Generally a team wants to figure out their edge, what they can use to their advantage, so that they will win their game. And in the first game between the Israeli Lacrosse Team vs. the Kenyan Lacrosse team, Israel won 13-4. They quickly realized their advantage, and then ensured it be fixed. It turns out that during that game the Israeli team noticed that the Kenyan players didn’t have cleats. So the night before their next game, the Israeli team went out and bought cleats for every single player. Their focus was on the needs of the players and ensuring that they, their competition, had what they needed to do their absolute best. Did it take away their advantage? Sure. But their real advantage was that they showed themselves, the Kenyan team and the world what it means to have care and empathy for another. To be other-centered. The Hebrew word for “empathy” is “rachmanut” and the root is “rechem” which is the “womb.” In pregnancy, there is another at our core, at our center. And that is what empathy is. And that is what the Israeli team beautifully exhibited. As one commenter on the video posted: “No one will remember the score, everyone will remember how this made them feel.”
