Muscular Judaism: Difference between revisions
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At the time of Nordau's speech, the idea of [[Muscular Christianity]] was already widespread in various Christian countries. |
At the time of Nordau's speech, the idea of [[Muscular Christianity]] was already widespread in various Christian countries. |
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| ⚫ | Nordau's idea of Muscular Judaism inspired the founders of [[Hakoah Vienna]], a Viennese [[sports club]] especially well known for its [[Association football|football]] team. American journalist [[Franklin Foer]] has written that Hakoah ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] for "the strength") was "one of the best teams on the planet" at its height in the mid-1920s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Foer |first=Franklin |authorlink=Franklin Foer |title=[[How Soccer Explains the World|How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization]] |year=2004 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |location=New York |isbn=0066212340 |oclc=55756745 |page=[https://archive.org/details/howsoccerexplain0000foer/page/66 66] }}</ref> Hakoah players decorated their uniforms with Jewish symbols, such as the [[Star of David]], and adopted nicknames of historical Jewish military leaders, such as [[Simon bar Kokhba|Bar Kochba]].<ref name=Foer68/> |
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==Jewish athletes in Europe== |
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European Jewish leaders heeded Nordau's philosophy. Between 1896 and 1936, Jewish athletes won many more medals for [[Austria at the Olympics]] than [[Austrian Jews|their proportion of the total Austrian population]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Foer |first=Franklin |authorlink=Franklin Foer |title=[[How Soccer Explains the World|How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization]] |year=2004 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |location=New York |isbn=0066212340 |oclc=55756745 |page=[https://archive.org/details/howsoccerexplain0000foer/page/70 70] }}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Nordau's idea of Muscular Judaism |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 14:38, 14 February 2022
Muscular Judaism (Template:Lang-de) is a term coined by Max Nordau in his speech at the Second Zionist Congress held in Basel on August 28, 1898. In his speech, he spoke about the need to design the "new Jew" and reject the "old Jew", with the mental and physical strength to achieve the goals of Zionism. Nordau saw Muscular Judaism as an answer to Judennot ("Jewish distress").[1]
History
The term refers to the cultivation of mental and physical properties, such as mental and physical strengths, agility and discipline, which all will be necessary for the national revival of the Jewish people. The characteristics of the muscular Jews are the exact opposite, an antithesis, of the Diaspora Jew, especially in Eastern Europe, as shown in the anti-Semitic literature and in the Haskalah movement's literature. Nordau saw the promotion of muscular, athletic Jews as a counterpoint to such depictions of Jews as a weak people.[2] In addition, the "muscular" Jew is the opposite of the rabbinic or Haskalah Jew — the man of letters, the intellectual — who was said to be busy all his life engaging with esoteric subjects. His body, and his will, grew weak.
Though Muscular Judaism was an idea practiced mostly by male Jews, Jewish women participated as well, especially in activities such as gymnastics.[3]
At the time of Nordau's speech, the idea of Muscular Christianity was already widespread in various Christian countries. Nordau's idea of Muscular Judaism inspired the founders of Hakoah Vienna, a Viennese sports club especially well known for its football team. American journalist Franklin Foer has written that Hakoah (Hebrew for "the strength") was "one of the best teams on the planet" at its height in the mid-1920s.[4] Hakoah players decorated their uniforms with Jewish symbols, such as the Star of David, and adopted nicknames of historical Jewish military leaders, such as Bar Kochba.[1]
See also
- Diaspora Jew
- Maccabi youth movement
- Maccabi World Union
- Jewish Olympics
- Judenklub
- Nationalism and sport
- Muscular Christianity
- Muscular Liberalism
- Jutrzenka Krakow
References
- ^ a b Foer, Franklin (2004). How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. New York: HarperCollins. p. 68. ISBN 0066212340. OCLC 55756745.
- ^ Zimmermann, Moshe (2006). "Muscle Jews versus Nervous Jews". In Brenner, Michael; Reuveni, Gideon (eds.). Emancipation through muscules: Jews and sports in Europe. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. p. 13. ISBN 0803213557. OCLC 0803213557.
- ^ Wildmann, Daniel (2006). "Jewish Gymnasts in Imperial Germany". In Brenner, Michael; Reuveni, Gideon (eds.). Emancipation through muscules: Jews and sports in Europe. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. p. 35. ISBN 0803213557. OCLC 0803213557.
- ^ Foer, Franklin (2004). How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. New York: HarperCollins. p. 66. ISBN 0066212340. OCLC 55756745.
