From NBA Star to Torah Life — Amar'e Stoudemire's Journey Will Inspire You

Kazakh, Kazakh. That was good, Rabbi. Um Yeah, this is definitely a a a a moment of of of clarity, right? It's a good full circle moment. The Rabbi and I was learning uh a while back here in New York. But um the most important thing that I think that I was able to accomplish when I was, you know, 12 years old or so, my mom mentioned to me that we should reconnect with the laws of Moses, right? And so at that time I was more so trying to figure out what that meant. So it took me on this path of learning and trying to figure this out. And that path brought me to to Judaism, right? I met a Rabbi when I was in my 20s. We started learning together. We started building. We started talking. We started going to Shiurim. I started going to uh Pesach Seders and all these things and and it became a um a moment of clarity, a moment of of reconnection. Felt like my neshama was finding what it was always searching for. I always tell my guys that I learn with uh my young my young guys, all right? They they try to figure out how to keep you know, their their Torah intellect and also want to have fun. I I always say you got to you got to have your golden lane. Right? It's important to have a golden lane. We have we have the foundation of the Torah, which you know the Torah means instructions. So we have our instructions and our our manual, right? You can't build anything without having a manual or your instructions. So we have our we have our instructions that it's required for us to live a life according to connecting with the creator, connecting with God, connecting with the universe, connecting with all the elements that God presents to us, right? And in order for that to happen, you have to live according to these instructions. And so but yet while you're living with these this Torah, these instructions, you're still able to have fun. You're still able to enjoy your life and be normal, to be a you know, to to have fun. Um and so what for me that's always kind of been my approach to to to Judaism, to Torah, to living accordingly. It's finding my golden lane that allows me to not deviate from the instructions, the Torah, but yet I still have fun within within those elements. So therefore, there's there's stories of uh of when I was when I was playing with the Knicks, for example, and I would have my siddur with me. And we traveled on road trips. And I would be reading my siddur or just learning about the siddur or the order of prayer, what is happening, how do I read, can I translate? At the same time I had a Hebrew tutor who was teaching me on the side. And my teammates might have thought like what's Amar'e learning? Like what's what's going on? This guy's learning Hebrew back there. He has a siddur with these languages inside of it. What's what's going on? Um Yom Kippur comes around. He's not drinking waters. He's during training camp. He's like running these sprints with trainers around him and just making sure he doesn't pass out. Like what is what, you know? And all these things was happening while I was playing for the Knicks. And I was very somewhat somewhat secretive about it because I was still learning. And I was still taking upon my approach to understand exactly what I was learning. And the Rabbis and I would sit down. We'd talk. We'd learn for hours. And no one would have a clue about it, right? We I I go and play against the Celtics, score 41 points, and then that night I'm with the Rabbis learning. Right? And this was happening my entire time. And when I went to Israel to go visit, I visited Israel in 2010, actually. And once I arrived in Israel, I felt like I had a complete connection. I felt like this was home. This was like this is I felt I felt it right away. I I I had no other type of um other type of like objection except for just this is home. I felt it I felt it like right away. I'm I was I was speaking earlier about that. Like when you get to Israel, you go to Jerusalem, you feel like this is home. It's like no no other feeling. Um And so when I finished my time playing with the Knicks and I went to Miami and played my final year with the Miami Heat, I wanted to go over Israel and continue to go to go home and also to learn. So I took my career over to to to Israel, played for uh Hapoel Jerusalem. And then also went to Yeshiva. Went to Ohr Somayach. And so even then now I'm faced with another challenge, right? Because my teammates didn't quite understand what's happening there. They see I wake up 6:00 in the morning. I'm going to daven. I'm going to Yeshiva for an hour for a shiur. Then I'm going to get a coffee. Then I'm in the weight room training like a rock star, right? I'm in the I'm in the weight room early training hard like, you know, and then I get to practice and I have all this energy and I'm like flying through the air and all these things. And then once practice over, I'm back in Yeshiva. And then now they they're starting to realize like well something's happening here. He don't want to hang out with us. He's not going out to party with us. He's only going to kosher restaurants. And my teammates start to understand exactly the path that I was on. And what I was able to accomplish, you know, I I what I said earlier about this is that having that golden lane. I think a lot of times when we when we have a the idea of of what that means, everyone has their own personal relationship with