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Riddler

Friday, 8 January, 2010 - 10:00 am

Those familiar with college football could not help but feel some nostalgia as Boise State pulled another trick play out of its bag to pivot to victory in this year’s Fiesta Bowl. The daring fake punt on a fourth-and-nine, nicknamed “Riddler”, broke the stalemate of a tied game by setting up the winning touchdown. It also brought back memories of the 2007 Fiesta Bowl when the Broncos’ repertoire of gadgets included the likes of Hook-and-Lateral, Statue of Liberty and a spontaneous post-game marriage proposal.

Undoubtedly, it was a game-changing play.

In life, we are also frequently attempting to break the stalemate of a tied game. How often are we seeking some outstanding event that will lift us out of our own impasse with life’s challenges? I’ve definitely had my share of moments searching for that boost that would redraw the map of my existence.  Sometimes it’s a spiritual challenge like transforming a troubled friendship. Or the effort to keep kosher in a non-kosher surrounding. It can be the simple struggle of redefining what has become the monotony of work or school.  Or the stuck-in-the-rut feeling of trying to get back into an exercise regimen. Whatever the issue, it always seems that the status quo will not suffice to break the deadlock. Something dramatic needs to happen.

We need a game-changer.

***

In this week’s Torah portion we read about the terrible suffering of the Jewish people in ancient Egypt. Gloom abounds as conditions continuously deteriorate, without any prospect of rescue on the horizon. The outlook is grim as the Jews seemed destined to endless slavery in Egypt.

They are in need of a game-changer.

Like us, they wondered, “From where will my assistance come?” Where is our game-changer?

We read further and – indeed – help is on the way. It ultimately arrives in the form of Moses, the Ten Plagues and the Splitting of the Sea. Game-changers in anyone’s books.

But let’s look a little closer at the text. It may be telling us something about the game-changers we ache for so desperately.

When G-d finally steps in to reverse the plight of the Jews, the Torah states: “The children of Israel sighed from the labor, and they cried out, and their cry ascended to God from the labor. God heard their cry, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” (Shemot/Exodus 2:23-24).

The Midrash intimates a striking lesson from these passages. Although G-d had promised the Patriarchs that He would redeem their descendants from foreign bondage, He did not do so until they called out. The ‘contract’ with the Patriarchs was sufficient cause to liberate the Jews, but G-d waited until the Jewish people themselves actively petitioned for their deliverance.

In other words, only once they were fully devoted to breaking the status quo, did the larger-than-life merit of the Patriarchs come into play and provide some urgently-needed, larger-than-life miracles.

***

You see, all the trick plays in the world would not help the Broncos if they were not ‘in the game.’ Only because they played toe-to-toe with their opponents for three and a half quarters were they able to break free when opportunity came knocking. The real credit goes to the sustained, stellar performance of the defense, special teams and many other unsung heroes (how about the offensive line not allowing a sack the entire contest?). They kept Boise State squarely in the game, ready to break loose at any moment.

In the grand game of life, we’re always eager for a game-changer.  Now, let’s get in the game and prove we’re ready.

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