Clarke, Liat’s father, spoke about having attended the Super Bowl from his unique perspective. “The crowds, the entertainment, the excitement, and the atmosphere were all a-once- in-a-lifetime experience. But, what made it most special, for me, was that we were there because Liat wrote a d’var Torah. That her knowledge of Torah and her writing skill enabled such a unique opportunity made it all the more special,” he said.
Liat Clarke was grateful to have been able to take her father to the Super Bowl. “I am particularly fortunate that I got to share the entire experience with my wonderful father, making him proud and being able to do something special for him as a small token of my thanks for his unconditional love and support. Thank you to the West Side Institutional Synagogue for making this possible,” she said.
“It was evident that the contestants put forth much effort into the competition,” said Eyal Shavitzky, one of the three contest organizers, who represents sponsor Bank Leumi USA. “They were engaged, thoughtful, and creative in their presentations. In fact, some even used costumes to highlight the themes they were presenting. One finalist (Wartelsky) wore replicas of the garments the Kohanim (Priests) wore in the Beit Hamikdash over his football jersey,” he said.
“The event was a resounding success which makes us want to continue. We met a few days after the event for a ‘lessons learned’ session where we reviewed the event and its results. I can tell you that we all left the meeting energized and enthusiastic about the possibility of holding Super Torah Bowl ‘bet’ next year,” Shavitsky said.
With many Super Bowls taking place out of the metropolitan area, future Super Torah Bowl plans will have to be made well in advance. “Obviously it’s more complicated because the Super Bowl will be held in Phoenix next year. We just have to figure out the added dynamic of an out-of-town Super Bowl,” said Rabbi Joshua Strulowitz.
By Elizabeth Kratz
