In 2003 when Reggie was in Israel with me on tour, he had asked me if I could find away to show him some of the ancient Hebrew manuscripts. I had asked Nehemiah Gordon to help me.
Today being Super Bowl Sunday I got this in an email:
Better Than the Super Bowl
As you sit down to watch the Super Bowl please take a few minutes to remember the late Football Hall-of-Famer Reggie White who led the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl victory in 1997. Reggie was arguably one of the best defensive players to ever live, but he also had a great passion for the word of God, a passion that earned him the nickname “Minister of Defense.” After retiring from football, Reggie wanted to learn to read the Bible in the original Hebrew and I was honored to have been his Hebrew teacher. In the Autumn of 2003, Reggie came over to Jerusalem and we went over to the Israel Museum where we saw the Aleppo Codex, the most important manuscript of the Old Testament. That same day we also went to Israel’s National Library where we looked at microfilms of Hebrew New Testament manuscripts. After seeing these important Hebrew documents, Reggie declared that day had been the best day of his life, even better than winning the Super Bowl, because it was an answer to prayer.
ESPN made two videos documenting the inspiring story of Reggie White’s spiritual journey. Excerpts of these videos can be viewed here:
Nehemia Gordon
Jerusalem, Israel