PITTSBURGH — The New York Post profiled Chaim Galbut on Monday, highlighting the 19-year-old Orthodox Jewish basketball player from Miami as he prepares to begin a rare Division I career at Duquesne University.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Galbut, a 6-foot-7 forward, is expected to become one of the few Orthodox Jewish players to compete at the Division I level while maintaining strict religious observance, including wearing a yarmulke and observing the Jewish Sabbath.
His observance means he will be unable to participate in games or team activities that take place during Shabbat, from Friday evening through Saturday evening.
The Post reports that Galbut spent a gap year in Jerusalem studying Talmud while continuing to pursue basketball. He had not received a Division I offer when he graduated high school in 2025.
His opportunity came after he joined JDS Elite, an AAU program that gives Jewish day school players exposure to higher-level competition and college scouts.
Duquesne assistant coach Chase Goldstein became interested after seeing Galbut’s highlight video. The Post reports that Goldstein viewed Galbut’s recruitment as an opportunity to demonstrate what an Orthodox Jewish athlete could accomplish at the highest level of college basketball.
Galbut ultimately chose Duquesne over continuing at Yeshiva University, where he would have faced fewer conflicts between basketball and Sabbath observance.
“I’m a basketball player and I’m a Jew. Not one or the other,” Galbut said, according to the Post.
His demanding routine includes morning prayers, basketball practice, online classes, Talmud study and additional workouts.
The Post reports that Galbut is expected to be the first yarmulke-wearing, Sabbath-observant player on a Division I men’s basketball team since Tamir Goodman played at Towson in 2001.
For Galbut, the challenge is about more than making history. He hopes to demonstrate that his religious commitments and basketball ambitions can coexist.
“I’m a basketball player and I’m a Jew,” he said. “Not one or the other.”
Bhatzlacha! Hope you get drafted to NBA / NCAA team of your choice and make a Kiddush Hashem wherever you go!
Of course this article skipped over the Masechtos he learned in EY and and his current daily learning seder, as was mentioned in the NYP. You’re all looking to judge others. May you be judged in this zman hadin.
The following comment is simply a comment. It is not meant to attack anyone.
When a Jewish basketball player is dubbed “the Jewish Jordan,”
it means that value is being assigned to a Jew to be looked up to as a basketball player.
For Jews, studying Torah and the holy texts and performing Mitzvos are our main occupation in this world and the merits of which are taken into the next world with us.
We look up to and respect our parents and our Rabbis and Gidolay HaDor and Marbitzay Torah.
Playing basketball is simply an action and has no Jewish value as something to be admired or to be looked up to.
“I’m a basketball player and I’m a Jew,” he said. “Not one or the other.”
No. Your identity is being a Jew, first and foremost. Playing basketball is just something that you do.
Chaim Galbut’s commitment to both his faith and his sport is a powerful example of integrating values into every part of life. His statement, “I’m a basketball player and I’m a Jew. Not one or the other,” speaks to a larger truth about identity and purpose. It shows that excellence in one area does not demand abandoning another. This kind of integrity is what builds strong individuals and communities, proving that principle and performance can coexist.
The pursuit of two distinct paths, like basketball and Torah study, creates a tension. It is not about choosing one over the other, but about seeing how each commitment, fully embraced, can deepen the other. The discipline of the court can inform the focus needed for study, and the depth of study can bring a different kind of presence to the game. It is a single life lived with a dual purpose, each part reflecting the whole.
Nebech a Misyavni!