Friday, August 10, 2012

Aly Raisman - Proud to be Jewish

Congratulations to 18 year old Aly Raisman for winning 2 gold medals and one bronze at the 2012 Summer Olympics. This is quite an achievement. But that alone is not what merits this post. It is her pride in Judaism that does. Coming from a Reform background one might think that her Judaism doesn't matter that much to her.

But her choice of a Jewish song for all of her floor exercises was done at least in part because of that pride. Choosing a Jewish song - Hava Nagilah to perform her floor exercises may not seem like much to those of us who are observant. But it should. It is that "Pintileh Yid" that often brings out a much fuller commitment to Judaism at some later point in her life.

And even now at the height of her Olympic achievement she had the presence of mind to honor her heritage and the 11 murdered Israelis at the 72 Munich Olympics. Something that happened well before she was born. Such dignity. Such poise. Such maturity. Much to be proud of.

1 comment:

  1. to be clear, she did not really honor the 11 murdered israelis. all she did was agree that if there was a moment of silence she would have participated. not really that special. still loved the hava nagila etc., but all the media outlets implied she had done something akin to the moment of silence for the slain Israelis. she did not.

    ReplyDelete