Future Rabbi Is Welterweight Champ
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
NEWS ITEM: Yuri Foreman, a Russian-born, Brooklyn-based Israeli who is studying to be a rabbi, won the World Boxing Association’s super welterweight title in a Las Vegas bout.
A rabbi trained to punch and maim?
Whose goal is pugilistic fame?
A boxer who excels in sports?
Who runs around the ring in shorts?
In manly art he really rates,
This new-crowned king of welterweights.
While fighting hard and keeping fit,
He studies for the rabbinate.
In such pursuits he stands alone
And surely sets a novel tone.
So curious a blend is he
Of fitness and theology.
Rabbinic bent and strong physique
Combine to make the guy unique.
No pallor mars his countenance
As he assumes a fighting stance.
On speed and brawn he concentrates,
Unsparing of his sparring-mates.
He slam-bangs the opponent’s gut,
Then nails him with an uppercut.
He pulls no punches in his quest
To be, in brawls, the very best.
Two symbols summarize his love:
The prayer book and boxing glove.
When as a rabbi he’s ordained,
The tribe will have a champion gained.
If arguing with atheists,
He’d settle matters with his fists,
And call upon the Deity
To be the final referee.
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