May 2022
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A Jewish American Ninja Warrior
Liba Yoffe, CEO of Spirit Fit Life and two-time contestant on American Ninja Warrior talks about strength, focus and living your truth.
By Penina Taylor
At some point in their life every child suspects their mother is a “ninja”. But in the case of Liba Yoffe, there’s no doubt about it. This tiny force of nature is an Orthodox Jewish mom of four living in Phoenix, Arizona. She is also a two-time contestant on American Ninja Warrior, a long-running sports entertainment reality show in the US. It is based on a Japanese show called Sasuke. Sasuke shows air in over a dozen countries worldwide and involve the competitors (there are hundreds) to complete a series of obstacle courses of increasing difficulty. While the prize for winning a season can be a hefty jackpot – now up to $1,000,000, the chances of a woman winning it is pretty slim (a woman has never even earned the title “Last Ninja Standing” in the 13 seasons of American Ninja Warrior). Still, Liba is going to give it her best shot.
A Message From Our Editor
In Israel the two weeks after Passover include Yom Hashoah – Holocaust Memorial Day, Yom Hazikaron – National Memorial Day and Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. It’s a time of wildly opposing emotions and a time of reflection. When I stand in silence at the sounding of the Yom Hashoah siren I think about a wide variety of things. I think about how huge the number six million is, and that 80 years later the Jewish people still haven’t reached our pre-Holocaust population – That’s how big six million is – it’s over 80 years big. But I also think about the concept of baseless hatred and killing people just because of who they are. And I think about what it means to be a Jew.
Penina Taylor
Editor in Chief
