WATCH: Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal speaks Hebrew

When Rabbi Miller ran into former NBA star Shaq at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, he didn't expect him to say 'baruch hashem.'

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Shaquille O’Neal (photo credit: Courtesy Rabbi Jason Miller)
Shaquille O’Neal
(photo credit: Courtesy Rabbi Jason Miller)
When Rabbi Jason Miller ran into former NBA star, Shaquille O’Neal at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Tuesday, the last thing he expected was to hear him speaking Hebrew.
To his surprise, he convinced the overwhelmingly large man to say a few Hebrew phrases into his cell phone camera, hoping it might by chance, go viral, and posted the video to his Facebook page as well as his blog.
"Shaq was more than willing. In fact, he took the time to ask me what 'Shabbat Shalom' means and when it's appropriate to say it. He even surprised me with some other Hebrew phrases," Miller wrote on his blog.
Him and Shaq then "schmoozed" for a while, and when he saw the large American Express bag Miller was carrying, he asked where he got it because he needed a large bag to carry the gifts he had received throughout the day.
"I gave him the bag and in return he presented with me a nice pair of Monster DNA Pro headphones. A great deal!"
According to Wikipedia, Rabbi Jason Miller is an American rabbi and entrepreneur known as a leading technologist in the Jewish world.