testkumah

Monday, July 9, 2007

Kosher Hellenism


Baseball is in Israel and it has also made it to the Kumah site. Personally I believe that pro-sports is an insidious form of American culture which has no place in Israel:

1. It promotes that fan culture, i.e. the fat America that goes to games and watches TV on a scale never seen before in the history of mankind. And don't tell me watching sports makes you play - look at the facts - America is a country of overweight watchers, not healthy players.

2. Pro-sports eventually leads to the warped societal values of paying players millions while teachers get pennies. Do Torah observant Jews feel comfortable being part of the societal ill?

3. This is a pseudo-Greek thing. Rashi writing in 10 century Provence comments that the Torah verse in Vayikra 18;3 "Bechukoteyehem Lo Teleichu" - "Do not follow their statutes" is specifically talking about going to "their stadiums" and "their theaters". "Their stadiums" is not just Roman-fighting, it is also pro-sports, the celebration of bodily ability.

4. Israel baseball poses as a Jewish thing, with Jewish names for the teams and Jewish symbols. I challenge anyone to find me a rabbinic source lauding going to or watching professional sports. The Maccabees, who fought Greek culture, would turn over in their graves if they knew how their "Miracles" have been borrowed to name a baseball team in Israel.

5. Goyyim. 60% of the players in the new Israel Baseball League are goyyim. Maybe one of them can get lucky and meet a nice Jewish girl while he is here. Certainly little Jewish kids will look up to the stick-wielding goy. I already heard of a proud dad talking about his son collecting all the signatures.

6. Ok, Ok we all need relaxation and entertainment - but do Orthodox Jews have to promote it? We all may succumb to some bittul Torah - but to promote it to the point of giving it a stamp of approval?

7. If you want pro-sports you can enjoy it plenty on ESPN and on the Internet. Why bring this thing to Israel?


My only question: if it does indeed help Aliyah - should I forgo my protestations in the spirit of compromising for a greater cause?

PS - Please do not confuse playing sports with watching pro-sports. The Israel football league is a beautiful thing. Jews go out, play, sweat, and enjoy themselves. There is no money involved. There is no excessive idolization of the players. There is no warping of societal values.

Labels: , ,

posted by Pinchas @ 7:26 AM  

9 Comments:

  • At July 9, 2007 at 10:48 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Oy Yishai,

    Your post (and Malkah's which was rightfully removed) are so off base! (no pun intended)

    Firstly, look at the number of Jewish players that are not Olim. Don't you think spending 2-3 months in Israel could potentially make them think about Aliyah?

    Secondly, how can you criticize the only sporting event in Israel that doesn't play on Shabbat.

    Also the team names are nice because they connects the sport to the land...I would think that would be a positive.

    Also, with such a short season and full schedule, there won't be much time for the players to find a woman.

    Umm and why is Baseball your target and not Baskeball...or even Soccer?

     

  • At July 9, 2007 at 1:43 PM , Anonymous Pinchas said...

    Anonymous – You beat me to it! I was gonna say Yishai is way off base (but my pun would be intended). What could possibly be wrong with a perfectly clean sport like baseball? Baseball is a 100% kosher activity! A game of baseball makes for an excellent and enjoyable family outing. Isn’t it better for our youngsters to spend their time cheering for the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox than hanging out in gangs (doing bad stuff) in Ayalon park in RBS?

    Furthermore baseball teaches some really good middos. Michael Freund wrote about that in the Jerusalem Post and I posted it here:
    http://pinchas.blogspot.com/2005/09/why-israel-needs-baseball.html

    It teaches about teamwork and also about patience – something sorely missing in the Israeli youth. It is the only sport Freund points out that has something called a “sacrifice.”

    I have way more to write on this than can fit in one comment but it’s Aliyah week so I’m a bit too busy. But if I have to sum it up - they don't play on Shabbat, they sell Kosher-Mehadrin "Burger's Bar" hamburgers, and have a minyan for Mincha and Ma'ariv. What a terrible addition to the State of Israel!

    Oh, wait…I forgot the most important thing about baseball... the whole goal of the game is get Home!!!

     

  • At July 9, 2007 at 10:38 PM , Anonymous shimshinhagiber@yahoo.com said...

