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The Jewish Sport Report: Meet Harry Sheezel, who could be the ‘greatest ever male Jewish athlete in Australia’
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Good afternoon! It’s a big day for Jewish baseball players and fans.
The Chicago Cubs have called up top prospect Matt Mervis, a power-hitting first baseman who represented Israel in this year’s World Baseball Classic. Mervis, who hit 36 home runs in the minors last year, is making his MLB debut today.
Over in Atlanta, Braves ace Max Fried squares off against Dean Kremer and the Baltimore Orioles. I say the losing pitcher has to wear the winner’s jersey next time they go to synagogue.
According to the Jewish Baseball Museum’s Bob Wechsler, there have been four previous instances of Jewish opposing starting pitchers. Can you name any of the matchups? Email us at sports@jta.org with your answer! (Hint, it’s been a while).
A star in the making
Harry Sheezel celebrates with Melbourne Kangaroos fans at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, March 18, 2023. (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Harry Sheezel is on a path to greatness. The 18-year-old Jewish day school grad has quickly become a star in his first season in the Australian Football League, where he was drafted as the third overall pick last fall. (Australian rules football, or footy, is very different than American football.)
Sheezel is only the 11th Jew in the sport since 1897, and he’s not wasting any time. Since debuting in March, Sheezel has ranked in the AFL’s top 10 in disposals — a stat referring to legal touches of the football, which indicates how involved one is in a game. He set an all-time record for most disposals for a player in their first four professional games, with 127.
His team, the North Melbourne Kangaroos, already extended his contract. And he was nominated for the AFL Rising Star award.
“You don’t want to get too excited too early, but Harry has the potential to perhaps be our greatest-ever male Jewish athlete in Australia,” said Ashley Browne, an Australian sports journalist who wrote a book about Jewish Australian athletes called “People of the Boot.”
Read more about the Australian star right here.
Halftime report
WELCOME BACK. Jewish outfielder Harrison Bader returned to action this week after an oblique injury kept him out of the New York Yankees lineup for the first month of the season. In his first game back, the Gold Glove winner made an impressive diving catch. (Elsewhere, Philadelphia Phillies Jewish utilityman Dalton Guthrie was also recalled from the minors this week.)
CHOSEN ONES. The NHL began announcing its award finalists this week, and New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes is on the shortlist for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded for sportsmanship. Adam Fox is a finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy for best defenseman, which the New York Rangers standout won in 2021.
PLAY BALL. Philadelphia 76ers owners Josh and Marjorie Harris are supporting a basketball initiative for girls in Israel, in partnership with the organization The Equalizer. Harris, who has been involved with other Israeli sports projects in the past, is also in the process of purchasing the NFL’s Washington Commanders from embattled owner Dan Snyder.
KING OF KINGS. Domantas Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings’ playoff run came to an end, but the soon-to-be member of the tribe is poised to stick around his team for the long haul. “Domas is a huge part of what we do,” said Kings general manager Monte McNair. “We’re going to do all we can to keep him here and build around him.”
STAY GOLDEN, PONYBOY. Team Israel won the PONY 19U European Championship in baseball this week, earning a spot in this summer’s Palomino World Series in Texas. Israel beat the Stuttgart Reds 8-2 in the title game.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN HOCKEY…
Jack and Luke Hughes and the Devils face the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of the second round of the NHL playoffs tonight at 8 p.m. ET. Carolina leads 1-0, with Game 3 set for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Zach Hyman and the Edmonton Oilers are down 1-0 in the second round to the Vegas Golden Knights, with Game 2 tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET.
IN BASEBALL…
Max Fried vs. Dean Kremer, AKA the Jewish World Series, is tonight at 7:20 p.m. ET. Matt Mervis and the Chicago Cubs host the Miami Marlins this afternoon at 2:20 p.m. ET. On the West Coast, it’s a battle of Jewish sluggers as Joc Pederson and the San Francisco Giants take on Rowdy Tellez and the Milwaukee Brewers at 10:15 p.m. ET tonight.
IN GOLF…
Max Homa is at the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina this weekend. Homa won the tournament in 2019, his first PGA Tour victory, and again last year.
IN RACING…
After finishing in seventh place in last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll looks to continue his strong season in the Miami Grand Prix, Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Boxing Day came early
(Peter Frutkoff/NY Boxing Hall of Fame)
Dmitriy “Star of David” Salita, a Ukrainian-born former professional boxer-turned-promoter, was inducted into the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame last weekend. Salita told JTA in 2009 that boxing is one way he expresses his faith.
“God wants us to work hard,” he said. “While I wouldn’t recommend a rabbi’s son become a boxer, it fits in with my background. In my way, I’m spreading my Judaism.”
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The post The Jewish Sport Report: Meet Harry Sheezel, who could be the ‘greatest ever male Jewish athlete in Australia’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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NELLA MARGRITHE ESKIN NOVEMBER 14, 1946 – AUGUST 27, 2025
It is with great sorrow that the Eskin family reports the passing of Nella Margrithe Eskin, beloved wife and devoted partner of Michael Eskin, on August 27, 2025.
Nella, the only child of the late Kasiel and Rosa Kessler, Holocaust survivors, was born in a displaced persons camp in Fohrenwald, Germany, in 1946. The family first moved to Baltimore as refugees in 1949 before settling in Chicago, where Nella graduated from Roosevelt University with Bachelor of Science degree.
In 1969, she met Michael, and three months later they were married in Chicago in March 1970. They shared a wonderful marriage of over 55 years, during which they raised a family of four boys and created a home that was always full of song, food, guests and Yiddishkeit. Sadly, their eldest son, Katriel, passed away in 2015. Nella is survived by her other three sons, Josh, Ezra and Daniel, and their families as well as Katriel’s wife and family. She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother to her husband, sons, and ten grandchildren, and a loving daughter to her mother, Rosa, who passed away in 2020.
A lifelong scholar, she earned an MBA from the University of Manitoba in 1995. Nella was a very pious and learned woman who was also a wonderful artist, music lover, gardener and cook. She passed her love of music, art, storytelling and learning to her children, teaching each of them piano and instilling in them an enduring appreciation for the arts that continues to this day. She was an incredibly warm woman and made every gathering feel special, every guest feel valued, and every meal feel like a celebration of love and friendship.
She will be sorely missed by her husband, children, grandchildren, relatives in the UK, USA, Australia, and Israel, and many dear friends. Her kindness, curiosity, and love will live on in the many lives she touched. May her memory be
a blessing.
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VIDEO: Moishele Alfonso on the new book of I. L. Peretz stories for students
לכּבֿוד דער פּובליקאַציע פֿונעם ביכל „אויפֿן װעג: זיבן דערציילונגען פֿון י.־ל. פּרץ“ — אַ זאַמלונג ספּעציעל געמאַכט פֿאַר סטודענטן — קען מען איצט זען אַן אינטערוויו מיטן ייִדיש־לערער משהלע אַלפֿאָנסאָ, וואָס האָט פֿאַרקירצט און באַאַרבעט די דערציילונגען.
אין דעם אינטערוויו דערציילט אַלפֿאָנסאָ וועגן דעם פּראָצעס פֿון שאַפֿן דאָס ביכל, און לייענט געקליבענע אויסצוגן דערפֿון. דער אינטערוויו, געפֿירט פֿון אלי בענעדיקט, איז געשטיצט געוואָרן פֿון דער ייִדיש־ליגע, וואָס האָט אויך אַרויסגעגעבן דאָס לייענביכל.
דאָס נאָוואַטאָרישע ביכל גיט דעם לייענער אַ צוטריט צו קלאַסישע ייִדיש־דערציילונגען דורך אַ זײַט־בײַ־זײַטיקן גלאָסאַר, שמועס־פֿראַגעס און קלאַנג־רעקאָרדירונגען פֿון די מעשׂיות.
