Deeply rooted in the Jewish community, the Maccabiah has grown to become the second largest international sports event after the Olympics. With a big mix of Jewish and non-Jewish athletes, this year's event in Israel marks the 20th Maccabiah since it originated in 1932. But in the face of religion, just how holy is sportsmanship to the Jewish belief?
“The year was 1965,” Dr. Rabbi Steven Katz of the Hendon Reform synagogue recalls. “First division Arsenal had lost 2-1 to Peterborough United in the third tier. We had a member of the congregation who was escorted away by the police for obstructing traffic. The poor fella had gone and laid down in the middle of the road to be run over. He was an Arsenal fan, you see.”
Sport might not be the first thing the world associates with the Jewish community. And supposedly, Jewish Jocks, by Franklin Foer is the World’s shortest book. But, as Rabbi Katz says, “there is nothing in Judaism that says ‘don’t do sports’.” His office in the synagogue is decorated with a grand mix of Jewish paintings and pictures. More than a few attest to the rabbi’s own enthusiasm for sport. In one, a Hasidic Jew is seen hammering a mezuzah, a religious relic thought to protect the entrances to Jewish homes with the power of God, to a football goal post.
“The Talmud says to look after your body and your health,” Rabbi Katz explains. Yet, although the Talmud may encourage physical activity, does it allow Jews to play sports? “Rabbis would never discourage sports,” says Rabbi Katz. For some, it may simply mean adjusting the length of your tennis skirt. But for others, it’s about striking a balance with their religion.
“On my first Shabbat Saturday in Israel, I stole 50 shekel, ran away from home to play football, and ended up scoring four goals,” says Jonathan Marrache, 31, with a slight grin across his face. His mother converted upon marrying his father, but kept to the religion even more than her husband. “He’s not supposed to run on Shabbat, my mom used to say.” According to Jonathan, the Jewish sports community in Israel under Maccabi is largely non-religious. “So we created a religious team, to play in the reserves.” Growing up in Gibraltar before moving to Israel, Jonathan along with other Jewish children found that sports had the ability to bridge the gap between the communities. “The neighbourhood kids would always shout anti-Semitic insults,” he says. “But instead of a fight, we’d beat them in a football match.”
Although he doesn’t consider himself orthodox anymore, he still adheres with tradition. “My dream is that my son become a football player, and to structure religion around it,” says Jonathan.
In contrast, Russell Goldstein, forward for England’s National Futsal team at the 2015 UEFA World Cup, made a clear choice between sports and religion. “Sports is my life,” he says. In spite of growing up in a largely non-religious family, he found that his passion for sports was obstructed rather than celebrated by his Jewish community. “My secondary Jewish school wouldn’t let me play on Saturdays or give me a day release for matches,” says Russel. “You never know, that one day off a week might have made the difference.”
12th-century Talmud scholar and physician Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon said of physical activity, "As long as a person exercises and exerts himself a lot, takes care not to eat to the point of being completely full, and keeps his bowels soft, illness will not come upon him and his strength will increase. And whoever sits comfortably and takes no exercise, even if he eats all the best foods and follows healthcare principles in other areas of his life, all his days will be full of pain and his strength will decline."
“Jewish parents’ attitude towards sports has changed,” says Rabbi Katz. In particular sports like Football or tennis, which requires neither a large amount of money nor an entire team to do it, Jewish parents seems more and more willing to allow their children to choose extracurricular activities over studies. “We are aware of it in the bar mitzvah studies, and often get Jewish parents texting and apologising for their children’s’ absence” says Laurence Stein, 58, support at Hendon Reform Synagogue.
Noticeably, money rather than religion seem to hold significance when it comes to Jews’ history with sports and athletics. “One sport Jews did excel in before the war was boxing,” says Rabbi Katz. In the neo-migrant communities marginalised by anti-Semitism, the near no-cost boxing sport was an easy way out of poverty. By late 1920s, Jews were the predominant ethnicity in American prize fights. However, in a time of proportionally more underlying racism, most athletes chose to hide their Jewish background. “My Grandfather said to change my surname if I wanted to make it professionally,” says Russell, noting how older generations still see a disparity between Jewish life and society.
“Most Jewish parents wants to provide their children with financial security, happiness and good health” says Rabbi Katz. “Few are willing to take the risk professional sport puts upon a child, physically and socially.” But it does seem like the times are changing. “Nowadays it’s different, but before it was impossible to make a living doing sports unless you excelled to a noticeable degree,” says Rabbi Katz.
In his book Does your Rabbi know you are here?, Anthony Clavane tells the story of children of Jewish penniless immigrants’ involvement with British football. Today, clubs like the Tottenham Hotspurs continue to have a strong Jewish identity. And the Maccabi creates a solid stepping stone for children from the Jewish community to go professional. In fact, Israeli ‘Rocket’ Ronny Rosenthal who played for both Liverpool FC and Tottenham started his career in Maccabi Haifa.
Whilst it’s unlikely that national swimmers will jump in the pool wearing a kippah, perhaps it is only a matter of years before Goldstein, Ben-Aharon or Stein will become household names in the bigger leagues like the EFL. For Jonathan Marrache, it’s a no-brainer.
“If my son wants to play football; God bless him.”