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Rabbi Menachem Mendel Levin of Satanov, z”l, wrote in Cheshbon ha-Nefesh (Accounting of the Soul) regarding diligence one should “[a]lways find something to do — for yourself or for a friend, and don’t allow a moment of your life to be wasted.” 

Rabbi Levin explains that diligence requires a person to strive to perfect one self and thereby fulfilling one’s potential as a human being.  I was fortunate enough to cover Dirk Graham for Stan Fischler and the Hockey News as a correspondent when Graham was the captain of the 1992-93 Chicago Blackhawks and Graham was referred to as the “guts of the club.”  My son Ariel astutely taught me about Graham’s remarkable barrier breaking accomplishments in a predominately white National Hockey League (NHL).

Dirk Graham personified the middah (measure or character trait) of diligence which propelled him up the ranks in the Chicago Blackhawks organization to become the first NHL captain of African descent and later the first NHL head coach of African descent.  Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz noted Dirk Graham played in playoff games with a broken knee cap and and center Jeff Shantz noted Graham’s intensity and the “will to win at all cost.”  Graham himself said Blackhawks hockey was “commitment to the team, commitment to your teammates.  Playing with heart, playing with desire.  Showing up every night.”

Graham clearly fulfilled his potential as both a captain, head coach, and a role model — transcending the sport of hockey by leading the way and offering hope for others to follow that they too can advance, succeed, and break down barriers, that they too maybe can become the first at something if one cultivates the trait of diligence.

What is something you want to accomplish in your life?   Maybe it is possible with hard work and “playing with heart, playing with desire” and “showing up every night” as Dirk Graham exemplified during his career.

Read more: Twenty years ago, the Chicago Blackhawks made Dirk Graham the NHL’s first black head coach from TheUndefeated.com

I have had the blessing of serving as an assistant coach for my son’s ice hockey team.  After one practice, the players huddled around the coaches on the ice and I asked the players to express one thing they were grateful for at that time.  One player shared he was grateful that his parents took to practice.  Another played shared he was grateful that he has an opportunity to play ice hockey since many children do not have such an opportunity.  It was a profound moment to share that space of expressing gratitude together and it only took a few minutes!  Maybe try expressing gratitude by sharing a few kind words or deeds today with our partner, children, loved one, friend, co-worker or even a stranger.

One summer I coached the Camp Ramah in the Berkshires floor hockey team in a local summer hockey tournament in upstate New York, where Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Camp and Surprise Lake Camp also competed in the tournament.  It was exciting on many levels.  First, our team enjoyed getting on the bus and leaving camp for a day to participate in the tournament.  Second, it is a great experience to represent your camp, compete and see another camp.  Third, I was moved by the zerizut or enthusiasm of one particular player on my team, who did not even sign up for hockey before the tournament and was given permission after he passionately advocated for himself to join hockey.  If that were not enough, at the tournament this player further exhibited his incredible enthusiasm when he was the first to volunteer to be goalie when our goalie was injured, even though I do not think he ever played goalie.  Imagine striving to channel that kind of enthusiasm for something we really wanted to accomplish or try!

I have had the blessing of creating and teaching during summers at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, a unique experiential learning activity of hockey and mussar character development, as part of the sports staff.  I was inspired by mentor and coach Spencer Rockman who so beautifully shared with my children and countless others, including adults, both soccer and middot or character traits.  In a similar vein, I strive to incorporate different character traits into the actual hockey game, so as we are running around playing hockey at camp, I simultaneously call out the trait of “humility,” for example, and how always shooting the puck on net ourselves and ignoring our open teammate is too much ego, whereas always passing to others and giving up an clear shot on the net is too little ego.  We strive for the balanced combination of both shooting and passing.  Hopefully we are planting seeds that as we strive for balance of various character traits during the hockey game – these character traits illustrated in the context of a hockey game also represent a microcosm of the same practical skills and balancing of character traits necessary for life.

How did the idea for Torah Nuggets on Ice short video teachings begin?  The Jewish tradition explains that there are 70 faces of Torah (Bamidbar Rabbah 13, 15) which for me means that there are a vast number of creative ways to teach Torah, a vast number of creative ways to share the myriad of branches of Torah teachings that inspire and nourish us if we only reach for them and hold on.  I covered the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Chicago Blackhawks in 1992-93, where Mike Keenan was the coach, and Chris Chelios, Jeremy Roenick, Ed Belfour, and Stu Grimson some of the notable players on the team.   I attended approximately 40 home games as a member of the press for Hockey Maven/journalist/author Stan Fischler and the Hockey News when I was an undergraduate at Northwestern University.  Torah Nuggets on Ice combine my passion for Torah learning and ice hockey and God willing perhaps people are more receptive to hearing the message precisely because they are short “nuggets” of Torah teachings delivered in a unique, fun, and memorable way.

Visit my “Videos” page to watch!