A local highlight of Superbowl50 was the @deathwishcoffee commercial. This local small business is based in Saratoga Springs, run by a UAlbany alumni. They won a Quickbooks competition for a Superbowl spot, and these rarified seconds propelled them into the national limelight. Good for them!

Here’s the Death Wish Coffee Viking clip in case you missed it – or see it on YouTube.

As the Baal Shem Tov taught us, we’re supposed to seek and find meaningful Jewish and life messages in all that we encounter. Death Wish Coffee, of course, is no different. While this is no endorsement of this “fiercely caffeinated” gourmet coffee blend, it is a great ad and there’s much we can connect with, whether we drink coffee (or this type of coffee) or not.

LCHAIM!
The very first thing that comes to mind is the classic Jewish toast (and name of our student group) L’CHAIM! which means TO LIFE! While Jews have had much unfortunate experience with death in our long history, we value, cherish and celebrate – and drink to – life!

DRINKING HISTORY
I think its pretty cool how the guy drinks history, all that turbulent vibrancy, passionate energy, yearning and discovery, all inside a cup, downing it all in one gulp. As Jews, we’re supposed to drink thirstily of our past; absorbing, internalizing and digesting. Especially at the Passover Seder, each cup is brimming with symbolism, history figuratively flows inside each of the four cups. And so it is with every Kiddush, and every Jewish toast.

ULTIMATE SACRIFICE INTO EVERYDAY LIVING
The ad recalls for me Tanya 25 (which on the heels of Tanya chapter 18) asks of us, “If you would be ready to die for Judaism, why not live with it!?” Turn that tremendous sense of self-sacrifice, the ultimate commitment into ongoing day-to-day life-affirming dedication. Or as the ad shows: transform that die-hard Viking ferocity into a bold part of your daily life or better yet, making your day bolder.

FIERCE CAN STILL BE COOL
And the ad’s ending helps make fierce cool again. We’ve become a kinder, gentler people, and in many ways that’s a really good thing. But fierceness or ferocity has its place, and we ought to utilize it in a positively channeled focus.

I don’t know if Death Wish Coffee is Kosher, or if it needs to be certified or not, but its short message at #SB50 is full of depth, that’s for sure.