Down with the Olympics!

Let’s divide it up into four separate chunks.

Hellenist Competition vs. Jewish Competition

Greek competition results in one winner. The rest all lost and failed. Maybe one or two may get a consolation prize. But really, the winner takes all. That means that winning comes at the expense of everyone else.

Jewish competition is a different animal altogether. It means that everyone competes against their old self, to improve all the time. Winning won’t depress anyone, and everybody may be the winner.

How nice it would be when the diving champions of Britain and China would visit each other’s training centers and have the specialists in nutrition, physiotherapy, coaches, and divers talk with their counterparts, learn from each other, and grow bonds of friendship and love.

Beauty as Enhancement vs. Beauty as Goal

Judaism values enhancing our religious practices. Going a bit beyond what is required shows we don’t just do it because we are obligated by a Greater Power (from fear) but also because we feel grateful for the opportunity (from love). So, we beautify our Tabernacle booth and Phylacteries, enhance our politeness with a smile, you name it.

How different when beauty needs to enhance a thing of little value. When the body does not only need to be maintained well, but it must become exceedingly beautiful. It’s only our body! Our essence is our mind(set). When a book needs to be edited beyond perfection while its message is worthless twaddle to help you pass (kill) time. When acquiring intellectual knowledge, cultural sophistication, and elegance are considered superior to perfecting our character and empathy. When IQ, ego, money, and verbosity are admired more than humility and serving others. When force and strength are preferred over pleasant and just. When winning and enforcing obedience are favored above cooperation and compromising for the sake of peace and love. To enjoy pleasures to enjoy them, instead of seeking to act right and enjoy the good feelings that come with that.

The list is endless. The bottom line is that beauty as a goal is toxic.

There is a place for entertainment. But in a world that screams all day long, “Take care of me,” while every evening, tired workers kill their time in front of the small screen, weeks of sports broadcasts are not helping.

Jewish Culture vs. Assimilation to Gentile Cultures

I’m told that the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games 2024 was stunning. Of course, it had little to do with sports. It was mostly showing off how great France is culturally. Which is cute, especially from countries still feeling superior, though they lost world dominance centuries ago. It’s a bit more toxic from nationalities who have or still seek world dominance. Pride is fine, but arrogance and nationalism coupled with militarism promise nothing good. Often, international sporting events foster hatred and don’t at all fraternize or break down national barriers.

Perhaps the Sages were guarding Judaism from being infiltrated or mixed with Judaism because Hellenism thought and culture have value too. If they were completely worthless, they would have had nothing to fear.

Your cultural knowledge is enriched by getting to know more cultures and languages, outside of your bubble and comfort zone.

But regarding Judaism, Jews must strive to keep it pure. Inserting unchecked foreign ideas dilutes, if not pollutes, Jewish thought.

Because the Gentiles so greatly outnumber the Jews, allowing for intermarriage and intercultural learning to dominate the Jewish community, in a couple of generations, would leave no trace of Judaism.

That doesn’t mean Jews must (may) look down on Gentile cultures. But Jews are the only nation founded on an assignment. We have no permission to water down or contaminate the message Jews need to bring to all for the good of all. Too much assimilation already crept into Judaism. All belief systems need to clean up their act, but especially Judaism. Too much and too many people depend on it being the best of the best.

There is great value in learning from everyone. But we need not confuse that with false equivalence, making non-kosher thought kosher as well.

Wars vs. Peace

You would think that a major difference between the Greeks and the Hebrews was Monotheism and Polytheism. It’s clear what is idol worship or a belief in idols, but what exactly is meant by serving One G^d?

Therefore, it makes sense to step away from that dichotomy a bit and look at the different consequences. The many gods always fight or band together to do evil. Their characters are often less than perfect, so what do they want from humans? The Law of the Jungle may be acceptable too.

In Judaism, G^d makes peace in heaven. The whole creation (the Universe), full of opposites, still comes from One Author and can exist in harmony. Take evil. Wicked people must repent, and the rest should fight evil too. There are no inherent contradictions between people. All people need to strive for ethical refinement. ‘This is who I am’ is no defense.

Polytheism gives (glorifies) too much strife in Heaven and on Earth.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1