Alef: The NEXT Conversation

Alef Interviews: Tamir Goodman

When asked to name the most famous Jewish professional athletes in history, most respondents would likely toss out names like “Hank Greenberg” and “Sandy Koufax” without too much hesitation. Give them a few minutes more, and some people might even come up with “Kerri Strug” or “Mark Spitz.” But, over the last several years another name has begun to gain traction. From his native Maryland to basketball courts across Israel, an entire generation of sports fans is cheering on professional basketballer, Tamir Goodman: “The Jewish Jordan.”

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Goodman first attracted national attention after profiles in Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and 60 Minutes, and raised eyebrows after a series of high-profile college recruitment offers. Ultimately, Goodman decided to play college basketball for Towson University, and in 2002 made aliyah to play professionally in the Israeli basketball leagues for Maccabi Tel-Aviv, and then Maccabi Haifa. Goodman recently announced his retirement from professional basketball, and has been focusing on leading basketball clinics, workshops, and motivational seminars in the United States. Goodman is also one of the leading figures advocating for the Haifa Hoops for Kids program, which allows American donors to provide basketball tickets for underprivileged children in Israel.

Alef recently caught up with Tamir by phone, and talked to him about his life, his work, and what it’s like to be a Jewish sports hero:

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Thanks for talking to us Tamir. Tell us a little bit of what you’ve been up to.

I’m in the States, i’m on an extended speaking tour. We have a reality TV show, we have a campus initiative, we have basketball caps and clinics and tournaments around the world, and we’ve really been working hard on Haifa Hoops for Kids. Here in America I do motivational speaking at Zionist organizations, at Chabad, Hillel, Aish ha’Torah. And, we do it to connect to Israel and Judaism. And, there’s Haifa Hoops for Kids which is a tzadakah program that raises money and empowers underprivileged kids from the North. [of Israel] It’s a great way to connect to Israel because you get to meet with kids, and teach them the sport that you love, and you can do it all through basketball.

Some of our readers might not be so familiar with your story- Share a bit about how you got to where you are, today.

I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and my older brother played basketball, and was very good. He took me to the gym one day, and I kind of never left. I grew up in a house full of Jewish pride, where we were taught from day one that we needed to take our talents and use them for ha’Shem. I learned very young that my biggest talent was basketball, and my goal is to try to show the world that you could play basketball, play division 1, play professionally, and not play on Shabbat.

Tell us how it feels to be playing a sport largely invented by Jews. Do you feel like you’re a part of that tradition?

I know that there’s been a lot of great Jewish athletes, and I was raised to be a fan. I remember my father teaching me about Jewish athletes in ALL the sports. I remember, as a young kid, seeing them talk about Hanukkah on ESPN and thinking that was the coolest thing! I think everyone has their specific mission, and their special talent, and their own way, and for me it was being the best basketball player that I could be, and at the same time, not playing on Shabbat. I had the opportunity to play for the number one team in the word at the time, University of Maryland, they won the national championship. Let me put it this way – if I would have played on Shabbat, I would have a national championship ring today, but on the other hand, I have Shabbat today, and I don’t have a national championship ring, and to me that’s more important, because Shabbat will last forever.

You must meet a lot of aspiring Jewish athletes. Tell us about them.

Most recently I had an opportunity to speak with Dmitriy Salita, a Jewish champion boxer who doesn’t fight on Shabbat and I was very happy to hear that he saw everything that was going with me in the papers with Maryland and everything [Editor's note: Goodman refused to play for the University of Maryland's basketball team, as games took place on Friday night and Saturday, during Shabbat] and as a Jew it helped inspire him. On all levels, from elementary school kids, to professional boxers, to collegiate athletes I’ve been getting a lot of feedback and I hope my life story can help inspire them in one way or another.

How does it feel to be both an athlete as well as representative of the Jewish Community?

I think that’s what ha’Shem created me for, [and] I think Judaism teaches us that it’s really all one thing; that our job as Jews is to take something physical and make it holy. It’s not like when we play basketball we’re “not Jewish”, or that we’re only Jewish when we’re in synagogue. The way that we play basketball, the way that we work, the way that we eat, everything we do, there’s a Jewish way to do it. I’m not a Rabbi or a Sage. Obviously we’ve all made mistakes, and will make mistakes, and continue to make mistakes, and continually grow, but I’ve tried to make that my mission- that basketball and Judaism can be one thing. I love Judaism, but I feel a special connection, a closeness, with Jewish athletes. We understand each other and the things we go through.

-Alef

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Learn more about Tamir
Learn more about Haifa Hoops for Kids
Learn more about Maccabi Haifa

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