When Simchat Torah fell on the same night the Giants were playing the St. Louis Cardinals in the decisive Game 5 of the National League Championship Series last week, Congregation Emanu-El came up with a plan.
“It was a strange confluence of events, so we decided to maximize Torah and Giants fans,” said Rabbi Sydney Mintz. “We made a rabbinic decision to make it ‘Simchat Giants.’ ”
A Giants’ viewing party with pizza and salad quickly was organized for the 5:07 p.m. start of the Oct. 16 game, plus there were two Simchat Torah services — a 6 p.m. family service and a later young adults event — that together drew upward of 300 people to the San Francisco synagogue. The way things worked out, a lot of people got to see the final moments of the Giants’ dramatic 6-3 victory.
Travis Ishikawa’s winning home run came at 8:10 p.m., not long after the family service ended and a bit before the young adults event started. The photo above was taken just before the homer — perhaps the most enjoyable blast experienced at Emanu-El since the shofar sounded on Rosh Hashanah. — j. staff