Weekly Kibbitz
NBA Star Domantas Sabonis’ Wife Says
He Is Converting to Judaism
keep Shabbat. We don’t drive, and we do Shabbat dinner
every week.”
The couple were married by a Reform rabbi in August
2021. They have a year-old son named Tiger, and
Shashana Sabonis is pregnant with their second child.

They have a close relationship with Rabbi Mendy
Cohen of Chabad of Sacramento, Shashana Sabonis
said. He put mezuzahs up at their house and recited the
Megillah for them on Purim following the Kings game that
night. Sabonis attended Chabad of Sacramento’s Purim
party this year and signed autographs. In December, he
sponsored a sufganiyot giveaway at a Kings home game.

Shashana Sabonis, who grew up in Los Angeles and
went to Jewish day schools, said her husband appreciates
the support he has received from the Jewish community.

“People that follow me [on social media] see how we
do the holidays and Shabbat, and I think it’s really fun
for the Jewish community to see that representation in
basketball,” she said.

There are two active Jewish players in the NBA and its
developmental G League, Deni Avdija of the Washington
Wizards and Ryan Turell of the Motor City Cruise. Former
Rabbi Mendy Cohen is dwarfed by 7-foot-1
Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who attended
Chabad of Sacramento’s Purim party on March 7.

NBA player Amar’e Stoudemire stepped down last year as
a Nets assistant coach after two seasons, citing confl icts
with his religious observance. Stoudemire converted
to Orthodox Judaism in 2020 after being raised in the
Hebrew Israelite faith.

— Andrew Esensten | JTA via J.

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APRIL 20, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
jewishexponent.com/econfirmation/ Courtesy of Chabad of Sacramento
Domantas Sabonis, the 26-year-old All-Star and
Sacramento Kings center, is in the process of converting to
Judaism, according to his Jewish wife, Shashana Sabonis
(née Rosen).

“We really haven’t talked about it [publicly],” she said
in an interview this week. “He loves [Judaism] and really
wants to be a part of it.”
Sabonis regularly studies on Zoom with Rabbi Erez
Sherman of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. Sherman, a
Conservative rabbi who hosts the sports podcast “Rabbi
on the Sidelines,” said that Sabonis is serious about
learning more about Judaism.

“After [he had] a triple-double against the Houston
Rockets, I get a text, like, ‘Hey can we fi nd time to learn?’
I’m like, you’re for real,” Sherman said. “He’s always
asking questions. He keeps kosher, and when he’s in
Vilnius, he’s going to the kosher butchers to get chicken.”
While Sabonis is committed to his studies, his wife
said, the demands of his job have made it impossible for
him to commit to following all of the mitzvot. “He has to
fl y and he has to do those things, but he’s continuing his
learning,” Shashana Sabonis said. “We keep Passover, we



local
Jewish Federation Planning Celebration
for Israel’s 75th Birthday
Jarrad Saffren | Staff Writer
Courtesy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
I srael is going through a tumultuous
moment, but no amount of division,
tension or upheaval should stop
American Jews from celebrating a
remarkable accomplishment for the
Jewish state this year, according to
Jeffrey Lasday, the senior chief of exter-
nal affairs for the Jewish Federation of
Greater Federation.

And that is Israel’s 75th birthday in
April and May. In May 1948, the British
mandate over the territory expired, and
David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime
minister, proclaimed independence.

To mark the anniversary, the
Federation is planning a series of
events. Those include a community
mitzvah day on April 23, Shabbat
gatherings on April 28 and 29 and A
Taste of Israel, a festival, on May 7.

The celebration will conclude with a
trip to Israel, for anyone interested,
from May 14-21.

“For over 2,000 years, the Jews were
in a diaspora of wandering people, and
yet never forgot about their homeland.

And yet here, 75 years ago, this miracle
occurs,” Lasday said.

And it continues, according to the
Federation executive.

“It’s an amazing, continuous Jewish
experiment,” he said. “The fact that
today almost half the Jews in the
world live in Israel — who would have
thought that 75 years ago?”
Lasday did not deny that Israel faces
challenges. But he compared the
country to the United States near the
end of its first century. A civil war was
going on.

“Israel is still in the process of defin-
ing what does it mean to be a Jewish
state, what does it mean to be a
democracy, what does it mean to be a
democratic Jewish state,” said Lasday.

The Federation executive sees
energy on both sides. He believes
that Israelis and diaspora Jews are, in
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's 65th anniversary celebration
for Israel 10 years ago .

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's Israel 75 celebration will
include a community mitzvah day.

their own ways, expressing love for the
Jewish state.

“It’s this messiness that’s going on
in Israel, but it’s going on at this very
passionate level,” he said.

Philadelphia-area Jews can bring
the same passion to the Federation’s
events. The gatherings are focusing on
community service, religious practice
and Israeli culture. There is something
for everybody. Or there is everything
for somebody, depending on how
much you want to participate.

The community mitzvah day will
include more than 25 service projects
like food deliveries, a cemetery cleanup
and a schoolyard cleanup. Wherever
you live, you will have an event within
a short distance, according to Lasday.

The following weekend, the
Federation is encouraging synagogues
and community centers to host
Shabbat experiences for anyone inter-
ested. Synagogues in the suburbs,
like Congregation Beth Am Israel in
Penn Valley, and in the city, like Mekor
Habracha, have signed up to host
gatherings. There are also events for
younger adults who may be unaffili-
ated with synagogues.

“It’s an opportunity to reflect spiritu-
ally and about what Israel means in our
lives,” Lasday said.

One week later, A Taste of Israel will
be less reflective and more festive. At
the Saligman Campus in Wynnewood,
there will be Israeli foods, music and
merchandise. James Beard Award-
winning chef Michael Solomonov will
man a tasting area. Tickets can be
bought at israel75.jewishphilly.org.

That is also where you can find more
information about all of these activi-
ties, including the trip to Israel. There
are four different “tracks” listed by the
Federation for the trip: adventure; food,
wine and culture; tech and business;
and people, places and politics. But
limited spots remain, and the cost is
high: more than $5,000 per person for
a double room and more than $7,000
per person for a single room.

“We wanted to weave these four
events together and touch as many
people in the greater Philadelphia
community as possible,” Lasday said. “At
the end of the day, we’ll probably have
4,000 participants in all these events.”
Lasday estimated that a third of the
Federation’s allocations “fund Jewish
cultural events in Israel.” Jews are one
people, he said.

“What the celebration does is it sort of
reinforces that connection,” he added.

“The Philadelphia Jewish community
is part of a greater Jewish community,
with a homeland in Israel.” ■
jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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