ROYAL HIGH KIDS SOAR AT JEWISH GAMES.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer

Being Jewish and participating in the Maccabi Games in Livingston, N.J., was not a priority to Royal High School freshmen Brian Lipman and Brandon Byer.

But playing baseball was, and the pair helped the Los Angeles team of 13- and 14-year-olds win the gold medal at the recent games, nicknamed the ``Jewish Olympics.''

The Los Angeles team walloped its competition in four games, beating teams from New Jersey, Baltimore, Chicago and Detroit by no fewer than five runs. Their wins included an 11-1 victory over Detroit in the gold medal game, which was stopped after five innings by the 10-run mercy rule. Lipman, who played catcher, right field and first base, had four hits in that game, including two doubles. Byer, a catcher, collected a double and an RBI.

``I was talking to kids from Baltimore and Detroit, and they said they can only play baseball for three months, and we can play year-round,'' Byer said, explaining the team's success. ``We had good team chemistry. We blended good.''

``This was one of the top teams I've played on,'' Lipman said. ``We had good pitching and very strong hitting.''

Yet the Jewish presence was felt and couldn't be ignored. According to the boys' fathers, Glenn Lipman and Hal Byer, it began with the opening ceremonies, held in the Continental Arena in East Rutherford, that were modeled after those of the Olympics, complete with spectacle, pageantry and a parade.

``It was neat walking in,'' Brian Lipman said. ``We walked in with the city of L.A. flag and the USA flag.''

Three thousand athletes from 11 countries, including Israel, Great Britain and Australia, participated, Hal Byer said. Included in the opening ceremonies were tributes to the Israeli athletes who were murdered during the 1972 Munich Olympics and to assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

In the closing ceremonies, there was an explanation of the Maccabees, who drove the ancient Greeks out of Palestine.

Out-of-state athletes stayed with host families, which gave the boys new insight to the Jewish culture. The local players stayed with an Israeli family.

``The food was a little different,'' Brian Lipman said. ``The first night, they had potato and chicken in a pot, and they served it for you without asking. . . . Everything was boiled, so there was less taste.''

``They taught me a lot about religion,'' Brandon Byer said. The family observed the Sabbath with a complete service, much of which was in Hebrew. Byer, whose father is Jewish and mother is Catholic, was not used to this. Lipman, whose parents are Jewish and has celebrated his bar mitzvah, helped him follow along.

``I thought it would be a good cultural experience,'' Hal Byer said. ``He (Brandon) did appreciate the camaraderie and the whole premise of the games.''

But to the players, baseball was what the trip was about.

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Photo

Photo: Brian Lipman, left, and Brandon Byer, both 14, displ ay their gold medals in baseball from the Maccabi Games in Livingston, N.J.

Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News