Yuri Foreman - Jewish Heritage and Rabbinic Studies

Jewish Heritage and Rabbinic Studies

Foreman, "the first Orthodox Jew to own a world title since Barney Ross held championships in two divisions in 1935", is one of three top contemporary Jewish boxers. The others are Dmitry Salita (30–1–1), a junior welterweight, and heavyweight Roman Greenberg (27–1–0).

“I thought at first that people were pulling my leg. Mike Marley said that Yuri was becoming a Rabbi. But that's true, he is. So I see Jim Borzell out there, and Jim handles John Duddy. 'So,' I said to Borzell, 'can you get John to go to Seminary? What a fight, a Priest against a Rabbi, and I'll get somebody from Nevada who’s Mormon to referee the fight.'”

In the post-fight interview of his December 2007 win over Andrey Tsurkan, Foreman raised his hands and wished the television audience a happy Chanukah. Foreman, who wears a Star of David on his boxing trunks, is an aspiring rabbi. "Boxing is sometimes spiritual in its own way", he said. "You have the physical and mental challenges in boxing, just like you have lots of challenges in exploring the different levels of Judaism. They are different but the same."

Foreman studies the Talmud and Jewish mysticism in the morning, trains for boxing in the afternoon and attends rabbinical classes twice a week at the IYYUN Institute, a Jewish educational center in Gowanus. "Yuri is a very good student", said Rabbi DovBer Pinson, an author and lecturer who is Foreman's teacher. "Most people (in the class) who find out that he's a boxer are very surprised. He doesn't have that boxing personality, at least in the perception of what a boxer is. He's not the rough kid on the block. He's a sweet, easy-going kid."

Foreman is currently studying at a Brooklyn yeshiva, and is preparing to be ordained as a rabbi. He has stated that he intends to return to Israel and serve as a rabbi for a community there, and occasionally leve Israel to box.