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Howard Cosell, the famous sportscaster, put it best when he said “sports are human life in microcosm.” Our lives are measured in years, while sports are generally measured in hours and minutes (sometimes milliseconds.) But the beauty of sports is that in a short amount of time they can teach us many valuable life lessons.

I want to take a look at the historic comeback win in American Football that took place in Miami, Florida less than one week ago as Patrick Mahomes, and the Kansas City Chiefs stunned their fans and over 102 million ppl who watched the Super Bowl. It wasn’t just the fact that Chiefs hadn’t won a title in 50 years. For most teams, earning just half the amount of points as the opposing team as they entered the fourth and final quarter of the game would have been enough for them to quit. Thanks for the memories, it was an honor to play, but we’re done here. Instead, the Chiefs scored 3 unanswered touchdowns, giving them a 21 point victory in place of their 10 point deficit. Mahomes, the young quarterback had a different attitude altogether, “I mean we never lost faith — that’s the biggest thing,” he said in an on-field interview immediately after clock ran out.

As religious people trying to lead a good life, we are often overcome and overwhelmed by our spiritual imperfections. We didn’t concentrate during tefila, we were feeling bad about a fight with a roommate, we forgot to say birkat hamazon, … It is easy to conclude that a religious life is just too difficult for us. “I’m done. I’m out. Not for me.” And so the Gemara tells us, “do not be wicked in your own eyes.” Don’t sell yourself short. Like Mahomes and his team, we need to be aware of our potential for greatness. We cannot let mistakes drive us to defeat.

This crazy outcome can also apply to situations that we do not have control over. In life, Gd may give us certain challenges that we suddenly find ourselves with, and through no fault of our own. For all those of us who face moments of despair and hopelessness, what happened this past Sunday should be recognized as an example of achieving what’s possible against all odds.

Parshat Beshalach, the Parsha we have been reading this week, and will read in its entirety on shabbat, describes a nation that has gone from a 210 year slavery  to  being a miraculously liberated nation. The Egyptian empire was at its cultural height, and the Jews were so tortured and downtrodden no one could possibly have predicted an outcome like Parshat Bishalach. In fact, when Hashem told Moshe about his plan to get Paraoh to liberate the Jews he was told to let the Jews know! Nobody was concerned that Paraoh would find out, because no one would have believed it! Neither the Egyptians nor the Jews would have predicted the miraculous end to their relationship. This first liberation in history, יציאת מצרים, was so quick, that their dough didn’t even have enough time to rise! The whole miraculous event took place with tremendous haste. Not only that, but fifty days later a people who had sunk down to the forty-ninth level of Egypt's impurity suddenly became fit for the Shekhina to rest upon them and to receive the Torah.
This unexpected transformation teaches us the same lesson we mentioned before. Just when the Jews were at their lowest point, and no one saw them going anywhere but down, Hashem swooped in and changed their fate.

We are also celebrating tu B’shvat- Chag L’ilanot. A day where we celebrate the trees and fruits of Israel in particular, but plants in general. Here in Israel the weather is starting to improve and we can begin to see the start of spring. Much of the northern hemisphere, however, is still buried under snow, with no sign of spring in sight!

What we are actually celebrating on Tu bshvat is the potential of the tree as the sap is beginning to rise and prepare for blooming. It’s just when the branches and bushes look like there is no hope that they will ever blossom again, that we celebrate the possibility. We may have low points in our lives, or in our football games, but it’s just when we least expect it, or even when it looks the most unlikely, that through both hard work and Hashem’s help, we can emerge as unlikely winners in an historical game.