The San Francisco Giants’ Jewish Heritage Night was a swing and a hit Tuesday night, as hundreds of Jewish community members came to Oracle Park to cheer on the home team, grab a slice of latke vodka pizza and hear a shofar.
There was also the hope of watching a challah launcher in action, but sadly it didn’t rise to the occasion. Neither did the Giants.
The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Giants 9-3. Yet the energy in the stadium was high as Bay Area Jews celebrated community and enjoyed the game.
Jewish Heritage Night ticket holders were able to pick up jerseys that spelled “Giant” on the front in Hebrish — Hebrew letters that spell English words — and read “l’chaim” in transliteration across the back above an “18,” a symbolic reference to “life” in Hebrew.
The night began with a pre-game interview on the field with Jon Fried, a volunteer from Chabad of SF’s Giving Kitchen, which offers emergency assistance to people in need. Giving Kitchen was the beneficiary of the night’s proceeds.
Rikud by the Bay, which offers Israeli folk dancing classes in the Bay Area, took to the field to move to the music.
After their performance, local kid Yuto Harper threw the honorary first pitch. And Sarah Levin, CEO of Bay Area-based JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, threw the ceremonial first pitch.
Local violinist Dick Bright, who has performed at Bay Area sports events for over 30 years and at Shabbat services at Congregation Emanu-El in S.F., played both the Canadian and American national anthems in honor of the two teams.
Finally, to start the game, summer campers with Jewish Silicon Valley’s Camp Shalom led the “play ball!” announcement.
With them was Chabad Rabbi Yosef Langer, also known as the “Rally Rabbi,” who blew a shofar as they yelled.
During the fifth inning, Value Culture, a nonprofit that helped organize Jewish Heritage Night, was scheduled to unveil its challah launcher. (Think of a T-shirt launcher that apparently shoots out challahs instead of shirts.) However, according to Value Culture founder Adam Swig, a technical difficulty sabotaged its debut.
Pizza shop Tony’s Slice House sold latke vodka pizza during the game. The pizza, advertised as the Jewish Heritage Night concessions item, sold out less than halfway through the game. J.’s reporter was too late to snag one, but it was worth a shot.