By Peter Young
When I found out we were going to a basketball game here in Jerusalem I was very excited. I love to watch the game (I'm a big Lakers fan as a native to Los Angeles) and I had been to a game in Tel Aviv before. The atmosphere of Israeli professional sports is very different than in the states. The fans are crazy. They are loud and proud with huge drums, flags and cheers that never cease. I knew what to expect going in to the basketball game, but then I was told we were going to meet Tamir Goodman. Who is Tamir Goodman? "The Jewish Jordan"? Was he really that good at basketball? Is he religious or more of a secular Jew? What could he have to talk to us about? I had no Idea what to expect, but I was very pleasantly surprised.
We arrived at the arena early, about an hour before the game. We were greeted by a man about the same height as me with red hair and a kippah on. He did not look overwhelmingly athletic or big, not what I would expect from "The Jewish Jordan." We were escorted through the basement of the arena past the locker rooms and into the press room. Several of the fellows (including myself) got a cheap thrill from the thought of sitting where the players and coaches sit after a big game. We sat down and before long we were enthralled with Tamir Goodman. Tamir did something very simple for us, he told us his story. Tamir grew up a religious boy in Baltimore who just could not play too much basketball, he played and played until somebody forced him to go home and then he would play in his driveway. Tamir had a drive within him to do what he loved and be the best he could like so many before him. Something that stuck with me though was his perception that God had put him on Earth to play basketball. While I might not see how basketball could serve a spiritual purpose, Tamir saw it almost as a responsibility to God to play basketball. When Tamir finished high school he was one of the most highly recruited players in the country and got offered a scholarship to play at Maryland which had one of the best programs in the NCAA. However, Tamir gave up his scholarship because he was not willing to play on Shabbat.
Tamir taught me a lot about commitment and priorities. Even though Tamir loved basketball, he felt that he had a higher purpose and his connection to his faith was more important and found a way to do both by going to a smaller school who would let him miss games and practices on Shabbat. Tamir had very clear priorities and was very committed to everything within that list of priorities. After a tough college career at Towson University, Tamir was given the opportunity to play professional basketball, just not where he had expected. Tamir made his way to Tel Aviv. Tamir made the most of the cards he was dealt and to this day finds ways to be a good Jew and have a fulfilling life through basketball. Tamir is inspirational to me in the way that he was able to take something so material and make it spiritual throughout his life. He is committed and passionate about what he does and I am so glad that we got to meet him.
