Tebow done, but not Tebow-ing

TIME ran this piece about Jared Kleinstein, the Jewish creator of Tebowing.com, a social-network site that posts photos of people emulating the Christian player’s famous kneeling pose. According to the article, since Kleinstein launched the site some two-plus months ago, Tebowing.com “has logged 20 million page views, 2 million unique visitors, and 20,000 photographs submitted from all seven continents.”

So what’s a nice Jewish boy doing in a place like this?

Kleinstein and his partners are Jewish, and Kleinstein went to a Jewish day school known at the time as Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy for kindergarten through 12th grade, which gives rise to some questions about what a nice Jewish boy is doing operating a Web site promoting — and profiting from — a religious Christian.

“Even though Tim is Christian, it’s universal,” Kleinstein says. “It’s a way for Broncos fans to unite under a simple gesture….As a Jew, I wish there was somebody in the forefront of our community in sports that was so comfortable showing his religion.”

Showing his religion? That would be very cool, but I wonder how it would work. The closest thing I could think of as a Jewish gesture would be Mr. Spock’s “Vulcan salute.” Leonard Nimoy has often said he created it based on the priestly blessings.Unfortunately, it’s so ingrained in sci-fi/geek lore, its Jewish meaning would be overshadowed.

I fear anything else, such as the familiar back-and-forth davening motions, would be seen as mocking.

Suggestions?

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Kaplan’s Korner on Jews and Sports © 2012 New Jersey Jewish News

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