Noah Gross

Noah Gross, 17, reluctantly quit his high school football team since it conflicted with religious activities.
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"I was sitting in synagogue, and I was wondering what part of practice they were in -- special teams or offense," recalled Noah, now a 17-year-old senior, thinking back to his sophomore year.

After attending private Jewish schools his entire life, the 6-foot-2-inch, 230-pounder seemed a natural fit for football at his first public school, but missing High Holiday services was out of the question, so his team practiced on without him.
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Back when Gross played for the Council Rock North football team -- which scheduled games on Friday nights -- the commitment became too much of an interference with his religious practices, so he eventually quit the team.

"It wasn't worth it in the end.I wasn't going to give up Shabbat dinner with my family," said Gross, who now throws a shot put for track because the schedule's more conducive to his religious lifestyle.

At Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley, education director Rabbi Nogah Sherman tries to relay to her Hebrew-school students the importance of breaking other commitments to attend holiday services and family parties.