TAMPA BAY, FL — As halftime descended on the nail-biter of a game that was Super Bowl XLIII, Farley Weiss, an attorney who had traveled across the country to watch his beloved Arizona Cardinals face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers, took position outside of Section 236 at Tampa Bay, Fla.’s Raymond James Stadium with one thing in mind: It was time for the evening prayer service.
Visitors Came for the Super Bowl, Stayed for Shabbat
TAMPA BAY, FL — As halftime descended on the nail-biter of a game that was Super Bowl XLIII, Farley Weiss, an attorney who had traveled across the country to watch his beloved Arizona Cardinals face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers, took position outside of Section 236 at Tampa Bay, Fla.’s Raymond James Stadium with one thing in mind: It was time for the evening prayer service.
Soon, more and more Jewish fans made their way to the same spot, directed there by Rabbi Mendy Dubrowski, co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of South Tampa, who coordinated kosher food deliveries, prayer services, classes and Shabbat hospitality for scores of visitors this past weekend.
Prior to the game – which the Steelers won, 27-23 – Dubrowski welcomed fans of all stripes from a table he set up in the tailgating section outside the stadium. He handed out educational pamphlets and invited Jewish men to don tefillin.
He went beyond the call of duty to help us out,” said Weiss, who serves as president of his local synagogue, Young Israel of Phoenix. “Chabad was very helpful, just like they are all over the world.”
On the Friday night before the big game, Diane Shapiro, a resident of Pittsburgh’s Fox Chapel neighborhood, was also looking for a prayer service. She turned to Chabad of New Tampa, a new center opened just eight months ago by Rabbi Menachem and Chana Yarmush, which guaranteed that the necessary quorum of 10 men would be there so that her husband could say the mourner’s prayer known as Kaddish.
The couple stayed longer than expected.
