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Aulcie Perry Reflects on the Yom Kippur He Didn’t Fast — and the Life-Changing Challenges That Followed
The former Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball legend opens up about losing his leg, rebuilding his life after tragedy, and the haunting memory of the one Yom Kippur he broke his spiritual routine
Just one week before Yom Kippur, Aulcie Perry, the legendary former basketball player who converted to Judaism, opened up about a painful memory — the one Yom Kippur he didn’t fast, and the chain of hardships that followed soon after.
In a candid interview with Walla!, Perry spoke about his difficult adjustment to life as an amputee, now confined to a wheelchair — a result of a tragic accident in which a cup of boiling tea spilled on his right leg, causing severe burns and months of suffering.
“My life is no longer the same,” he said. “I feel it in everything I do — walking, standing, sitting, even speaking. I feel like a baby learning to take his first steps. I have no balance. I’m constantly searching for stability. Everything is different now. It’s hard to put on and take off the prosthetic. At first, I couldn’t accept what happened to me. How could I lose a leg because of a cup of tea? It just feels so unnecessary.”
Perry recalls vividly the moment his life changed: “It was one of the hardest moments I’ve ever experienced. I was in the hospital for two or three months. The doctors came with the nurses and told me my leg was gone. I was in complete shock — I didn’t see it coming. It was so hard to accept. My legs were my life. They took me everywhere I wanted to go. They allowed me to play basketball at the highest level. Because of them, I achieved my dream.”
One of the most emotional parts of the interview came when Perry spoke about Yom Kippur of 1985 — the only year he chose not to fast. “Since my conversion in 1979, I always fasted — except that one year,” he recalled with deep regret. “Shortly after, I was arrested and everything started to fall apart. Every year since then, when Yom Kippur comes around, I think about it. I always wonder if there’s a connection — and I regret deeply that I didn’t fast that year.”
For Perry, the memory still carries a spiritual weight. “Life teaches you lessons in unexpected ways,” he said quietly. “I’ve fallen and gotten up before. This time, I’m still learning how to stand again — in every sense of the word.”