משהלע אַלפֿאָנסאָ איז אַ ייִדיש־לערער בײַם ייִדישן ביכער־צענטער זינט 2019. אין 2022 האָט ער, דורכן פֿאַרלאַג „אָלניאַנסקי־טעקסט“, טראַנסקריבירט און אַרויסגעגעבן יצחק באַשעוויסעס בוך „שׂונאים: די געשיכטע פֿון אַ ליבע“. דער ראָמאַן איז אַרויס אין המשכים אינעם פֿאָרווערטס אין 1966, און ס’איז דאָס ערשטע מאָל וואָס שׂונאים איז אַרויס אין בוכפֿאָרעם אויף ייִדיש.
דאָס ביכל קען מען באַשטעלן דאָ.
The post VIDEO: Moishele Alfonso on the new book of I. L. Peretz stories for students appeared first on The Forward.
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VIDEO: Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Light One Candle” — in Yiddish
If, like me, you enjoy listening to old recordings of the iconic folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, you may want to check this out: a new Yiddish version of their Hanukkah song “Light One Candle,” sung by another talented trio — Rabbi Avram, Elisha and Sarah Mlotek. (A transliteration of the lyrics appears beneath the video below.)
The three siblings are the grown children of Zalmen Mlotek, musician and director of the Yiddish National Theater Folksbiene, and his wife, Debbie Mlotek. Rabbi Avram is a writer, Elisha is a filmmaker and Sarah is studying music at a conservatory in Israel — and just became a mom.
Their singing is backed up by C. Joseph Lanzbom on guitar and Elisha on percussion.
The original song, which was written by Peter Yarrow, became an anthem for the Soviet Jewry movement in the 1980s, symbolizing their struggle for freedom. It was translated into Yiddish by the theater producer Moishe Rosenfeld and Avram Mlotek.
“‘Light One Candle’ was one of our Bubbe’s favorite songs every time we got together for a Hanukkah sing-along,” Avram said. Their Bubbe was the renowned scholar of Yiddish song, Chana Mlotek. For many years, she and her husband, the Yiddish cultural activist Yosl Mlotek, ran a column about Yiddish songs and poetry in the Forward.
Although Hanukkah is still a month away, Bubby Chana’s grandchildren had a meaningful reason for publishing it now: This week marks her yortzeit.
TRANSLITERATION
Eyn likht shaynt far di heldishe kinder
A dank vos dos likht geyt nit oys
Eyn likht shaynt far di payn un di laydn
Di sakone’z geven azoy groys
Eyn likht flakert far korbones un laydn
Az yoysher un frayhayt zol zayn
Eyn likhtl flakert far khokhme un visn
Far frayhayt un sholem zol zayn.
Lesht nit di likhtlekh oys!
Zey flakern shoyn doyres-lang
Lesht nit di likhtlekh oys!
Balaykhtn durkh undzer gezang!
Eyn likht flakert tsu gebn undz koyekh
Az eybik mir’n blaybn getray
Eyn likht flakert far mentshn vos laydn
Oykh mir zenen nisht geven fray
Eyn likhtl flakert far zise khaloymes
Tseteyln zol undz nisht der kas
Un eyn likhtl flakert tsu haltn tsuzamen
Mit sholem un mer nisht kayn has
Lesht nit di likhtlekh oys!
Zey flakern shoyn doyres-lang
Lesht nit di likhtlekh oys!
Balaykhtn durkh undzer gezang!
Vos iz di mayse vos iz azoy tayer
Vos lebt eybik in undzer flam?
Vos iz di shvue tsu fargangene doyres
Az es lebt undzer folk, undzer am?
Mir kumen, mir geyen, mir hofn, mir gloybn
Az yoysher vet vern der klal
Dos iz der viln, dos iz di shvue
A shenere velt iberal!
Lesht nit di likhtlekh oys!
Zey flakern shoyn doyres-lang
Lesht nit di likhtlekh oys!
Balaykhtn durkh undzer gezang!
The post VIDEO: Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Light One Candle” — in Yiddish appeared first on The Forward.