High school sprinter Oliver Ferber put Shabbos in first place

Photos: Elchanan Kotler, Family archives

Every American Jew of a certain age remembers the decision of Sandy Koufax not to pitch the opening game of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. That decision filled Jews across the country with pride, and caused many to ask themselves whether they, too, should make some sacrifices for their Judaism. At a time when most American Jews still sought to maintain a low profile, Koufax openly proclaimed his Jewish identity.

The Maryland state cross-country championship for smaller, independent schools does not exactly occupy the same spot on the American sports calendar as the World Series. And Oliver Ferber, the third or fourth best runner on the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School (JDS) cross-country team, cannot claim a position in the pantheon of great Jewish athletes comparable to that of Sandy Koufax, generally considered the greatest baseball pitcher of all time.

Yet in at least one respect, Oliver’s decision not to run in the aforementioned state championship race, because it took place on Shabbos, conveyed an even more powerful educational message to American Jewry than that of Koufax. In 1965, most American Jews still observed Yom Kippur in some fashion, and were well aware that playing baseball and Yom Kippur did not mix.

Today, few non-Orthodox American Jews have any idea of what Shabbos is. They go about their normal activities on Saturday just as they would on any other day of the week. The idea that a Jewish high school junior might pass up athletic glory because of something called Shabbos is barely comprehensible to the vast majority of American Jews.

Yet Oliver Ferber did precisely that in November 2021 when he declined to run in the Maryland state cross-country championship for small private schools — which his school Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School (JDS) was favored to win — because the race fell on Shabbos. He made that decision on his own, with almost no outside support. What made a 16-year-old student at a pluralistic Jewish school choose to go against the grain of his familial upbringing and education?