Tefillin at the Tailgate

As 90,000 fans descend on Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara for this year’s Super Bowl, Chabad is welcoming hundreds of Jewish visitors with kosher food, prayer services, and mitzvah opportunities throughout the weekend.

Chabad of Santa Clara, led by Rabbi Yigal and Elana Rosenberg, opened the weekend with a football-themed Friday night Shabbat dinner for more than 100 guests. On Super Bowl Sunday, the community will host a Jewish tailgate featuring prayer services and a kosher BBQ—complete with wings, burgers, steaks, and beer—before shuttling attendees to the stadium.

Rabbi Rosenberg says he is inspired to bring Jewish pride to football fans by the example of his father, Rabbi Yosef Rosenberg. The elder Rosenberg was Chabad rep on campus at the University of Pittsburgh and at Carnegie Mellon University. His public menorah became part of the Supreme Court case that ultimately set the precedent for public menorahs nationwide, and inspired his children to continue that legacy of proud Judaism.

Chabad of San Francisco will bring their iconic “Mitzvah Cable Car” to the neighborhood, where it will serve as a roving spot for fans to stop for a mitzvah and a kosher bite. The Mitzvah Cable Car was created by Rabbi Yosef Langer, who directs Chabad of San Francisco, as a way to inject Bay Area culture with Yiddishkeit. 

Jewish fans donning tefillin at Chabad’s Super Bowl tailgate party join many thousands who have done so at NFL games across the country. Chabad centers from Baltimore to Miami and from Chicago to Pittsburgh are on site at stadiums and parking lots across the country.

East Rutherford, New Jersey

New York City boasts the largest concentration of Jews in the United States. MetLife Stadium in nearby East Rutherford, New Jersey hosts two NFL teams — the Giants and the Jets — which means that there’s a home game being played there just about every week during the football season. And every week, a Jewish tailgate, complete with kosher grilled fare and a football-inspired Mitzvah Tank greets the many Jewish season ticket holders and visiting fans.

Rabbi Ephraim Balter of Chabad of South Bergen County and The Meadowlands saw an opportunity for Jewish connection in the raucous tailgate parties that surround MetLife Stadium each Sunday during the NFL season. “There are a lot of positive lessons you can take from football fans at the tailgate,” Balter said. “The passion they have, the energy. I felt that energy could be directed towards Jewish pride and mitzvot.” 

Balter began setting up a small stand with tefillin and kosher food at tailgate parties, and as interest grew, Chabad expanded their weekly efforts. Chabad of the Meadowlands purchased and outfitted a custom, football-themed Mitzvah Tank, complete with a turf floor and graphics reading, “Be an MVP. Do a Mitzvah.”

Each week, Chabad sets up a grill outside the Mitzvah Tank, serving up kosher tailgate favorites, wrapping Tefillin, and sharing Shabbat candles with Jewish fans. 

For some, the Mitzvah Tank has become their only connection to Jewish life. One Sunday, one of the regulars approached Rabbi Balter with a request. “Rabbi, could you say Kaddish?” Several days earlier, the man’s father had passed away. Before he died, he asked his son whether he’d say Kaddish for him. “Dad, you know me, I’m not much of a shul-goer,” he had said. “But I’ll go to my favorite shul—outside MetLife Stadium—and I’ll say Kaddish for you there.” And he did.

Miami, Florida

Chabad at the Stadium — a division of Chabad of Miami Gardens — pulls up to Miami Dolphins home games with a kosher food truck, a Tefillin stand, and lots of Jewish pride and energy at the Dolphins Fan Zone outside Hard Rock Stadium. Directed by Rabbi Yaakov Menaker, who is assisted by other local Chabad reps, Chabad at the Stadium throws BBQs, has presented Jewish Heritage Nights, and brings mitzvah opportunities to hundreds of Jewish fans throughout the football season.

Baltimore, Maryland

In Lot G outside of M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, Chabad’s tailgate party has become a fixture. Jewish fans enjoy kosher hot dogs, burgers, wings and cookies—all free of charge. Dozens line up to put on Tefillin and receive Shabbat candles. Chabad’s tailgate is easy to spot, festooned with banners. Chabad volunteers also connect fans from across the country to their Chabad reps back home, helping ensure that their encounter at a Ravens game can translate into more opportunities for Jewish connection.

Rabbis Yaakov Kaplan and Shloime Fuchs brought The Jewish Tailgate to Baltimore Ravens games this year. Rabbi Kaplan, of Chabad SoBo (South Baltimore) arranges for the parking spot and brings kosher food, while Rabbi Fuchs brings the Mitzvah Tank and volunteers under the aegis of Chabad-Lubavitch of Maryland. 

Pittsburgh, PA

When the Pittsburgh Steelers took on the Bills this past fall, Chabad of the South Hills threw a kosher tailgate, sharing burgers and mitzvahs with fans. With the NFL Draft set to take place in Pittsburgh this April, Chabad will once again offer Jewish resources for fans and visitors in attendance.

Chicago, IL

As the Bears enjoyed a division-Championship-winning season, Rabbi Mordy Gershon of Chabad of the South Loop brought opportunities for Jewish fans to engage with their Judaism. Chabad put on a Jewish heritage event complete with a football menorah during Chanukah. During the Playoffs, a Mitzvah Tank parked outside Soldier Field gave fans the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and do a Mitzvah in honor of their favorite team.