Alef: The NEXT Conversation

Diving into Judaism

By Nava Szwergold

Being Jewish and being an athlete are two of the many complicated identities I carry. Growing up, I was pretty sure I was Jewish and was equally certain that I wasn’t an athlete.  I went to Hebrew School (and occasionally synagogue), and could not run or jump and had pretty bad hand-eye coordination, so this dual-assessment seemed to make a lot of sense.  However, in regards to my athleticism, I neglected to consider my days spent at gymnastics practice, my near perfect splits and awesome back walkovers. If it ever entered my mind that this was an athletic talent, I would brush the thought away by looking at my body: bigger than any gymnast’s I knew, barely fitting into the largest size of competition leotards.

As I moved into high school and college my Jewish identity became more complicated. I was less and less comfortable in religious services but more and more drawn to Jewish communal activity.  Similarly, my athletic identity took on complications of its own as I transitioned from gymnastics to diving. My commitment to my college team required 5-6 days of practice a week – more time than I had committed to anything before. At the same time, the misunderstandings and misconceptions of diving led me to question again whether I was a real athlete doing a real sport. Ultimately, the scales tipped towards “yes” under the weight of the overwhelming camaraderie and community I felt on my team. We had an identity as a group that made it clear that every member of the group was important and undoubtedly an athlete.

I wasn’t able to continue diving after college, but quickly found my way into the world of aerial acrobatics. Existing somewhere in the space between dance, spectacle, and performance art, I would rarely refer to aerials as a sport. However, I have come to identify and value myself as an athlete who possesses strength, agility and grace, if not speed and height. Similarly, I have settled into myself as a secular Jew, someone who values Jewish culture and community without being particularly interested in the overtly religious aspects of Jewish life. For me there is an elegant parallel in the ways I have come to understand myself as both a Jew and an athlete. I don’t completely fit into the commonly conceived idea of either identity but have no doubt that I am both. I am an agnostic, slow Jewish athlete.

Photo provided by Boocal licensed under Creative Commons

Tags: Acrobatics, College, Diving, Sports

Posted by Rafi, Tuesday, January 19th, 2010, 6:19 pm, Jews and Sports.

2 Responses to “Diving into Judaism”

1. A Jewish athlete’s point of view » Kaplan’s Korner on Jews and Sports says:

   January 20, 2010 at 11:34 am

   [...] This comes from AlefNext, the Birthright Israel website. [...]
2. danielle says:

   February 2, 2010 at 11:30 pm

   i like your parallel here – you’re a non traditional athlete and a non traditional jew, and both contribute to your identity.