12: Educational Activities

Sport, a Waste of Time: The Jewish View

• Ask the members of the group whether they enjoy playing sport. Ask them why. Put the different suggested reasons up on the board.
• Now ask the group whether there is a Jewish view on playing sport.
• Give them the following quotation from Pirkei Avot (3:9):
  

  Rabbi Ya’akov said: If a man was walking by the way and studying and he ceased his study and said, “How fine is this tree”, or “How fine is this ploughed field,” the Scripture sees it as though he has forfeited his own soul”.

• Discuss what it means.
  • Why should there be such a rejection of nature and the natural world?
  • What is the connection to our subject?
  • Explain the idea of Bitul Torah (wasting time that should be given to Torah study) as a central rabbinic idea that included the idea of sport.
  • Explain the idea of the rejection of physicality and the importance of spirituality as a rabbinic view. It might be good to have this presented by a key Rabbinic figure from Jewish history, such as Rashi.
• Whether he or the leader (or someone else) presents the traditional rabbinic view, at a certain point in time the explanation should be interrupted and challenged by another visitor, Judah Macabee. He should praise the importance of study, but indicate the importance of sport and physical development for the nation.
• Develop this into a full-scale debate. At the end discuss the opinions of the two sides, being fair to each and explaining clearly the differences between the two approaches.
  Is sport a waste of time for Jews?
• Ask the group which side Zionism took.
• Bring in the quote from Nordau and discuss it.

  If, unlike other peoples, we do not conceive of [physical] life as our highest possession, it is nevertheless very valuable to us and thus worthy of careful treatment. During long centuries we have not been able to give it such treatment…In the narrow Jewish street our poor limbs soon forgot their carefree movements. In the dimness of sunless houses, our eyes began to blink shyly. The fear of constant persecution turned our powerful voices into frightened whispers…
  Let us take up our oldest traditions. Let us once more become deep-chested, sturdy, sharp-eyed men…For no other people will gymnastics fulfill a more educational purpose than for us Jews. It shall straighten us in body and in character… Our new muscle Jews have not yet regained the heroism of our forefathers who in large numbers eagerly entered the sports arenas in order to take part in competition and to pit themselves against the highly trained Hellenistic athletes…

• Ask the group for their opinions in the dispute. Is there a difference between playing sport and being a spectator?

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