By Chantal Rubin
On the plane on route to Israel for the semester I experienced a moment of humility, honesty, and excitement as I was about to embark on a journey for which I was certainly excited, yet utterly unprepared. Upon acceptance into the Nachshon Project, I was looking forward to the opportunity to sort through some of the struggles and big questions that occupy my thoughts— which anyone that has had a conversation with me knows is on constant overdrive. This semester affords me the unique opportunity to breath and take census of my fast paced life and contemplate where I am headed, both religiously and professionally.
Starting from a young age, I always had, and still do have, great difficulty choosing a definitive path. I have always been someone that likes to occupy the middle ground, gaining the most from all sides. Whether it be answering “yes” or “no” to a question on a test, deciding which college to attend, or even as significant a decision as leaving home for a year to delve into a whirlwind of Jewish studying in seminary, the act of making a decision is daunting for me.
This interesting dichotomy of choice manifested itself when I finally decided to attend a double bachelor degree program at Columbia and the Jewish Theological Seminary which affords me the opportunity to both focus on Jewish studies while simultaneously pursuing other areas of my academic and professional interests. Still, even as a junior in college I had not yet found my particular area of interest to pursue for “my future career". I was confident in my love of Judaism, my dedication to its observance and practice, and also fascinated by the evolving world of innovation, business, and finance. I was positive that I was alone in this struggle in contemplating what path to choose. I always knew that I cherished Judaism and its values and wanted to do good in the world, but I was not sure how to synthesize both areas of my passion. After our opening conference in Shefayim, I was enthusiastic to start this journey of self exploration, and even more excited at the prospects of doing it with an incredible cohort of individuals, however leaving the conference I was unsettled. Unlike the rest of my colleagues, I still had no idea how my Judaism would play into my professional life if it would at all.
Fast forward two weeks and enter Tamir Goodman into the scene; a 6’7” professional basketball player with a twist, or should I say with strings, fashioning tzitzit and a kippa. Tamir Goodman is an observant Orthodox Jew who has made it through the ranks as a professional athlete while also acting as a leader within the Jewish world. As a young adult, Goodman made the very adult decision to put what he valued before the alluring glitz and glamor that came with an offer to play college basketball for a division one university that was not willing to respect his observance of Shabbat. Tamir made his dream come true against all odds, (even surpassing the conventional short male Jewish genes), and as fairy tale as it may read, he did so without sacrificing his beliefs and values as a Jew. He synthesized the most unlikely pair of passions, athletics and Judaism, curating a career that held both truths in one hand. Many times we see life through a series of dichotomies and we believe that in order to excel at one we must discard aspirations to pursue the other. However sitting in a VIP interview room in Jerusalem’s very own basketball stadium (which is an incredible accomplishment in itself: Israel, Jews, and professional basketball) Tamir explained his journey not only as a basketball player but as a Jewish leader and inspiration. He concluded our conversation stating “Judaism wont take away your dreams but will blue print them in a happy and meaningful way”. A great Rabbi by the name of Shimshon Rephael Hirsch believed that the way that we should interact with this world is through a Jewish lens. Rav Hirsch believes that engaging in the modern world through Jewish standards, namely elevating our intentions to meet the high and valuable standards that Judaism promotes, is in fact sanctifying Judaism. I would argue that Tamir Goodman has done exactly this. He has demonstrated that it is possible to strive for aspirations and dream big beyond following the conventional dichotomy of “this way” or “that way”, but finding a place and a way to pursue what matters to us. Though I have not found my path just yet, I feel that I am back in my comfortable “middle ground”, having the new confidence to creatively straddle both passions and “blue print” them in a Jewish and valuable way.
