Faith & Values: Sharing joy reminds us we're part of something bigger

Rabbi David is a regular contributor to Faith & Values, a column in the Virginia Gazette. Here is his article published June 27, 2026.

As a native New Yorker, I have been a devoted fan of the New York Knicks for most

of my life. When they became NBA champions on June 13, it was the first time that had happened since I was 2 years old.

The fact that they finally won after 53 years of trying and failing to do so for such a long time has preoccupied my thoughts and feelings ever since.

As I’m sitting down to start writing this column on June 18, part of me is with the literally millions of people who are lining the streets of Manhattan for the Knicks championship parade. I am a bit sad to not be one of them. I am here in Williamsburg, in my home of 16 years, spending the day teaching Torah and joyfully preparing for a busy bar mitzvah weekend ahead. Yet part of me is somewhere along the parade route, along with my fellow Knicks fanatics.

Like generations of Knicks fans, I have spent a lifetime hoping, waiting and believing in them, and often being disappointed. And now, somehow, they have finally achieved the ultimate goal for a sports team.

Whenever I’ve stopped to reflect on it, I’ve been overwhelmed by realizing quite how much this championship run has meant to me. Part of it is pure sports fandom. I have always loved basketball, and I am someone who roots passionately for the teams I support. But what I fully realized during the playoffs was that the Knicks have been providing me with something more than entertainment. They’ve also been helping me stay connected — to my home, to my history and to people I love.

Throughout the playoffs, my phone seemed to come alive every game night, as I exchanged texts with 10 or 15 friends and family members throughout every game. Most of all, I texted with my cousin in New York. We have shared a love of basketball and the Knicks for as long as I can remember. During close games, every big shot, every unprecedented comeback and every nerve-racking final minute generated another flurry of messages.

The conversations were ostensibly about basketball. But they were also about something deeper. They were reminders of years of shared memories and shared experiences. The Knicks gave us a reason to connect, but what mattered most was the connection itself.

As I thought about those conversations, I found myself reflecting on two Jewish values: kehilla, or community, and simcha, or joy. Community is one of Judaism’s foundational ideas. Many Jewish prayers require a gathering of people. We celebrate, mourn, learn and support one another together — as a community.

Judaism recognizes that human beings flourish when we are connected to something larger than ourselves. Judaism is so aware of that fact that it requires that we do many of those things together with other people.

Judaism also teaches that joy is not only a private experience. Joy is meant to be shared — ideally, with a community. The Hebrew word simcha is often translated as “joy” or “happiness,” but in Jewish life it usually refers to something communal. We speak of making a wedding into a simcha. We gather family and friends to celebrate a milestone. Holidays are marked by meals shared around crowded tables. Even our blessings often invite us to recognize and celebrate life’s gifts in the company of others.

There is a reason for this. A private joy can be wonderful, but a shared joy becomes something larger. It creates bonds, it deepens relationships and it reminds us that we are part of a community of people who rejoice in one another’s happiness.

Watching the Knicks win the championship gave me a small but meaningful glimpse of that truth. I celebrated by texting people. I celebrated by calling people. I celebrated by reading messages from old friends and family members who were just as excited as I was. The championship itself was thrilling, but much of the joy of it came from experiencing it alongside other people who also felt that joy.

In a time when so many conversations focus on loneliness, division and isolation, I found something heartening in that experience. For a few weeks, people from different backgrounds, generations, professions and political viewpoints were united by a common hope. We were sharing a story together, and we were participating in a collective moment of joy.

No one would confuse rooting for a basketball team with belonging to a religious community. Yet, the emotions stirred by this championship reminded me of something Judaism has always known: there is deep joy in being a part of something larger than yourself.

Seeing the Knicks’ players holding the championship trophy has been amazing! But what I will remember most from this season are my conversations with friends and family, and my feelings of connection to New York City, and to the greater community of Knicks fans. I will always cherish what this experience truly brought up for me — the feeling of being vigorously and deeply connected to the people and places that helped make me who I am.

Today, the streets of New York are filled with revelry, and I’m sitting at my desk in Williamsburg. But thanks to a lifetime of loyalty, a smartphone full of messages and a community of fellow fans, I nonetheless feel connected to the millions of people standing on the streets, sharing in the simcha — the joy — that is unique to this particular kehilla, this community.

May we all get to experience this great blessing of life: to know that wherever our travels take us, we can be connected to communities that shape us, sustain us, celebrate with us and remind us that we belong.