Hashem. Right? They you know, Hashem Hashem deals with you on your level that you are able to receive the information from God. Right? So everybody has their own relationship. So I can't judge anyone for what they're doing or what they're not doing because you have your own journey, your own path. At the end of the day Hashem loves you and and and and so for me I was able to just kind of take that notion and and go for it. Um And so, you know, with with with with understanding this week's parsha, right? We see that we see that Yosef HaTzaddik uh had passed away. And then also the the Bnei Israel, the the the the 12 tribes also passed away. Their generations have passed away. And we see that, you know, Pharaoh, you know, didn't know Yosef HaTzaddik and he wanted to, you know, inflict more a more more pressure on on Bnei Israel and and and and apply more more more pressure on them. And the interesting part about this week's parsha is that as we see when when Moshe Rabbenu went back to Mitzrayim to try to convince uh the people not, you know, that this is that these promises are are going to happen, these miracles are going to happen, but yet Pharaoh applied more pressure. He's like, all right, well we're going to make it harder for you now. We're going to, you know, turn the heat up a bit for lack of a better term, right? And so and Moshe Rabbenu went back to Hashem like, listen, you know, what's happening? And and what I understood from that is that whenever whenever there's more affliction, whenever there's more pressure, whenever there's more, you know, hatred toward us, we have to have the the faith, the emunah, the bitachon to know that Hashem is always with us. No matter what, and inside our heart we know who we are. We know the the halachot. We know the laws that we're dealing with. We know the mitzvot that we're holding by. We have our golden lane. We understand the Torah from an intellectual level. And that's going to keep us away from any any hurt, harm, or any danger, right? And so uh with that being said, Rabbi, I want to thank you for allowing me to to to to share a few words. I'm not sure if there's a Q&A moment or anyone has any questions for me. Um but we can definitely, you know, ask some questions. I'm from I'm here to answer if you if you have any. Do you have any questions yet? Guys, don't be shy, guys. >> Where are you going to be for Shabbos? I'll be in Brooklyn. Uh I will I will be in Brooklyn. For Shabbos. The the hardest player you've ever had to guard? The hardest player I ever had to guard? He was on his team. You know, he never played against Shaq. We can't we can't we can't use Shaq. Shaq was like impossible to guard. Um LeBron James. Like James? LeBron's the hardest to guard, for sure. What did they say about you going to Judaism? What did they feel about you going to Judaism? Uh how did they feel about me going to Judaism? They they saw it the entire way. Uh even even before I I finalized my conversion, I was having people over for Shabbat. They didn't quite know how to keep Shabbat. But just from my learnings, I was like invite people over. Come over Friday night. Let's let's have a meal. Shabbat Shalom. And I wasn't even sure what that even meant. But I was on that path of learning and trying to figure it out, but I was open to, you know what I'm saying? Like to bring people over and hang out. Uh but yeah, that was cool. They saw my siddur. They saw my learnings. They saw my my my when I talked to them, what I was saying. All my teammates was like, I knew he was going to I knew he was going to go that route, you know? So that's how it was. Who was the best teammate you've ever played with? The best teammate I ever played with? He's Nash. He's Nash. He's Nash. >> [laughter] >> The best teammate I played with? Steve Nash. As a player or as a person? As a player. As a player. >> [laughter] >> And also as a person. Nash was a very good cool guy. He had exactly. So both. Do you think doing all the extra learning and everything made made it more difficult for you because you were spending more time? Or made it easier for you to succeed professionally [clears throat] because you were had more meaning or kind of had your focus? Uh the learning made it easier for me. I was I was able to to have a sense of of calmness when I played, right from the learning. Um I had a sense of like I don't know, tranquility when I played because of the learnings. And I slowly start to start to apply my learnings within not only my Yeshiva but inside of my mind and cultivating those thoughts and these things. And it was helping me have freedom and fun and joy with the game while I played. How's your back? My back's stronger than ever. What's the greater high? Hitting a buzzer shot or learning a nice piece of Homashar Gemara? What what That's good. That is good. I think I think hitting a buzzer shot is like it's almost as if like when I went when I went through my my conversion process, right? When I went through my reconnecting process, so like to call it. It was uh it was a similar feeling. Cuz I I went through my reconnection with in Bnei Brak. And you go inside the Beit Din is like eight rabbis with the beards as long as rabbis here is living. >> [laughter] >> And with the with the hard questions to ask and you got to be ready for it. But that was also once I passed it, it felt like a buzzer beater shot. You said that it was a thrill. You said that uh at 12 years old your mother was who inspired you to kind of like go back to the roots to the learnings of Moses. Was there a Were you guys raised in a household that was very religious or Seventh-day Adventist or something? Why why the books of Moses? Why not other books and why specifically that? Yeah, well I I was raised in a very religious household. My mom we would pray. She was the type of woman that prays and cries when she prays. Right? And so it was just I guess her connection with her prayers and and and how she dealt with God and her relationships. And she wanted to give it over to to to me and my brother. And I was the one that took the information and and and wanted to learn about it. That's how it started. Was there like a like a tipping point, a moment where like why 12? Why not eight or 10 or 16 or 20? Why that specific age? I have no idea. You got to ask her that question. I think my brother was my brother was eight. I was 11 or 12 or so, somewhere somewhere around there. I think part of the reason why I'm asking is because even for people who are born Jewish and are not really religious growing up, a lot of them become more religious when a parent passes away or something like that where they have to you know pray Shacharit, say Kaddish three times a day. I think that's one of the defining moments where in their lives of why they become more religious. I was curious as to if there was something similar in in your mother's life at at your age of 12 that may have led to something. But you've never asked her that question. Yeah, no. I think I became more religious when I when I moved to Israel. Um when I first got into Judaism I had a lot of questions. And I was I was very curious. And I was very humble. And I didn't take any preconceived notions when I got into Judaism. Um and so when I started learning I think that is that was a turning point for me. Is that I start understanding what I'm learning. I start living up to what I'm with what what I'm learning. And they say that the learning when you apply the learning, that's the wisdom. Right? And so that's that's kind of that's how I approached uh my learnings and that's what was that was a turning point for me. One final thing, just a statement. I think being a fan of the game and being a fan of you and watching your game progress from being thanks and just in general from start to end and how you said um where you played with a certain calmness. As a fan you know, you were ferocious. You know, starting you were a ferocious animal and then towards the end you were you were like poetry in motion. So I think that as fans noticed that change in your game as well. So Yeah, thank you. What was the reaction you got from your family and how was the acceptance and what was the plan? Aside from that, you know, where in my mind you have a lot of anti-Semitism. But you're a double minority. So I mean what was the reaction you got? Yeah. I think for me for my family uh on my father's side of the family are all Christians basically. And my uncle was a pastor in Florida. And when he saw my learnings and he saw my dedication uh this is maybe a month or two months or so before he passed away he was like, "Nephew, what you're learning is right." And that was that was a very strong moment for me because I was I was doing it because I felt the urge to. I wasn't doing it for like any ver- any verifications or anything. And so my uncle when he mentioned that to me, he was very sincere about it. Um and then shortly after um he passed away. I think the learning in Or Sameach uh when I got to Or Sameach the rabbis saw my dedication to Torah. And they saw that I was really eager to learn. And they were eager to teach. You know, teach how to read the Siddur. We had private times with reading the Siddur. That's not a part of the rabbis' normal day of work. You know, and the questions I would ask they see I'm there with with a notepad, pencil and pen and highlighters and these things. And so it was a beautiful it was a beautiful connection uh with the rabbis of Or Sameach. Um there's always been, you know, people that don't quite understand the journey. Um and I understand their their their views because at times when I first got into Judaism, I didn't quite understand the journey. But I had a humble approach to my particular way of learning. Um and so but over time it uh you know, as they see the learning, they see the the the benefits of of of these things. And then hopefully that'll help kind of wean off some of the anti-Semitic uh uh um slurs or or attitudes. Which rabbi was it? Uh which rabbi was it? Last question, guys. Last question. Yes. Which rabbi in Or Sameach inspired your growth and growth and growth? Which rabbi specifically in Or Sameach? Um man, all of them. You got to elaborate. Please. I mean Rabbi Kaplan teaches the the the you know, the parsha each week. Rabbi Meiselman teaches the Gemara. >> [clears throat] >> Uh Rosh Yeshiva Schiller always gives us, you know, uh motivation. Um you have Rabbi Rabbi Gaffin, you know, I I mean Or Sameach or Breuerwitz, yeah. Breuerwitz also, yeah. Exactly. Rabbi Breuerwitz is always there to give over information to help us with with what it takes to be mentally prepared for uh for this new way of living, right? Or Sameach is great. We're going to send him to Or Sameach with Elitzur. Me? Yeah, you. Who was there with you? Oh, okay. >> [laughter] >> Okay, beautiful. Okay. [applause] Amazing. [cheering] Thank you.