Aug. 10, 2020

Tiki Barber on Deuteronomy 10:12 – "What God Asks of You"

Mark’s guest today is his great friend and NFL legend, TIki Barber. During his career with the New York Giants, Tiki’s many accomplishments included being a 3-time All Pro, leading the league twice in yards from scrimmage, and setting dozens of Giants franchise records. Since retiring from football, Tiki has moved into broadcasting with NBC, BBC, and now CBS, and has become a great entrepreneur with several businesses and non-profit ventures to his credit. The passage he has chosen today is Deuteronomy 10:12.

Tiki begins the discussion by describing his introduction to Shimon Peres, where his love of Judaism originated, and his reasons for selecting this passage. He and Mark then embark on a thorough analysis of the passage and the significance of certain words within it, and Mark shares his advice for those who find themselves lost. Mark also explains the difference between the Torah and the Talmud and the purpose of the Torah. Tiki then shares the lessons he has learned about mankind and about success and failure during his career in football, his perspective on the psychology of a sports fan, and how he escaped fear. Today’s episode is one which demonstrates brilliantly the shared love of the Torah and Bible that these two very good friends hold, and provides yet another glowing example of just how relevant these sacred texts are to our lives today.

Episode Highlights:

  • Tiki’s introduction to Shimon Peres
  • Where his love of Judaism originated
  • Tiki’s reasons for selecting this passage
  • The significance of the words ‘only’, ‘walk’, and ‘today’ in this passage
  • Advice for those who are lost
  • The difference between the Torah and the Talmud and the purpose of the Torah
  • The lessons about mankind and success and failure which Tiki has learned in his NFL career
  • The psychology of a sports fan
  • How Tiki managed fear

Quotes:

“This is the greatest commandment, I think, of all in the Bible, which is honor God, and obey Him and fear Him above anyone else.”

“We’re going to make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be whole again.”

“There’s no notion, really, of ever being lost from God.”

“It’s the constancy that matters.”

“Whenever we open it up, it’s there to help us today for our own good.”

“Would you believe that the words you spoke are being studied and lived thousands of years later?”

“This may be the seminal passage of the Torah.”

“Failure’s going to happen, and if you dwell on it, you’re just going to create a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure, so you have to stay confident and positive at all times.”

“It’s this preparedness that allows you to trust in real time…it is earned confidence.”

Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God demand of you? Only this: to revere the LORD your God, to walk only in His paths, to love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and soul, https://www.sefaria.org/Deuteronomy.10.12?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

Links:

The Rabbi’s Husband homepage: http://therabbishusband.com/

Mark’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/markgerson?lang=en

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