For LI's observant Jews, Knicks tipoff time Friday conflicts with the Sabbath

New York Knicks fans have waited 53 long years for their team to win an NBA title. 

For observant Jews living in the New York and Long Island region, that patience and perseverance will prove valuable Friday night as their TVs, sports apps and score alerts get shut down shortly after 8 p.m. for the start of the Sabbath — only minutes before the start of Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

And unfortunately, according to Long Island rabbis, there are no exceptions, not even for the most spiritual of Knicks fans who pray each night for the health of star point guard Jalen Brunson.

Rabbi Anchelle Perl, of the Chabad of Mineola, says many things in life are more painful than missing an NBA Finals game, a harsh lesson that Knicks fans, who have witnessed decades of futility before their current run of success, learned repeatedly over the years.

"The truth is that for a Shabbat-observant Jew, there are no 'NBA Finals loopholes,'" said Perl, who is planning a Knicks-focused Saturday morning sermon. "If the game tips off Friday night, the television stays off. The phone stays off. The sports apps stay off. No score alerts. No texts from friends, and certainly no 'just checking one possession.' "

Many observant Jews, Perl said, will go to great lengths not to learn the score until after Shabbat, which comes after sundown Saturday night.

"Some will avoid conversations with neighbors. Others will politely tell guests, 'please don’t tell me who won,' " he said. "A few brave souls will record the game before Shabbat and watch it after Havdalah [the ritual that ends the Sabbath] as if it were live."

Keeping faith

The harsh truths for observant Jews who bleed blue and orange doesn't end on Friday night.

If the series goes to a deciding seventh game — heaven forbid for those expecting a sweep for the Knicks, who won Game 1 by 10 points — it would be held on Friday night June 19.

Scott Taub, 44, a real estate broker from North Woodmere, is a die-hard Knicks fans who flew to Cleveland with his wife and children for game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. He's also an observant Jew who will be in synagogue at Young Israel of North Woodmere for the start of Game 2 on Friday night.

So Taub, admittedly a bit conflicted, settled on a compromise. He installed a wifi-connected device known as Glance LED, which displays a customized ticker of live updates, in this case on the Knicks game, on a TV that is shut off and not in use.

"You're just glancing, you're not sitting and watching the game," Taub said, adding that knowing the final outcome will help him better enjoy the Sabbath. "So that's my comfort level ... If they lose or win, I don't have to think about it for the rest of the Sabbath."

Anticipation

Rabbi Joel Levenson, of the Midway Jewish Center in Hicksville, said Jewish tradition had always understood that anticipation could be part of the enjoyment.

"A Shabbat-observant Knicks fan might spend Friday afternoon discussing lineups, predictions, and strategy, then spend Shabbat with family, prayer, meals, and community, knowing the result will still be there after Havdalah," Levenson said. "In fact, Judaism has long taught that not every experience needs to be immediate. One of the gifts of Shabbat is the discipline of waiting. We live in a culture of constant updates, alerts, and instant reactions. Shabbat asks us to step back from all of that."

And for those nonobservant Jews planning to attend Friday night services but still hoping to be in front of the TV before the 8:30 p.m. tipoff, there's more bad news coming.

"Most synagogues determine Friday night service times based on the needs of the community and the rhythms of Shabbat, not the sports calendar," Levenson said. "Rabbis are fans too, but the Knicks don’t set the liturgical schedule."

But the rabbi offered some practical guidance for Knicks fans struggling to keep the faith.

"As a lifelong Jewish optimist — and perhaps as a Knicks optimist as well — I would note that waiting has always been part of our spiritual training," Levenson said. "Jews have spent centuries praying, hoping, and believing that redemption is possible. Knicks fans may find that skill surprisingly transferable."

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.