Philosophy of developing mental and physical strength among Jews
Max Nordau
, who coined the term "Muscular Judaism"
Muscular Judaism
(
German
:
Muskeljudentum
) 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
(the "Jewish distress" about facing rampant antisemitism).
[1]
History
[
edit
]
The women’s gymnastics team of the
Basel
Jewish Sports Association. Photo from the
Jewish Museum of Switzerland
’s collection.
Gymnastics in
Beit HaKerem, Jerusalem
, 1925
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
antisemitic
literature and in the literature of the
Haskalah
. 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
Halakhic
and the 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.
Jewish athletes in Europe
[
edit
]
European Jewish leaders heeded Nordau's philosophy. Between 1896 and 1936, Jewish athletes won a disproportionate number of medals for
Austria at the Olympics
than
their proportion of the total Austrian population
.
[4]
[
dubious
–
discuss
]
Nordau's idea of Muscular Judaism also 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.
[5]
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
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
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 Muscles: 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.
70
.
ISBN
0066212340
.
OCLC
55756745
.
- ^
Foer, Franklin
(2004).
How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
. New York:
HarperCollins
. p.
66
.
ISBN
0066212340
.
OCLC
55756745
.