Judaism's view of sports?

[voo-yo]

What is it, especially of professional sport?

[Zelhar]

As far as I know there are no prohibitions on practicing sport recreationally or professionally but there are serious practical limitations due to modesty laws in mixed sexes situations, and of course due to shabat and holidays.

However I think sport has a very low priority in the Jewish tradition, pretty much the opposite to the high priority that learning has. I blame the Greeks in part for this Jewish attitude cause it could be a counter to the Greek practices of gymnasium and their worship of athleticism.

[edu]

when you ask about Judaism's view of Sports do you mean playing sports or watching a sports team?

[The One and Only Mo]

I am a frum Jew and I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE SPORTS!!!!!!!!! But ideally, it shouldn't be followed extensively. I personally need sports as an outlet.

[voo-yo]

when you ask about Judaism's view of Sports do you mean playing sports or watching a sports team?

Both. Personally, I can only see egoism in sport stars and idolatry in sport fans.
Is it a coincidence that ancient Greece and Rome viewed sports as such an important part of their culture, just like modern world? It can't be.

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

Being healthy is a very important mitzvah.   The verse says "Guard yourself and guard your soul excessively" (Deuteronomy 4:9-10).  The sages understand this to refer to physical health.   (Kli Yakar says there, guard yourself means taking care of the body).   There is extra emphasis in this mitzvah more than other mitzvoth given in the Torah by saying "maod" -  very much - or excessively.   As we all know, the physical body contains the soul and so to protect it we have to also protect our bodies.   The Rambam writes extensively about the obligation to have healthy habits through exercise and proper diet and the fact that lack of health will negate a relationship with G-d because being sick will prevent knowledge of G-d.  (See Hilchoth Deoth)  Thus, even in the medieval period, the medical doctors (Rambam was a prominent physician) advocated exercise for healthy living.

Sports are a great way to get exercise and be healthy because they are also fun and help relieve stress in addition to protecting and rejuvenating the body, like all exercise.   As long as the sports are not being played naked like in ancient greece, I think playing sports if done for the right reasons is a great mitzvah.  Playing on a team or with friends can also cultivate friendships and bonds.  

As for professional sports, the problem is that games are often played on Shabbat and some sports are forbidden on Shabbat because they involve performing melacha either in traveling to the games or during the playing.   Otherwise I don't see a problem, unless someone knows something I'm missing.

[muman613]

My thoughts are thus:

1) There is nothing wrong with exercising and engaging in competitive sports.

2) There is a problem with idolizing the physical body, as the Greeks did. This is why we remember the difference between Jewish beauty and Greek beauty during the holiday of Channukah.

3) There are problems, as KWRBT points out, when sports schedules conflict with Jewish Sabbath and Yom Tov dates. A religious Jew must place his Judaism before his sports team in every case. There is no sports exemption for Shabbat and Yom Tov.

4) Some players in sports will be tempted to cheat, especially if their pay is tied to their performance... As a result we see sports players taking various drugs and supplements {sometimes against the law even} in order to get an unfair advantage.

5) I am not sure what the Halacha would say about 'Trash Talking' which seems to be all the rage in team sports today. Would this run counter to the laws of Lashon Hara, or is there an exemption {I doubt it}...

6) Of course the laws of Tzniut {Modesty} must be kept. Therefore both men and women should not wear revealing clothing while playing sports.

There may be other topics which I have not addressed... But I may post more on this topic...

[muman613]

Here is what Aish says on the topic of 'Spectator Sports':


http://www.aish.com/ci/be/48894212.html

The Jewish Ethicist: Spectator Sports
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem

Do sporting events have ethical value?

Q. In a recent column you write that the Talmud identifies ancient sporting events as "the seat of the scoffers." Is this relevant to modern-day sports as well?

A. In the previous column, we described the love/hate relationship of Judaism and participant sports: we love them in moderation to develop health and human relationships, but are wary of their potential to become an obsession or a source of division and opposition.

