Liba Yoffe grew up on TV with “American Ninja Warrior,” but she never thought she would be on the show – let alone as what appears to be the show’s first Orthodox Jew. As a spectator, she enjoyed seeing the breathtaking show of strength. She marveled at how competitors would overcome obstacles such as the “shrinking steps”, where an athlete has to walk over five steps that lower on impact, or the “rotating tree trunk” that resembles a moving balance beam. “Plus, every ninja has a story that I realized even more when I was on the show,” said Yoffe, 35, who lives in Phoenix. “Everyone who is there – you are there because you are an athlete – but you also have a story; So you’re with a really great group of people. ”Get the weekly edition of the Jewish Chronicle by email and never miss another top story Register for free Yoffe’s own story is one of persistence. Sport was always Yoffe’s outlet. As a teenager, she cycled five miles to and from school; she would play rollerblade, play basketball, swim, climb anything she could find – “everything active, I was there.” But she never had contact with fitness competitions. “I always felt like I was missing out,” she says. “I thought, ‘If I could just go to public school, then I could compete and be on a team.’” As a young woman, she suppressed her interest in sports and fitness because she was ashamed. strong girl ”rather than being called a“ pretty girl ”. “The religious world doesn’t understand how valuable it (strength) is to a girl’s self-esteem. And that’s why they don’t care enough, ”she said. When Yoffe started powerlifting, she realized how strong she actually was and loved the way she felt. “I stopped bothering about the other things.” Describing herself as “super competitive”, she started registering for national powerlifting competitions two years ago. But in the end she did not pursue this goal as she was not allowed to compete in a skirt, which in her opinion affected her values. A Jewish athlete who knew about Yoffe and her unique history reached out to her and encouraged her to consider the sport of ninja as another avenue of competition that would likely better suit her religious needs. “I thought to myself, ‘I’m up for the challenge,'” she said. “I went to a ninja gym and it was a whole different sport because there are no rules – just don’t fall.” She started exercising and involving the whole family. Her husband built a ninja course in the backyard, and their four children – a 12-year-old daughter and three sons aged 10, 7 and 4 – are just as enthusiastic about American Ninja Warriors as they are. Yoffe immediately lets the audience know how important her religious identity is. “I love my religion, I love my culture, but something is missing. It has to be normalized to play sports in order to be able to practice athletics, ”said Yoffe in her audition video. “I want to show our community leaders that girls and women should be able to play sports while keeping their faith.” Her daughter was diagnosed with alopecia when she was 2 years old, which resulted in her losing all of her hair. “I knew at that point that unless I become extremely confident personally, there was no way I could raise a confident daughter,” she said in the video. When filming for the current season of Passover began, Yoffe was immediately faced with a unique challenge. It was held in Tacoma, Washington, and the whole family went with her. “It was definitely not easy,” she said. “We couldn’t have all of the food they gave us.” But the show went out of its way to give her flexibility in her itinerary during Passover, she said. An American Ninja Warrior spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the show’s decision to extend flexibility to Yoffe. Participating in the show was Yoffe’s first national competition, and also her first appearance on television. Yoffe said her kids all want to be ninjas now. “You are really excited and excited.” PJC Nicole Raz writes for the Jewish News of Phoenix, an affiliate publication.
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