Want to find @Amareisreal?

Easy.

Look at where the @BrooklynNets are playing and google the closest synagogue.

🏀 Timberwolves = Minnesota Shul 🕍

Amare always finds a minyan.#MinyanMan pic.twitter.com/mHmEjpfDyD

— Jack Langer (@jacklanger) January 23, 2022

About last night championship game. We became champions, and I walked away with the MVP B"H pic.twitter.com/5gC7wArVIE

— Amar'e Stoudemire (@Amareisreal) July 29, 2020

That is Amare Stoudamire. He posted this picture of himself standing in front of the beis din of Rav Nissim Karelitz (as an aside, they do conversions at this beis din) to his Instagram account.

Amare added the following text to the post:
Searching for rightness ... #RoadToTzadikim

I don't know if he finished his process or is just along the way, but best of luck to him.

בטקס מרגש הענקתי היום אזרחות ישראלית לשחקן הכדורסל של הפועל ירושלים, אמארה סטודמאייר, או בשמו העברי יהושפט. שחקן כדורסל גדול, איש נהדר, שגריר אדיר של מדינת ישראל ושל בירתנו ירושלים, שקשר את גורלו עם ישראל. מזל טוב יהושפט! pic.twitter.com/Mz4ovQwCHY

— אריה מכלוף דרעי (@ariyederi) March 13, 2019

Stoudamire recently converted to Judaism after a long connection to Israel and Judaism as someone with "Hebrew roots".

Mazel tov!

Amare Stoudamire at the Ministry of Interior offices applying for Israeli citizenship... According to the media, his forms are expected to be approved in time for him to play for Hapoel Jerusalem tomorrow..


Now let's juxtapose that with this report in Kipa of a young Ethiopian man, grandson of an Ethiopan "Kess" (what they call their rabbi or priest in Ethiopian) - when he arrived with his family in Israel at the age of 5, the entire family underwent a "giyur lechumra" - a conversion just to remove any doubt - as they are from the Beta Israel sect, though this young fellow did his conversion 3 years later, separate from his family. The article does not say why he did not do it with his family, but I am not sure it matters.

When he was in the army he discovered he was still listed as Christian in the Ministry of Interior records, as he was invited to the IDF conversion course, called Netiv. This fellow went to the Rabbanut beis din in Ashkelom to clarify his status and they confirmed him as Jewish and gave him documentation to that effect.

A few years later this fellow wants to get married only to discover that the Ministry of Interior still lists him as Christian and the beis din's confirmation of his Jewishness is inadequate.

After some appeals and loopholes, it turned out he was approved to marry, as the letter form beis din was deemed enough for that purpose, though he continued to be listed as a Christian in the official State records. Later that decision was reversed as well, and the State refused to register his marriage.

The State of Israel offices do not recognize each others decisions and this poor kid can't get himself properly registered because of it. Too bad he cant dunk a basketball.

According to an article in The Forward, Amare Stoudemire is in the process of converting to Judaism.

Stoudemire has been flirting with Israel and the Jews for a while now, as he discovered and explored his "Hebrew roots". Now he wants to take it further and convert to become actually Jewish.

The HBO interviewer asked if he is doing this just to become a citizen of Israel. He probably should have asked if he is converting just so that when he touches his new wine bottles he won't ruin them for all his potential customers...

I am just joking with that. If he goes through the conversion process properly, Stoudemire will be accepted with open arms.

If you are not sure what wine you might want to drink at your Pesach sedder this year, you might want to consider some celebrity wine.

Amare Stoudamire, the former basketball star that says he has Hebrew roots and moved to Israel bought a basketball team and played for them is now making Israeli wine as well.

According to TOI:

