The Patriots just won Superbowl LIII and the Superbowl MVP was named Julian Edelman. Edelman is a Jew from the Bay Area who came on a special visit to Israel a few years back to connect with his Jewish heritage. By the looks of it, he had an amazing time!
Jewish Identity & Israel
Edelman did not grow up Jewish. While his father is Jewish, his mother is not Jewish. However, he has said in the past that he celebrates the Jewish holiday of Channukah. However, as his recent social media activity show clearly, Edelman has readily embraced his Jewish heritage, with some Jewish themed posts on his Twitter account, wearing an Israeli pin during one of his games and of course, his trip to Israel. We happily welcome him to the tribe and hope he inspires other American Jews to embrace their Jewish heritage, strive to deepen their Jewish identity and their connection to our ancestral homeland Israel.
Superbowl MVP
Even though Superbowl LIII was a battle between the defenses, with one of the lowest scoring Superbowls ever, Edelman caught 10 passes for 141 yards, with eight going for first downs. Edelman also had one carry for 8 yards showing off his versatility.
In one of the interviews after the win, Edelman was asked how is it that both he and Brady are such clutch players. Edelman’s was answer was simple “maybe it’s because we are both quarterbacks”. Edelman was a quarterback back in college even though he was drafted to the Patriots as a Wide Receiver, a position he never played in College, but has proven to excel at.
Edelman beat out defensive teammates
“He deserves it,” Brady told CBS’ Jim Nantz in the postgame ceremony. “That was one of the best games he’s ever played.”
Edelman now ranks second all-time in playoff receiving yards with 1,412. Only Jerry Rice, with 2,245, has more.
“Sometimes the cookie crumbles that way,” Edelman said of winning the MVP. “. . .It just matters that we won, man. It was a crazy year.”
