Sports, Violence and Spirituality

"Mens Sana in Corpore Sano" - "A Sound Mind In A Sound Body." Attributed to Cicero first century.

As a young student in a cheder - private Jewish school, we were discouraged from playing sports.  Our teachers, called Rebbes, were from the old country.  They displayed an aversion to any kind of organized sport.  For many of them sports meant body worship and that was a big no-no.  For others, sports meant pitting the weak against the stronger teaching that the deciding factor in life is that might counts and what was right makes no difference. The Rebbe said, "sports-dos is treif - not kosher and not productive. Sports brought out the worst in people.  You can get hurt, or worse, pick up violent tendencies."

My friends of European families told me that only the irreligious free thinkers sent their children to sports.  I felt that this too was not a valid explanation.  Since a lot of American kids that went to gym or soccer games were not free thinkers.  Thinking that sports could be the precursor of becoming faithless was crazy.

Being one of the only American born students among a class of European children I couldn't understand what was treif with sports.  Here in America sports were the in thing.  "A healthy body - a healthy mind".  I knew of some great Jews in sports like baseball's Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax.

Regardless of our teachers' feelings we would organize games of soccer and stickball.  During our class recess we would enjoy fierce competitive games. I would return to class all sweaty and excited. I wondered what in the world is wrong with sports?

In high school I had a more enlightened Rebbe who saw sports as a way to unify people of all colors and creeds.  He taught us the following. In a game everybody learns to play together that no one can go off and do whatever they want to.  Each player has a responsibility to each other.  The team spirit in playing together is what makes the winning.

So sports become kosher and our school had a basketball team.

Later on I attended rabbinical seminary.  I asked my teacher, an old rabbi in his 80s, about sports.  He said sports are good for America.  In the old country people had nothing to do on weekends for entertainment.  They would drink and plan pogroms consisting of killing, robbing and violence.  Here in America things are good. The people go to games and vent all their energy with something safe and sound.

Thinking about sports I become aware of an interesting anomaly. It's the no contact games that are followed by violence while the body contact games have less or no violence

The most violent sport I can think of is boxing.  Yet that sport has had many Jewish boxers.  Starting way back in England in 1764 with Daniel Mendoza; the father of the art of boxing.  He wrote a book on the art of boxing and taught defensive boxing, dubbed "Hit and Hop."  Benny Leonard and Barney Ross were lightweight champions, Lou Tendler, Maxi Rosenblum and Jackie Kid Berg are Jews in the Hall of Fame and so are many others.

In December 1911, the Empire Athletic Club, located in Manhattan, reported that Dr. Louis Wallach, known as Leach Cross, "The Fighting Dentist," won by a knockout in the ninth round. He became the hero of the century.

A story is told of an exchange that took place between Wallach's father, Chaim, and a friend.  It seems that Louis Wallach had adopted the non-Jewish name Leach so that his father, a very religious person, would not know of his son's new profession.  On the night of Louis' 26^th bout, another knockout, a friend greeted Papa Wallach with, "Gut Shabbos and Mazel Tov".  Mr. Wallach retorted, "My son - a bum!  A Yiddish bachur (Jewish young man) does not fight!"  Orthodox Jews likened fighting to eating pork.  However, he was soon won over to his son's profession.

It would seem to me that this violent game of boxing should stimulate violence by the spectators and surprisingly that doesn't happen.

At the last welterweight title fight at the Staples Center between Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosely, a split decision was made. The wisdom of King Solomon was needed to figure out the winner and De La Hoya's defeat.  In his past fight with Trinidad, De La Hoya felt slighted and yes as he contested the fight, peace reigned, and paying fans all went home peacefully.

On the other hand, the Lakers' game, which is a no contact sport, produced a violent response causing havoc and riotous conditions.  The City of Los Angeles had vandalism of at least half a million dollars.  Police cars were destroyed and lives were threatened. 

Why would a seemingly innocent no-contact game cause so much havoc while boxing, the killing machine game, has no such aftermath?

I think we may be losing the spiritual message of the games. The idea of healthy and sound winning to share spirit is lost. We have lost contact with our souls.

The late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, world leader of Hassidic Jewry once commented on the game of soccer:

"When a child has studied Torah-Bible and he wants to go out and play ball, he should not be criticized.  Rather, we must "educate the child according to his way," i.e. show him how he can play ball "for the sake of Heaven."  Recreation contributes to his health which will, in turn, give him a greater capacity to learn Bible.  Playing ball is like taking a pill.  When someone is sick, he must take pills to regain his health.  Is taking a pill good?  In this context, yes.  Similarly, is playing ball good?  Since it contributes to the study of Bible, yes.  The purpose of a Jewish child's life is to learn Torah and fulfill mitzvahs.  Playing ball can also contribute toward this goal.  If he wins he thanks G‑d for his victory."

Laker's coach Phil Jackson is the son of a fundamentalist Christian preacher.  Jackson is reported to believe in the path of spirituality.  It has been said he uses Zen meditation and incorporates spirituality into his coaching.  Buddhism, Basketball and Spirituality all go hand in hand in helping his team win.

The recent ruling by the Supreme Court forbidding students to lead in prayer before a game is wrong. The ruling drives home the message that sports are turning players and spectators to worshipping the body and not the spirit. It has become a sad contact sport where players and spectators are only intrested in themselves.

I believe it would do America well not only to have a prayer before the game but a prayer after the game thanking G‑d for giving the human race the capability of competing in a harmonious fashion.  The spirit of our competition has to lift the spirits of the spectators towards acknowledging that sports can bring us all together for a good time. If we had prayed after the Laker game there would have no losers only winners!