“It’s a blessing for me and my family to be able to produce such great wines from a land like the land of Israel, so we’re constantly counting our blessings for that,” Stoudemire told reporters at the Jewish National Fund House on the Upper East Side.
Stoudemire, 35, said he had been in talks with the Israel Wine Producers Association for three years about making an Israeli wine and realized the opportunity when he relocated to the country in 2016 to play for the Israeli team Hapoel Jerusalem. He retired from basketball last year after helping lead Hapoel Jerusalem to the Israeli Basketball League Cup.
“Once I moved to Israel, it was the perfect connection to meet with the vineyards and go to the tastings and figure out the different blends for each bottle,” said Stoudemire, a part-owner of Hapoel Jerusalem.
Stoudemire played for the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns among other teams in a 16-year NBA career. Although raised Christian, he began exploring a spiritual connection to Judaism on a trip to Israel in 2010.
“I feel spiritually Jewish, culturally Jewish,” he said at the time.
Stoudemire’s line includes two red wine blends and one Cabernet Sauvignon, all produced in limited quantity by the Tulip Winery on its vineyards in Kfar Tikva, in Israel’s north.
The winery produced only 100 bottles of the high-end wine, Stoudemire Private Collection, with each bottle retailing at $244.99. It produced slightly larger quantities, 1,680 each, of the Stoudemire Reserve and Stoudemire Grand Reserve wines, which are retailing for $59.99 and $99.99, respectively. The kosher beverage giant Royal Wine Corp. is distributing the wines, which are currently only available for purchase in stores in New York and New Jersey.
Stoudemire, who continues to speak about his connection to Israel, said he’s open to producing additional wines, but that he would not produce them outside the Jewish state.
“I prefer to keep the wines strictly from the grapes in Israel,” he said. “It’s my way of giving back to the land. I try to do what I can to stay rooted.”
Making sure the wine was kosher was important to the basketball star. Stoudemire identifies with the Hebrew Israelites, African-Americans who believe they are connected to the biblical Israelites and adhere to some Jewish customs.
“A kosher wine is always important for us because you can drink those during the High Holy Days,” he said.

Bless his heart. In these days when you never know who is your friend and who is not, in these days of BDS boycotts and Internet shaming, it is nice to have someone like Amare use his pedestal and also put his money where his mouth is and support the Jewish State.

These bottles are out of my price range and I doubt the local supermarket will be selling them at a reasonable price, but if you like a good expensive wine, give it a try.

That is Amare Stoudamire. Stoudamire showed up to a game wearing tzitzis. He cracks me up.

Amar'e Stoudemire, the NBA player who has claimed to have "Hebrew roots" and has spent a lot of time in Israel in the past, has announced his retirement from the NBA.

Stoudemire also announced that he is moving to Israel, to Jerusalem, and will be playing on the basketball team Hapoel Jerusalem, of which he is also a part owner.



I wonder if he was on the most recent Nefesh bNefesh flight to Israel...

Also interesting is a little mussar shmuzz Stoudemire gave in his article in The Players Tribune discussing his decision and reflecting on his career. Stoudemire writes:

I may be retiring from the NBA, but I’m not saying goodbye to basketball just yet. My next step is playing for Hapoel Jerusalem, one of the top teams in Europe. This isn’t about collecting a paycheck overseas, though; it’s a spiritual journey, too.
 The Scripture speaks about Jerusalem as a holy place, and I can feel that whenever I’m in the city. This is a chance for me to be a better husband and a better father, to help me lead my family into righteousness. The opportunity to play there, and grow as a player and person, is a blessing.

Halevai we would all (and I include myself in this) see and recognize this about Jerusalem and the opportunities we have to feels her holiness and spend time there and grow there, and live lives of righteousness, no matter how we are occupying ourselves...

Amare Stoudamire, he with the "Hebrew roots", is supporting United Hatzala. The way he says Hatzalah, though, sounds more like Godzilla.. nice video, and a great cause!

Amar’e Stoudemire’s Shabbat Short Rib Recipe

  -- Tablet Magazine

Stoudamire continues to entertain... not only did he publish a cookbook, something not so common for an athlete, but it also seems that he eats "mostly kosher" and has recipes for the jewish holidays and Shabbat dinner....

I hope Nefesh bNefesh in on top of this situation...

Amare Stoudamire has applied for Israeli citizenship.

Amare, not a Jew but one who believes he has Jewish roots, has embraced parts of Jewish culture in recent years and has become a big fan of Israel.

Stoudamire was here recently for the Maccabiah games, and during that time he applied for Israeli citizenship. Not only that, but Stoudamire also recently announced that he has become part-owner in the Hapoel Jerusalem basketball team.

Omri Casspi was the first Israeli to play basketball in the NBA. Gal Mekel is becoming the second, having recently signed a contract with the Dallas Mavericks. It looks like Amare Stoudamire might become the third Israeli to play ball in the NBA!

From the NY Daily News:

Amare already wears a black hat!

Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire has taken one step closer to the Promised Land.
The goggle-wearing power forward with gimpy knees and supposed Hebrew roots has applied for Israeli citizenship. “He applied, and he’s getting there now,” Stoudemire’s agent Happy Walters told New York Magazine.
Stoudemire, 30, put in the paperwork while he was in the Jewish state for the annual Maccabiah Games, where he served as the assistant coach of the Canadian basketball squad.
Those ended earlier this week, but Stoudemire has more than religious reasons for forging closer ties with Israel.
In July, Stoudemire announced he had become a part owner in the Israeli basketball club Hapoel Jerusalem.