If I could have a second home anywhere in the world, it would be Israel. But after that, Martha’s Vineyard. I have only been there once, to Edgartown but I wish I could go back.
The arc of your life was navigating intentionally from the Sea of Tranquility to the Eye of the Storm. What madness was instilled in you along the way? You weren't born with it like the rest of us. Maybe it started with the gentile's whaling spirit.
I was thinking about Martha's Vineyard recently, only because I remember Alan Dershowitz complaining a few years ago that after he started consorting with Donald Trump, he stopped getting invited to good parties on the Vineyard. One of the unwelcoming hosts was Larry David who recently penned an op ed in the Times comparing Trump to Hitler. Think about the kind of awful Jewish neighbors you might have if you had stayed there if you ever get too nostalgic.
Ahh, Alan Dershowitz. My mother told me that he bought two of those shirts, one for himself and one for his then Harvard colleague Henry Louis Gates Jr. I doubt if anyone is wearing those shirts on the Harvard campus nowadays. Also, word has it that Dersh was behind bringing Chabad to the Vineyard, you know, like the old joke, one shul on an island is not enough, you've got to have that second one in which you will never set foot.
Just so there's no confusion, Dersh wasn't the bad neighbor I was referring to. Larry David has made a career out of Jewish shtick, but when it comes to Israel, like many Jews in Hollywood he curbs his enthusiasm. Also if you didn't know, Henry Louis Gates saw what was coming from the Left and Harvard 30 years ago and warned about it.
I know, David. I have a vision of Dersh drinking coffee on the porch at the Chilmark store. Isn't he the prototype of "Zionism is beautiful. Prove me wrong?" btw, I did not know that about Gates.
I spent a short week in a rented home in Edgartown while doing a summer internship in a white shoe law firm in Baltimore. There were sailboats docked in the water seen from the French-doored living room. Memorable because the following summer I was on my way to Israel with my kippah-clad husband who returned me to Judaism and it will be 45 years this summer in Jerusalem..
If you happened to eat an ice cream cone from the Ice Cream and Candy Bazaar right there next to the Edgartown Yacht Cub parking lot, you had a 50% chance of having it served by my mother, who was a founding partner in that business.
I need to read this but the name Koufax caught my eye because my mom had a major crush on him and it made my dad jealous so I had to say something right away. Saved to read later!😊
I had no idea the three stooges were observant Jews! And as far as Dad being a Brooklyn Dodgers’ fan, I am not sure. The Mets had a huge hold on my three older brothers and they complained the Yankees were sore losers…. Or maybe it was the other way around.
I was born in March 1966. By the time I was old enough to see mom swooning over Koufax he was a sports announcer, I believe. I googled him and he is a very handsome 89 year old. I saw a pic from 2014 of him at the Baseball Writers’ Association. Still a good looking guy.
Have you seen the movie The Sandlot? A favorite of mine. I watch it when I am sad and I snap right out of it.
It’s so interesting. I never thought of Koufax as “handsome,” until you mentioned your mom’s crush on him. I literally looked him up and only then realized how handsome he was. I have not seen The Sandlot. Sounds good.
Thanks for asking about Independence Day. We just got back from a gathering of friends. We had a wonderful time. Tomorrow we are supposed to go to my daughter’s place in Jerusalem, but we’ve had some serious fires on the road to Jerusalem, so it is a question mark.
This weaving of baseball, Martha’s Vineyard, and the weight of legacy is pure alchemy. You’ve drawn lines between Sandy Koufax’s quiet dignity, the island’s seasonal rhythms, and the unspoken debts we carry across generations with such subtlety that the connections feel inevitable. A masterclass in finding the sacred in the seemingly unrelated.
Life's a series of near misses-- and even when it does miss, it has a strange way of circling back. "Thanks for the reminder."
Nice way of putting it.
If I could have a second home anywhere in the world, it would be Israel. But after that, Martha’s Vineyard. I have only been there once, to Edgartown but I wish I could go back.
The arc of your life was navigating intentionally from the Sea of Tranquility to the Eye of the Storm. What madness was instilled in you along the way? You weren't born with it like the rest of us. Maybe it started with the gentile's whaling spirit.