We could say something similar about spectator sports. As we mentioned, the Talmud identifies the Roman coliseum with the Biblical "seat of the scoffers" (Psalms 1:1). (1) This characterization is hardly surprising given the extremely cruel and violent nature of the "entertainment" found there: gladiators, bullfights, and the like. Yet we have to admit that many modern sporting events also have their share of violence, and the eminent authority Rabbi Moshe Feinstein wrote that contemporary spectator sports can also be considered "the seat of the scoffers." (2) He writes that attendance at these events can cause a person to forget his religious obligations.

Is this meant to be a blanket condemnation of watching sports events?

I cannot speak for Rabbi Feinstein, but I can point out that the Tiferes Yerushalaim Yeshiva which he headed had its own sports teams and competitions, and I doubt that the stands were empty. Evidently he acknowledged that watching sports can have some value, though obviously it is not commensurable with the value of Torah study, which occupied the overwhelming majority of students' time and effort.

I think that the critical distinction here is the purpose of the activity. The main purpose of the sports teams at the yeshiva was certainly not for entertainment but rather for the students to develop their bodies and to provide an outlet for their energies. (In another responsum Rav Moshe writes that providing a swimming pool for students in the summer constitutes an act of kindness, since they need a place to cool off in the heat and sometimes this can also bring them to exert themselves more in their Torah study. (3)) Cheering on the competitors is mainly a way of encouraging them in their training and exertion, and not a diversion for the spectators.

Watching sporting events can also be of value for people who play that particular sport, since this teaches them about the game and inspires them to greater achievements.

Another possible ethical horizon in sporting activities is to draw inspiration from the example of the athletes. I have heard many sermons in which rabbis, both community rabbis and leading Torah educators, use sports as a model for rigorous devotion to self-improvement within an ethical (sportsmanlike) framework. I'm not sure that this attitude can be cultivated in every individual, but it is in the reach of some and for a young person who is already devoted to sports encouraging this aspect can be a way of harnessing his interest for a positive purpose. I recall once that Rav Aaron Lichtenstein urged us to spend more hours in the Beit Midrash (study hall) by referring to the example of legendary forward Larry Bird, "who is always the first one to arrive at practice and the last one to leave - and not because he needs it!"

Sporting events in our society have become an obsession and reach a centrality far beyond their true importance. They also are categorized by an excessive amount of violence and gratuitous rivalry. The best use of our leisure hours is for Torah study and acts of kindness. Even so, a measured interest in sporting events to appreciate and encourage the teamwork, sportsmanship, and efforts at self-improvement of the athletes can be one tool to help us inspire us to develop our own bodies and spirits.

SOURCES: (1) Babylonian Talmud Avodah Zarah 18b (2) Responsa Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah IV:11 (3) Responsa Igrot Moshe Even Haezer IV:61.

[White Israelite]

Jews dominated Basketball and Boxing for a long time.

[Lisa]

I like watching figure skating, especially during the Olympics. 

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

Jews dominated Basketball and Boxing for a long time.

There were some great Jewish basketball players in the old days,  I have a dvd on it

[Zelhar]

I like watching figure skating, especially during the Olympics. 

I don't thunk figure skating as a sport. Yes it requires fitness and skill, but it's more of an art like ballet. In real sports it is possible to measure or score without human subjective.

[edu]

Concerning Playing Sports (assuming you  to do it without violating Shabbat, Tzniut, etc.) Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, founder of Israel's chief rabbinate and head of Mercaz Harav Yeshiva viewed this favorably as an element of exercise to make the body healthy, which he also viewed this as part of the physical rebuilding of the nation of Israel. His views were somewhat controversial to those that were zealots to keep up exactly the same lifestyle, that was practiced by previous generations. Rabbi Kook held that since we were undergoing a process of the ingathering of the exiles, we should adopt practices that further the process along even if they are different than the ways of previous generations (so long as Jewish law doesn't forbid it).
As far as watching sports I don't want to comment on this, right now.