    There are exactly seven places in the entire tenach where the word "sport" shows up....
    1. Isaac was SPORTING with Rebekah his wife.
    2.Call for Samson, that he may make us SPORT.
    3.And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them SPORT.
    4. that beheld while Samson made SPORT.
    5.It is as SPORT to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.
    6.18 As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death,
    19 So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in SPORT?
    7.4 Against whom do ye SPORT yourselves?...

    however, there are six-hundred and eleven places where the word "holy" shows up....
    may i suggest that Israel should be a place where holiness is found and flourishes rather then another place where heathenism's vanity's aspire

    5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:
    6 FOLLY is set in great dignitys...

    do we really have that much time on our hands....that we should start going around whacking balls with sticks,running around in circles. while dressed in silly spandex tights?...

    dearest chosen people....lets hope that what we've been chosen for holds much greater intrigue, much higher virtues for us then such foolish vanities as baseball....

     

  • At July 10, 2007 at 12:47 AM , Anonymous louis3105 said...

    Unfortunately the Israel Football League isn't that kosher (assuming you mean soccer as opposed to the American Touch Football League). They've been rocked by scandals including fan hooliganism (including a stampede several weeks ago), point-shaving and gambling, yada, yada, yada. And some of their players are outrageously paid. But then again, considering the rock throwing and frum hooliganism (falsely in the name of Torah), maybe more people need to relax and watch a ballgame of any sort.

     

  • At July 10, 2007 at 4:00 AM , Anonymous NG said...

    Hey Yishai, maybe you should re-post the article you wrote (or was it a letter to the editor?) in the YU newspaper all those years ago about a certain religiously observant Jewish basketball player.

     

  • At July 10, 2007 at 5:46 AM , Anonymous Yishai said...

    1. Louis - of course I meant the American Touch Football League.

    2. Pinchas - Re: "What could possibly be wrong with a perfectly clean sport like baseball? Baseball is a 100% kosher activity!"

    Please reread my post and give concrete answers to the concrete criticisms I made - don't tell me it's 100% Kosher when I made 7 points to show you it's trief.

    3. Oy - Re: "Secondly, how can you criticize the only sporting event in Israel that doesn't play on Shabbat."

    Your bar for who is exempt from criticism is very low. There is a very clear economic reason why IBL does not play on Shabbat - most of the fans are Orthodox Americans who would be turned off if games were on Shabbat.

     

  • At July 10, 2007 at 6:05 AM , Anonymous Pinchas said...

    "Please reread my post and give concrete answers to the concrete criticisms I made - don't tell me it's 100% Kosher when I made 7 points to show you it's trief."

    Yishai - and I intend to upshlug every one of your 7 points soon. :)

     

  • At July 11, 2007 at 4:08 AM , Anonymous Dan in Jerusalem said...

    Baseball stolen by American capitalists from Russian game Lapta:
    Лапта — русская народная командная игра с мячом и битой. Игры, напоминающие лапту, существуют в ряде других стран, например бейсбол, крикет и другие

     

  • At July 16, 2007 at 10:11 PM , Anonymous Shlomo Walfish said...

    Hi Yishai,

    About Baseball. I happen not to care much about it personally I am NOT a baseball fan, but I know a lot of people who are, including my wife. That being said I do support baseball in Israel here's why.

    1. There are people who make Aliya who commute to the US for business who can’t wait to come back the the US for Playoffs. If they had a team they were rooting for in Israel they would look forward to coming back to Israel for Playoffs in addition to all the other reasons for getting back home.

    2. This takes away one more excuse for people NOT to make Aliya and may even encourage it. If there is one Oleh because of Baseball in Israel it is well worth it.

    3. Baseball is very different them soccer or most other sports. A team can be down 9/1 and in the 9th inning turn it around and win the game, which is actually a nice metaphor for the Jewish people, our destiny is not controlled by Mazalot, and a Jew and Israel can turn things around on a second. It shows there is hope.

    4. I don’t like the waiting for action to happen in baseball but perhaps this is a very good thing for Israelis to learn some more Savlanut.

    5. Everything can be used for good and bad. While they may idolize sports players in America, perhaps in Israel when there are mostly Jewish players, they will actually be GOOD roll models to kids. They can be top players and top learners with good Midos. We can show the world how to have sports and be clean and Kosher.

    6. If someone is good enough to command a high salary, good for him. It will encourage lots of people to be athletic and in good shape so they may have a shot at making the big lieges. The Rambam and Rav Kook talk about being fit as a prerequisite to Teshuva.

    Conclusion: There can be Kosher Baseball in the Holy Land.

     

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