I was thinking about Martha's Vineyard recently, only because I remember Alan Dershowitz complaining a few years ago that after he started consorting with Donald Trump, he stopped getting invited to good parties on the Vineyard. One of the unwelcoming hosts was Larry David who recently penned an op ed in the Times comparing Trump to Hitler. Think about the kind of awful Jewish neighbors you might have if you had stayed there if you ever get too nostalgic.
Ahh, Alan Dershowitz. My mother told me that he bought two of those shirts, one for himself and one for his then Harvard colleague Henry Louis Gates Jr. I doubt if anyone is wearing those shirts on the Harvard campus nowadays. Also, word has it that Dersh was behind bringing Chabad to the Vineyard, you know, like the old joke, one shul on an island is not enough, you've got to have that second one in which you will never set foot.
Just so there's no confusion, Dersh wasn't the bad neighbor I was referring to. Larry David has made a career out of Jewish shtick, but when it comes to Israel, like many Jews in Hollywood he curbs his enthusiasm. Also if you didn't know, Henry Louis Gates saw what was coming from the Left and Harvard 30 years ago and warned about it.
I know, David. I have a vision of Dersh drinking coffee on the porch at the Chilmark store. Isn't he the prototype of "Zionism is beautiful. Prove me wrong?" btw, I did not know that about Gates.
http://www.raceandhistory.com/historicalviews/gates22.htm
Thanks for the link, David. Can you believe he wrote that in 1992? Did you read the "dissenting view" linked to at the end?
I spent a short week in a rented home in Edgartown while doing a summer internship in a white shoe law firm in Baltimore. There were sailboats docked in the water seen from the French-doored living room. Memorable because the following summer I was on my way to Israel with my kippah-clad husband who returned me to Judaism and it will be 45 years this summer in Jerusalem..
Go figure there was a shul on the island.
If you happened to eat an ice cream cone from the Ice Cream and Candy Bazaar right there next to the Edgartown Yacht Cub parking lot, you had a 50% chance of having it served by my mother, who was a founding partner in that business.
Beautiful, Ehud. One of your best.
Thanks Alan.
Loved the mapping of point A to point C. I had no idea where it was going, and you did it masterfully, as usual.
High praise! Thank you!
Beautiful. I was totally swept up.
Thank you Miriamnae.
A very enjoyable memoir.
Thanks Carl.
I need to read this but the name Koufax caught my eye because my mom had a major crush on him and it made my dad jealous so I had to say something right away. Saved to read later!😊
That's hilarious! Especially if your dad was a Dodgers' fan.
I had no idea the three stooges were observant Jews! And as far as Dad being a Brooklyn Dodgers’ fan, I am not sure. The Mets had a huge hold on my three older brothers and they complained the Yankees were sore losers…. Or maybe it was the other way around.
I was born in March 1966. By the time I was old enough to see mom swooning over Koufax he was a sports announcer, I believe. I googled him and he is a very handsome 89 year old. I saw a pic from 2014 of him at the Baseball Writers’ Association. Still a good looking guy.
Have you seen the movie The Sandlot? A favorite of mine. I watch it when I am sad and I snap right out of it.
How are Independence Day celebrations going?
It’s so interesting. I never thought of Koufax as “handsome,” until you mentioned your mom’s crush on him. I literally looked him up and only then realized how handsome he was. I have not seen The Sandlot. Sounds good.
Thanks for asking about Independence Day. We just got back from a gathering of friends. We had a wonderful time. Tomorrow we are supposed to go to my daughter’s place in Jerusalem, but we’ve had some serious fires on the road to Jerusalem, so it is a question mark.
I saw that about the fires in Jerusalem.
You must watch The Sandlot. Seriously.
You don’t say Chag Sameach for Independence Day, do you?
¡Viva Israel!🇮🇱
Yes I do say Chag Sameach. :)
Okay then!! Chag Sameach!! But “Viva La Independencia Israeli” sounds good too!
It’s a small , wonderful world.
Yes it is.
This weaving of baseball, Martha’s Vineyard, and the weight of legacy is pure alchemy. You’ve drawn lines between Sandy Koufax’s quiet dignity, the island’s seasonal rhythms, and the unspoken debts we carry across generations with such subtlety that the connections feel inevitable. A masterclass in finding the sacred in the seemingly unrelated.