For Amar’e Stoudemire, Farming Is Holy Work

By Sam Kestenbaum August 21, 2017

Hebrew Israelite basketball star Amar’e Stoudemire is working the land at his Hudson Valley farm, and quoting scripture as he’s doing it.

In a photo uploaded to Instagram on Sunday, Stoudemire, wearing work gloves and heavy boots, stands in front of a tractor on his 190-acre farm, located about two hours from New York City on the Hudson River.

“Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken,” Stoudemire captioned the photo, using a passage from the book of Genesis and adding a string of hashtags — including “kosher,” “shalom” and “blessed.”

@stoudemirefarms #kosher ?“Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:23‬ ‭KJV‬‬ #LiveOffTheLand #Blessed #CountyBoyOfDay #CityBoyByNight #Yahosaphat #Shalom

A post shared by (əˈ•mär•ray) Amar’e Stoudemire (@amareisreal) on Aug 20, 2017 at 12:38pm PDT

Stoudemire calls himself a Hebrew Israelite and was baptized in a Jesus-believing Chicago congregation called Israel of God. He also produced a documentary on the large Hebrew Israelite community of Dimona, Israel, and remains close to that group.

Hebrew Israelites are people of color, mostly African American, who identify as genealogical descendants of the ancient Israelites. The movement is broad and diverse.

Stoudemire relocated to Israel last year in move that was both professional and spiritual. Stoudemire, a six-time NBA All-Star, spent last season playing for Hapoel Jerusalem in the Israeli Premier League, where they won the championship. He saw his move to Jerusalem as a return to his ancestral homeland.

It is uncertain whether Stoudemire will return to Israel to play again this season.

Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum

Sam Kestenbaum is a contributing editor and former staff writer for the Forward. Before this, he worked for The New York Times and newsrooms in Sana, Ramallah and Beijing. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum and on Instagram at @skestenbaum.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO