[The following is from KOMO News:] Mercer Island, WA – What the girls basketball team from Northwest Yeshiva High School used to dream of is now reality.
The team of only seven active players is heading to the state tournament in Yakima.
“There’s been no Jewish school go to the state tournament all across the U.S., so this is really a big deal and would be really great to get this to work out for us,” said sophomore Julia Owen.
They’ll arrive in Yakima Tuesday night and play their first game on Wednesday.
Northwest Yeshiva is strictly Orthodox Jewish, and the team is nicknamed “the 613s” for the number of commandments they observe.
If the girls win on Wednesday, they’ll play a night game on Thursday. If they lose, they’re supposed to play a day game the next day. And that’s a big problem, because Thursday is one of several fasting days of the year. The team cannot eat or drink until after sunset.
“For them to play a game without hydration, without being able to drink, we would not feel comfortable with that,” said Rabbi Bernie Fox of Northwest Yeshiva High School. “That’s not in the best interest of their safety.”
In the case of a loss, the school has requested to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association to move the Thursday game to another venue in Yakima so the team can play. The school has even offered to travel to its opponent’s home court just so it can be an evening match-up.
“We’re willing to partner with the WIAA even financially to find a solution to this problem so our girls can play through the tournament,” said Fox.
But the school says the WIAA has dug in its heels, and that could create a worst case scenario. If the girls lose the first game, they’ll be forced to walk onto the court on Thursday and forfeit.
“No team wants to go out there and not be able to play,” said Owen. “We’re all going to be there to play, and have the chance to play our hardest and do our best. And if we can’t, that’s going to be unfortunate and a disappointment.”
In the past, the WIAA has made adjustments for religions observing the sabbath on Saturdays. But this situation is apparently something that’s not covered by its current policy.
(Source: http://www.komonews.com/)
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27 Responses
Ahh NYHS! Rabbi Fox!
they always did have a good team and a good rav hamanhig
The problems caused by having to show ones masculinity…
Ah, the challenges of the 21st Century egalitarian America.
I commend the yeshivaworld for not posting pictures of women, but to write the word girls in the headline of this article i think is an atrocity and a gross oversight
I’m very inpressed with this girls clearly not yeshiviash but willing to lose to keep halacha a lot of roshie yeshivas today can learn from that its alrite to lose the important thing is that you listen to the tohra look at this yeshiva that doesn’t listen to bes din because they will loose their shtella how sad learn from this girls something about yiros shomioym
eric55,
can we please stop with the fake frumkeit; if you are so frum that the word “girl” offends you, what exactly are you doing using the internet?
Re 2: they’re playing basketball, not football or wrestling.
Dear eric55
i think you should move to the moon. only over there is there only a “man on the moon” and the cow that jumped over the moon. NO GIRLS!!!
i mean, if this is a girls team then yes, they will write girls, it is your comment that is an atrocity.
we live in a world with men and women, boys AND GIRLS. if you are sick in the mind please dont let us know about it.
have a nice day.
#4, I guess you can’t handle sitting next to a girl on a public bus either. I know what the atrocity is here, and it’s not the mention of girls in the headline.
#3 – I hope you are joking. Otherwise you need to get professional help ASAP.
If they will have to forfeit, they should do so with pride and their heads held high. Use it as an opportunity for Kiddush Hashem. Then sue the WIAA seeking injunctive relief to prevent similar problems in the future.
I guess they have to win! Good luck 613’s!
hey eric55, how do you explain to your daughters that no matter what they achieve in life, their image is so disturbing to the charedei public, that they will never be recognized in public forums.
Re tzippi – wrestling? That even Jewish males shouldn’t know of. Basketball isn’t a traditional feminine sport. It was after the feminist insisted women display their masculinity, that this entered female organized sport.
What do the girls wear when they are playing basketball?
“…can we please stop with the fake frumkeit…”
I agree. A team of girls, playing ball in public is totally foreign to the spirit and halacha of Judaism. What happened to the concept of Tznius”
deepthinker – Good point.
Deepthinker, my sentiments exactly! I have no complaints on the girls involved but one needs to recognise that in the “Yeshiva World” our values are finer tuned. Taanis Ester – Ester Hamalkah who epitomises Tznius and true beauty and femininity…i dunno the concepts don`t sit well on this one.
hmm dan lechaf zechus anyone? Do you know that these girls are not playing in tznius attire? Do you know that if they are in non tznius attire there are people there who are not permitted to see their ervah? I dont think any of you know that and yet you criticize these girls who are trying to keep halacha, and are willing to give up something that is once in a lifetime to make a point about how important the halacha is to them, instead of barking about that which you do not know, why not thank them for sticking to their guns and not breaking the taanis for this game, something that im sure is a hard decision but one that reflects their true values.
Dont assume about these girls ie tznius you have no right to be choshed beksherim… such sinah is sickening
Perhaps they should play that day in honor of Yom Nikanor
sorry meant to say ” Dont assume RE tznius…”
As an alumnus of NYHS, I think everybody needs to chill out a bit. The school is at least 50% not shomer shabbos families and is the only school providing Jewish identity in the entire Pacific Northwest.
This is not an issue of kol kevodo bas melech pnima… this is an issue of developing Jewish pride for these kids so they maintain a Jewish identity and marry a Jew when many of their parents DREAM of sending them off to completely secular colleges immediately after high school. It is a community school that welcomes kids from families that eat in treife restraunts and drive on shabbos. In many ways, they are a very successful kiruv operation – through the means of Jewish education.
The fact that these kids are happy to fast (when their parents don’t) is a tremendous accomplishment and opportunity for them to be involved in a massive kiddush Hashem. Let’s keep this in mind when we comment. We are not dealing with Bais Yaakov D’Brooklyn, and fyi – many of these girls do wear special-tailored uniforms that cover their elbows and over-the-knee skirts. (This usually depends on family background – the girls have a choice). Go 613’s!
Hello there everyone i wrote my comment in the spirit of purim, so funny how y’all taking it so seriously let me assure i have no problem with women it was a joke, A’ frailichen purim.
#22 How was everyone supposed to know it was a joke?
Didn’t we once learn (I believe from Pirkey Avos)that “One should not say something that is not understood, in the hopes that it will be understood later (But they should explain it right away to make sure it’s understood).”?
go 613.
What a nisoyen.
(This is a lifetime opportunity many don’t understand.)
I agree with #9- eric55 if you’re not joking, then maybe you need help!
i really hope whoever is in charge of the basketball committee would add a new rule that all religious restrictions should be taken into consideration and should be treated fairly
My daughter happens to be #14 on the NYHS team. I DO NOT appreciate at all of the stupid comments and assumptions made. Who do you think you are to make assumptions about my daugther or her frumkeit???
First of all, most of the kids in her class are frum and come from frum families. They wear long, BAGGY shorts and long sleeves. I do not see what this has to do with masculinity. In terms of girls not playing sports, that is Taliban-like thinking. That is NOT what kvod bat hamelech penima means!!
My daughter has benefited so much from team sports, I can’t even tell you. It is about commitment, working together as a team, how to win AND loose with dignity. It’s about fair play, sacrifice. It’s been hard on our family with constant practices and games. There is very little family time. Do you think it was easy to get that far in the play offs and just walk off the court?? Each girl was 100% in favor of forfeiting. How many times in a person’s life does one really have a chance to stand up for one’s beliefs, ethics and morals? They did it and they did it with dignity and grace. Our girls are to be admired, not picked at. “deepthinker”, you have a lot of nerve saying your values are finer tuned.