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March 12, 1999/24 Adar 5759, Vol. 51, No. 24
Star balances basketball with Torah
GARY ROSENBLATT
New York Jewish Week
We all know the old joke about the New York kid in the 1930s who excitedly tells his grandfather, "Zaide, Babe Ruth just hit a home run."
And the grandfather replies, "Tell me, is it good for the Jews?" It's a classic because it speaks volumes about the Jewish immigrant experience in the early 20th century, the quest for assimilation into American culture and the underlying sense of paranoia that was prevalent among Jews in those days.
Now fast-forward to a recent Saturday night in Baltimore where 3,000 people have filled the gym of a local Catholic college to watch a high school basketball game between two small parochial schools. The capacity crowd is boisterous and there are dozens of media people on hand. The object of all this attention is No. 22 for the Talmudical Academy Thunder, a gawky, wiry redheaded junior named Tamir Goodman, who may well be the hottest high school star in the country.
Tamir, 17, a 6-foot-3, 155-pound point guard, is averaging close to 40 points a game and has announced his intention to play for the University of Maryland Terrapins (currently ranked in the Top 10 in Division I) after he graduates a year from June. What makes the story irresistible for local and national media is that Tamir is an Orthodox Jew who wears his colorful, knitted kipa on the court, and is committed to remaining observant, even if it means missing college games on Shabbat.
Tamir lived up to all the accolades the night I saw him play. He dominated the game, with his scoring and his pinpoint passes to sometimes-startled teammates. It was a most selfless performance.
After a close first half, the Thunder won by 30 points.
But the story behind the story is the Talmudical Academy administration's deep ambivalence about their star player. For all the media attention Tamir is getting as a gifted athlete, many of the rabbis are worried that their school will not be thought of as the serious yeshiva it seeks to be.
Talmudical Academy, which educates boys from kindergarten through high school, has had a problem keeping students beyond eighth grade. There are only about 70 in the high school; many boys leave to attend nearby Ner Israel Rabbinical College or go to yeshivas out of town. And then along comes Tamir, attracting scouts, not scholars, to the campus.
While many in the Orthodox community feel the young man's talents, and commitment to his faith, are a Kiddush HaShem, a sanctification of God's Name, and take pride in his serving as a role model for their own kids, others are less enthusiastic. "The school is concerned that it is giving the wrong impression to parents," said a leading Orthodox rabbi in Baltimore, who preferred to speak off the record. "T.A. wants its kids involved with learning, not basketball."
Some worry about all the pressure on Tamir, not only giving up his post-high school year of Talmud study in Israel, but also competing with the top athletes in the country while adhering to observant Judaism.
Meanwhile, T.A. is considering scaling down or even closing its varsity basketball program after Tamir graduates. The varsity program was dormant for a number of years, and until this season, the schedule was limited to about a dozen games. Some rabbis consider varsity sports bittul zman, or time wasted away from Torah study.
Whether one views Tamir as the personification of an observant Jewish success story - hoping to compete on the highest level of college sports without sacrificing his religious practices - or the failure of Orthodoxy to separate itself from the shallow allure of secular culture, depends on one's own views about the place of Jews, and Judaism, in American society.
So on the eve of the 21st century, the Zaide's question - is it good for the Jews? - remains.
Gary Rosenblatt is editor and publisher of The New York Jewish Week.
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