Q and A with football-star-turned-Orthodox Jew

SOUTHBURY, CT - He lives a life without cable TV, although he admitted he and his three children occasionally rent movies from Blockbuster. He doesn't attend sporting events and rarely watches them on television. He didn't see one inning of the recent Major League All-Star Game. Though the ex-National Football League offensive lineman and Super Bowl champion Alan Veingrad was passionate about his past life, he is far removed from that moment in time. Nearly 13 years since retiring following the Dallas Cowboys' Super Bowl XXVII win over the Buffalo Bills, Veingrad's overall view is clear-cut and sports is the lower point on his daily agenda. The once secular Jew became Orthodox in recent years and now, the 42-year-old South Florida resident travels around the country talking to National and local Jewish organizations, including Chabad Lubavitch of Northwest Connecticut, about his strengthened faith and its connection to what he learned as an athlete. Republican-American staff writer Mark Jaffee recently profiled Veingrad before his three-day stay in western Connecticut and talked with him again Sunday morning at the Dolce Heritage in Southbury for a question-and-answer session: Q: What can we do to positively and finally change the hostile climate in Israel and surrounding countries in the Middle East. A: "I just can't understand where are in 2006 as a society ... If there is fighting to be had, Israel is not going to sit around and talk. They will fight with force. But hopefully, some day we can imagine life where we don't have to lock our doors and no one kills. We are all connected from God. He is the father of all us. Q: What are some of things that you specifically pray for during your morning or afternoon sessions? A: "I pray for world peace. Can it happen in our lifetimes? I think anything can happen." Q: But how can we accomplish this as a society? A: "We need to spread the message to stop the hate. Unfortunately there are a lot of angry people who are faced with a lot of challenges in life. If we can minimize the hate, we can minimize the fighting, and we can minimize the wars. I really believe we can have an era and generation where we won't have bombs blowing up and it will be a totally different world where we don't have to lock our doors and no one will bother with anyone A: "For my sins. Sometimes you speak before you think. That's why there is two coverings over your mouth, your lips and your teeth. I have plenty of sins. I also pray for the health of my family and for my three children to be OK and continue to be vibrant and passionate about the Torah. Every day, I wake up and thank God for restoring my soul. When I jump out of bed, those three seconds it takes to say thank you gives me a whole new outlook. If I take a bite out of an apple, I say a prayer and a blessing to appreciate the opportunities that I have." Q: A few years back, there was a newspaper story about your life that made you re-evaluate your lifestyle. What specifically did you not like about the story? A: "It was a 'Where are they Now'- type, reminiscing on the Super Bowl. I play a lot of basketball with my son and do a lot of bike riding with my son and daughters for exercise. We did a lot of fishing, kayaking and roller-blading and that was all mentioned. After reading it, I realized I had a shallow existence. I realized that those things that were a part of a healthy lifestyle, were really not that important. Neither are vacations. I needed to get away from materialistic things. Learning more about Judaism became more important to me. I decided to make the transition, spirituality. I need it to keep me from wavering. It has given me discipline. I've taken a step back, which has allowed me to move forward as a person and as a Jew." Q: As a youth in Miami, how religious were you? A: "I used to go to Hebrew school, walk in the front door and (immediately) leave through the back door. I didn't like it, but I did like the lake behind the school. I used to throw rocks in the lake while classes were going on. "When I was 14, I used to stay in the streets and get into trouble. Fortunately, I had an older brother, who was into football and track and never came home. I decided to follow him in both of those sports and began to pump iron and steel." Q: Being the only Jewish player on your college team and one of the few in the NFL, did you face any anti-Semitism? A: "No. My college teammates did ask a lot of questions about the High Holy Days, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah. I didn't have the answers. I called home and my family didn't have the answers, either. "In the NFL, it was more insensitive than malice. Mostly, it was about ignorance. When players would talk about someone or make jokes or fun, it was about everyone, Polish, Jewish, Black. It was not anti-Semitism (hostility toward or prejudice against Jews or other ethnic groups). "In the NFL, (non-Jewish) players socialize with a lot of sports agents and lawyers, who happen to be Jewish."