The Talmud tells parents to teach our kids to swim. The Olympic champ and reality TV star makes that easier.
By Malina Saval
The world was formally introduced to Ryan Lochte last
summer, when the swimmer won two golds, two silvers, and one bronze medal at the
2012 Olympics in London. We vaguely remembered his blue eyes and shaggy hair
from the 2008 games in Beijing, but neither he nor his collection of
hip-hop-wannabe footwear had yet reached Jeah!-level popularity. Now the
IQ-deficient Adonis was everywhere, posing on the blocks, peeing in the pool,
and flashing a mouthful of bling. He was meant to be Michael Phelps’ successor,
but instead he became a beefcake centerfold in a pink Speedo of his own design,
his shirtless image plastered on the covers of Glamour and Vogue magazines. Within hours of taking first in the 400-meter individual medley, Lochte (rap name “Reezy”) appeared on every imaginable media outlet expressing his longing to join the estimable tabloid-train-wreck-relationship club by becoming the new Bachelor. A YouTube video in which Lochte and teammate Matt Grevers “chillax” after practice while debating the etymological difference between shampoo and “cleansing rinse” went viral. Gawker dubbed him a “douchebag.” Lochte’s new reality show What Would Ryan Lochte Do?, which premiered last night on E!, looks so out of control—he plays drunk golf in one teaser—it’s bound to propel the dopey swimmer to even greater depths of fame.
And yet, I’m here to argue that it’s time we stop making fun of Lochte, at least long enough to focus on a career achievement that has thus far gone completely unnoticed in the Jewish community. Lochte, who isn’t Jewish but believes God has a “plain” for everyone, may not be a rabbinical scholar, but what he has done—and to a much larger degree than most swimmers in the history of the sport—is spread Talmudic wisdom to swim fans, Jewish and non-Jewish, all over the world. Let me explain.
Continue reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment