What does it mean to be proud of who you are? What does a “proud Jew” look like?

In the case of Igor Olshansky, it means being a 6’6″, 315 lb. Defensive End for the Dallas Cowboys who bears twin Stars of David tattooed across his shoulders! Surprised? Don’t be, Jewish pride comes in many forms. In fact, there are as many ways to celebrate one’s Jewishness as there are people who want to celebrate.
The 27-year-old Olshansky came to the United States from Ukraine as a child. His journey included years in an Orthodox Jewish school, whose Headmaster, Rabbi Pinchas Lipner declares that Igor is not only a “good Jew”, but “a proper role model”.
What, doesn’t Rabbi Lipner know that tattoos, playing football on Yom Kippur, and eating shrimp are all forbidden? Of course he does. But he also knows that Igor is “a mentsch… and (because) if you feel good about who you are, it helps with everything else in life. Igor feels good about himself.”
If this isn’t the stuff of Jewish Pride, I don’t know what is. And I hope that in reading this story, you take a moment to do to things, each of which will make you at least a little happier with both yourself and others:

First, ask yourself what you do that makes you proud to be a Jew. Don’t worry if it fits with someone else’s version of Judaism, just that it works for your Judaism. Sound heretical? You can rely on Igor Olshansky, Rabbi Lipner and me as your rabbis for this one!
Second, ask who you know that you can identify as a proud Jew whose expressions of Jewish pride don’t exactly fit your own definitions. If Rabbi Lipner can do it, so can you. And it’s amazing how good it feels to see others in a good light. Try it and see!