Why I appreciate the Olympics

August 21, 2008 · Filed Under Other Jewish World Commentary ·

A lot of people, especially in religious circles, are quick to dismiss the Olympic games as something very superficial and negative which encourages the worship of the physical body rather than the spiritual essence of a person. I disagree.

Yes, those people are right. In their earliest origins, Olympic games were first and foremost part of Greek culture of the worship of the physical body. That being said, I think that the current format of the Olympic games is about something much deeper. In the Olympic games nowadays, we don’t have different individuals combating to show they have the greatest physical abilities in the world. Rather, we have individuals representing their countries in a competition - representing their nations in order to bring some pride to their countries.

These individuals care less about personal success and much more about national pride. Except for the few spectacular phenomenons such as Michael Phelps, people do not even remember the names of the winners. What we remember is the drama of the battle in the medal counts. In Israel’s case, when we are proud of an Olympic winner, it is not so much because we admire his physical strength, but because we are proud of Israel’s achievement in producing such an incredible athlete.
I won’t deny the fact that that the focus on athletics in the Olympic games is a focus on something which is not the essential thing in life. Of course, the spiritual is much more essential than the physical. However, I do think the Olympic games bring out a great feeling of national pride, which is one of the most important feelings for an individual to have. I encourage everyone to keep cheering for the Israeli Olympic team. Even if all we currently have is one bronze medal, the simple fact of cheering for our Olympic team can be a great way to motivate our national pride.

May our spiritual strength only surpass our physical accomplishments but may our physical accomplishments be great so that they may also inspire a deep pride in our incredible nation.

What is your opinion on the Olympics?

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Rafi G Says:
August 21st, 2008 at 10:10 pm

I see no reason to think the two are mutually exclusive. Just because something is not "the most important thing" does not mean it cannot be cheered or or it should not be paid attention to. Is everything we do purely spiritual? Maybe for some people, but not for me and I think not for most people. So cheer the spiritual, realioze teh Olympics are not SO important, but I see nothing wrong with cheering the physical as well.

Dan Says:
August 21st, 2008 at 10:14 pm

I agree with you 100%. There is not just assur and hova but also mutar. I do thing that there is also a positive aspect to the olympics, not just something mutar, which is what my post was about. Thanks for the comment!

Gemma Says:
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:29 am

I think we should look at the Olympics not only as a source of our national pride, but also as a source of spiritual inspiration. How? If these athletes can put in so much work, training and sweat into something so physical, how much more so should we as spiritual Jews put in double their effort to achieve our spiritual requirements and achievements. We should be working, training and sweating in our Torah achievements much more than they are in their physical achievements.

Mike Says:
August 23rd, 2008 at 9:44 am

I agree with Rafi G. G-d gave us amazing bodies and it's great to see people using them. I doubt that the point of life is only to study torah, or to grow spiritually. Not to mention that most of humanity is not jewish, so studying torah is out for them on that point alone. To live a full life is to to live healthy, which includes sports, building strength, and competing with your fellow man.