When I first thought about this site, I knew that I could figure out the content as I went along, but I also knew that I first needed a good domain name and a good blog title and tagline.
Baseballer Rebbe
domain name
The spiritual leaders of Hasidic sects are often referred to with the name of the sect before the title “rebbe,” as in the Slonimer Rebbe (one of my favorites, the author of Netivot Shalom), or the Piaseczno Rebbe (another of my favorites, a primary source of Jewish mindfulness). I’m not really a rebbe — but I did go to a neo-Hasidic rabbinical school! And so I claim baseball as my brand of Judaism.
If you Google “rebbe,” the images that appear are exclusively elderly, bearded white men. It’s not exactly the same, but my life’s work will have succeeded if images like the one to the left appear in a search for “rabbi.”
📸: Gili Getz
Ball-at Kriah
blog title
The word for a (female) Torah reader is ba’alat kriah (“master of the reading”). Reading from the sefer Torah on Shabbat morning is one of my most significant spiritual practices — and something I can no longer do as of March 2020. Since Hasisidic rebbes are often also known by their most famous work, I could also be known as the Ball-at Kriah.
📸: Cantor Vera Broekhuysen
Cat Alex Bregman
sidekick
Usually goes by “AB.” Likes: eating Churu treats, destroying houseplants, sitting in windowsills, jumping from fire escapes. Dislikes: Batting, fielding, playing catch, wearing hats. The resemblances to her namesake are slim.
📸: Rabbi Salem Pearce
Ball-at Kriah 