Inspiration as a Maccabi Baseball Commissioner

Brett Weil, Mini & Jr. Maccabi baseball parent in 2016-2018 and Baseball commissioner in 2018 and 2023, shares why he took his Maccabi commitment to the next level. 

Looking back on my upbringing as an assimilated Jew in Northern California where I played baseball throughout high school and American Legion, I could have greatly benefitted from the Maccabi tournaments had I only known about them. After UCLA, where I played club ultimate frisbee, my spiritual odyssey took me to Israel where I studied at Aish HaTorah yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem. I was activated to transform my own life and also embarked on a lifelong passion of inspiring Jews to live more thoughtful, spiritual and impactful lives through learning and sharing Jewish wisdom.

After getting married and starting to build a family, we settled in Baltimore, my wife Blumi’s hometown, where I started getting involved in sports coaching and organizing as soon as my kids were old enough. My boys tried out for Mini and Jr. Maccabi teams in 2016 and both made the teams. My kids teams’ have fared “okay” on the average but my favorite part of the Maccabi movement is the ideal of infusing the JCC Maccabi Middot (Jewish Values) into the Games and our lives. These are:

• Pride for Judaism גאווה
• Jewish Peoplehood עמיות יהודית
• Joy רינה
• Respect כבוד
• Bighearted לב טוב
• Tikkun Olam תיקון עולם

For the 2018 Games which were held in Baltimore, when I first served as Baseball Commissioner, I introduced a number of innovations designed to improve the player and fan experience such as having an interactive lunch program with an icebreaker so players could make a personal connection with the other Jewish baseball players. The program also included an appearance by WBC Team Israel’s General Manager and medical personnel who inspired the boys that they could one day play for the Blue & White. 

The program also featured a product sponsorship from Big League Chew, which had recently become kosher. Also, one of the parents sponsored and produced commemorative mini-bats for the tournament. Win or lose, the kids and parents left the tournament appreciative of the experience and onto the next leg of their Jewish journey.

The Mini & Jr. Maccabi games will be held in Baltimore starting at the Rosenbloom Owings Mills JCC on Sunday May 7. For information about upcoming tryouts and volunteer opportunities, please visit www.jcc.org/minijrmaccabi