by Phil Jacobs, Editor, July 20, 2001

Amid the holiness and serenity of Congregation Tiferes Yisroel, right there in front of the ark containing the Torahs, the eternal light and the bookcases of commentaries where the heroes have names like Rashi and Rambam, an unlikely name came up last Wednesday.

It was Cal Ripken Jr.

Hardly a day had gone by since his legendary All-Star Game MVP appearance in Seattle. It was hard not to hear something wonderful said about the Baltimore Orioles third baseman from every media outlet across the land.

Yet, in this small corner of Baltimore, where Pinkney Road and Park Heights Avenue meet, Cal's name had a different meaning.

I wish there was some way to make Cal aware of what was said last week before about 350 people who came to hear Rabbi Seth Mandell speak. Rabbi Mandell, the former University of Maryland, College Park Hillel director, was there to talk about his 14-year-old son Koby, who was bludgeoned to death recently while checking out the caves near his home in Tekoa.

His parents left Maryland with a dream to live in Tekoa, a settlement in Israel. Yet on Koby's wall thousands of miles away from American soil and the importance we place on something such as baseball, Cal Ripken's poster hung.

Cal was, as Rabbi Mandell told us, "Koby's hero." He remembered how he and his son sat together and watched on television the memorable night Cal set his "Iron Man" record for consecutive games. He even wore the No. 8 on his baseball uniform for his team in Israel. Children all over Israel have had the 8 and Koby's name stitched on their uniforms since his death.

"He was a regular kid," said Rabbi Mandell. "He loved baseball. He loved Cal Ripken."

Rabbi Mandell was visiting Baltimore as well as a couple of other cities to talk to audiences about the Koby Foundation. This is an organization that will provide programming such as a summer camp for the siblings of Israeli children killed by acts of terror, disease or even auto accidents.

Because the foundation is just getting started, those who wish to donate may do say by writing checks to Tiferes Yisroel and indicating it is for the Koby Foundation.
"There was nothing in him that heard an idea like he should be like anyone else," his father said.

Koby was with his friend, Yossi Ishran, when the two were attacked and killed. Koby came from an Orthodox family; Yossi's family was secular Israeli. The 250 families living in Tekoa are pretty evenly divided between Orthodox and secular.

But there was an important point here made by Rabbi Mandell. The boys were killed because they were Jewish. This was a hate crime. Their killers didn't care if one wore a kippah or not.

"The boys were from different parts of the world," said Rabbi Mandell. "They were both Jews. They were Jews who took a walk in a canyon 500 yards from their homes. They were bludgeoned to death because they were Jews. If I was in the canyon, it would have been me. If you were in the canyon, it would have been you."
Rabbi Mandell related one of his favorite Koby moments. During his son's bar mitzvah, he caught a glimpse of his son dancing with his head tilted back, eyes closed facing the heavens. The rabbi said he could feel God's presence in his son at that moment. That moment was why he left Silver Spring and moved to Israel.
"I wanted my kids to experience a Judaism so deep and so real.

"He was painstakingly American with a little kippah on his head," continued Rabbi Mandell. "But he was a boy who became an Israeli."

Last Wednesday, after his speech, Rabbi Mandell led the davening at evening prayer services. When he started saying the Kaddish, the memorial prayer, it brought my prayer to a stop. I just watched him, wondering what this man wouldn't do to see his son dance again at a simchah.

What this man wouldn't do to relive that moment that he sat with Koby and watched Cal Ripken Jr. set a record.

Cal should only know what happened to one of his best fans.
They both loved baseball.
They both wore the No. 8.
Koby was killed, because he was a Jew, and becomes yet another tragic entry in Jewish history. Cal's career will be storied in baseball history.

Kids in the United States and kids in Israel have something more in common ... they all want to wear the 8.