West Hempstead, NY – Estee Ackerman, an 11-year-old sixth grader from West Hempstead, Long Island, set aside her ambition and sacrificed a chance to compete at the final event in the 2012 US National Table Tennis Championship in Las Vegas for the sake of shabbos.
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“I advanced in my round robin and then we looked at my schedule and saw the next match would be during Friday night, which is our Sabbath, so of course I’m disappointed,” Estee told the New York Post (http://bit.ly/Wei58f) in an interview. “I practiced and trained for six months for this. Ping-pong is important to me, but my religion of Judaism is also very important to me.”
Estee’s father, Glenn Ackerman, said his daughter had to withdraw from the December 21 event because tournament officials would not reschedule it for after shabbos. “She had a shabbos-over-sports moment,” Ackerman, who trains with Estee almost daily, said. “Hopefully, other Jewish athletes will also look to Estee to pursue their dreams in whatever sport they choose.”
The CEO of USA Table Tennis, Michael Cavanaugh, said the sport’s governing body tries to be “inclusionary in the manner in which we run our events.” The Ackermans say that with close to 800 players to schedule over a five-day period, it is understandable that Estee’s event could not be rescheduled when it fell out on shabbos.
Estee is ranked fourth in the 8-to-11 age bracket, but she often competes against and beats ping-pong players twice her age and older. Her talent for competitive ping-pong was first discovered by professional ping-pong player, Biba Golic, at a tournament in July in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Golic, the celebrity promoter of Killerspin ping-pong items, awarded Estee a sponsorship after seeing her play against and defeat a 30-year-old man. “Tactically and strategically she has a natural sense for the game,” Golic said. The 11-year-old now flies around the country to promote Killerspin at exhibition events, and Killerspin is considering sending Estee to China this summer for intensive training.
For now, Estee is looking toward the future and hopes to someday join the US Olympic table tennis team. “I hope to try out for the Olympic team and one day bring back a medal for my country,” Estee said.
Inspiring!
Kol Hakavod and Hatzlacha Rabbah!!!!
We are all so so so so so proud of you!!!
“Ping-pong is important to me, but my religion of Judaism is also very important to me.” should read:
but my religion of Judaism is MUCH MORE important to me.
One can’t compare the importance of ping-pong and the importance of the Holly Shabbos in any way shape or form.
Mazel Tov!!!! for making a real Kiddush Hashem, I’m sure Hashem will pay you back, many times over.
Yasher koach! May Hashem reward her greatly for that choice!
Is playing ping pong chillul shabbos?
Estee, you won!
yasher koach to estee
Kol Hakovod to Estee for the mesiras nefesh she showed in foregoing playing on shabbos. She should be a role model for all banos yisroel on the kind of kiddush hashem you manifest by standing on principle. She is truly an eshes chayil.
Yes, Shmirat Shabbat takes precedence over ping pong. Good for her, though! That is not an easy thing for an 11 year old to do. Kudos to her parents!
Good NET result, nontheless.
I understand the kidush hashem outweighs playing in a tournamanet, but she could’ve competed on shabbos without any chillul shabbos.
Yes – there is a tshuva from Rav Moishe zatzal….
It’s very nice to read how people and even children sacrifice for shabbos. But why is this news? Aren’t there hundreds of thousands of yidden around the world who sacrifice much more that a silly pink pong game?
Just walk down 13th avenue in bp and you’ll see all stores shut down for shabbos.
She knows that if she plays on Shabos, her whole extended family, neighbors and friends will degrade her as a Mechallel Shabbos or Shabbos Goy. So why would she want to ruin her social life for this.
This social pressure, is what keeps Klal Yisroel frum, as opposed to when Yidden came here alone before the war.
The day will come when this amazing bas yisroel will compete for a gold medal on a day when it is not Shabbos, and because of the sacrifice she made years ago, Hashem will give her extra strength and cunning and she will win that medal.
Let’s hope that not playing ping pong on shabbos is a step in kedusha of this young girl. Because of her being moser nefesh for shabbos, HKB”H should reward her with lots of s’yata d’shmaya to continue on the right path in torah u’mitzvos.
If you’re going to be a frum Jew living in a secular world, you have to be prepared to make sacrifices. Many years ago, my law school scheduled my graduation for the second day of Shavuous (not intentionally). I never had a hava amina of going, even though my uncle lived very close to the school at the time and offered to put me up for Yom Tov. I would not have had to do anything, just sit there in a cap and gown and listen to speeches. I didn’t think it was a Yom Tov dicka thing to do, so I declined. Never regretted it for one second.
Estee:
You are a heroine. I am the grandfather of one of the Houston basketball players. My uncle won first place in the New Jersey State Ping Pong Championship (1938?). Be strong. You have already learned that “Doing the Avodas Hashem is job one!”
i have spent the last PESACH at a glatt kosher hotel,the clientel consisted off mostly HEIMISH and CHASIDISH people,they had 2 ping pong tables,and they were occupied almost 24 hours a day,no one had a problem with playing it on YOM TOV
Inspiring!!! We are all very proud of you estee….
Mesiras nefesh for shabbos in our generation that’s a real lesson….