What wasn't on display last night as a one word decision made by a 25 year old man commanded a one-hour long special on ESPN and the momentary attention of a good part of the news obsessed population? There was hype, advertising tie-ins, coverage of remote locations, an artificial looking gathering in a gym in Greenwich Connecticut and many strained attempts to make it all seem relevant and exciting. But what wasn't on display as superstar LeBron James revealed that he would be "taking [his] talents to South Beach" to play basketball for the Miami Heat, was humility.

I want to give the man the benefit of the doubt and say that the spectacle got the better of him and ate away at what had seemed before to be a fairly grounded and likable attitude in the face of stardom. But whatever the cause, the result was a cardboard cutout on which was allowed to be draped all the trappings of royalty -- the crown of being the preeminent player of the generation, the cloak of a marketing juggernaut and the title that now has become his trademark -- King James.

The episode recalls a conversation recorded in the Talmud between one of the Sages and the daughter of another King, the Caesar of Rome. The Sage, Yehoshua Ben Chanania was reproached for his ugliness by the beautiful princess. She mocked him asking why G-d would put such precious wisdom in such a lowly vessel. The Sage answered by inquiring where her father, the King kept his best wine. "In earthen vessels I suppose" she answered. "Why not gold?" responded Yehoshua Ben Chanania, "Surely your father could afford it?" "Of course he can!" said the princess and immediately went off to transfer the wine to the finest golden urns. The next day, all of the wine turned sour. In fact, the Talmud concludes, the Torah itself is compared with fine wine precisely to teach that it is best contained by those who make themselves humble like earthen vessels and not haughty like gold and silver.

For LeBron, he may or may not have the opportunity to learn the lesson taught by Yehoshua ben Chanania. Many athletes have thrived with big egos on big stages. However, the bitterness that infected the King's wine has already seeped into King James life. Those he spurned to go to Miami may well have been angry no matter what. However, it is hard not to see a connection between the aloofness of James' coronation and the sourness with which his choice has been greeted by many. After all, he is even leaving money on the table and forgoing a chance to be seen as the unadulterated center of attention. But without a sense of humility, Lebron seems locked in to situation where he will be given no sympathy and only massive achievement will be acceptable.

According to the Sages, Torah is compared not only to wine but to water because despite all its inherent power it flows to the lowest point. That's quite a different decision model than the one on display yesterday. Of course if Lebron had decided to go to the Knicks... well that's another story.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Michael