When the Rebbe Mocked the Olympic Games

As the world hypes over the Olympics sports in Paris, France, it’s interesting to bring what the Rebbe said about the games, their idolatrous roots, and their irrelevance.

By Anash.org writer

The contemporary Olympic Games trace their history to the Olympic competition around 3,000 years by the Peloponnese in Ancient Greece. They were held at the Panhellenic religious sanctuary of Olympia, in honor of one of their gods. On multiple occasions, the Rebbe noted that the contemporary Olympic Games were rooted in idolatry.

A few months ahead of the infamous 1972 Olympics in Munich, the Olympic torch was ceremoniously carried through Eretz Yisroel, from the previous year’s Olympic location on its way to Munich.

On Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sara 5732, the Rebbe sharply criticized this ceremony:

“This ceremony was a Greek custom, rooted in idolatry, and they want to unearth this ancient custom and celebrate Chanukah with it? Chanukah is the celebration of the victory of the Yidden over the Greeks- this is the complete and exact opposite.

“Nothing remains from the Greek nation, not the people, or their land, or customs. Why would people come now and resurrect their long-forgotten practices? Especially on Chanukah which is celebrating the total opposite of what we are highlighting on Chanukah.”

After the horrific massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics later that year, the Rebbe addressed the topic again.

On Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sara 5733, the Rebbe bemoaned the fact that Yidden had been sent to “dance with the goyim,” ironically Germany which had only recenly murdered 6 million Yidden. The Rebbe attributed Yidden’s participation to an inferiority complex, causing them to rejoice when they are invited…

A few weeks later, on Shabbos Chanukah, the Rebbe mocked the Olympic Games and attributed it to avoda zara:

“The terrible thing that happened in recent weeks regarding the sports competition called the Olympics, which is founded on the concept of idol worship that existed in ancient Greece:

“Back then, the Greeks excelled in matters of wisdom, such as mathematics and astronomy, and then they came to the conclusion that they should also dabble in faith. They decided upon a certain mountain called ‘Olympus,’ where they believed their ‘all-powerful’ idol resided – the god of water and the god of the sun – fighting each other and inducing all sorts of bad traits…

“This wasn’t some far-off place where they could claim whatever they wanted. This was a mountain that anyone could climb and see for themselves that nothing there… Yet, every few years, they would go up there, offer sacrifices to the gods, and celebrate a holiday.

“From this a custom originated that every four years, representatives from the nations of the world gather and hold sports competitions like long-distance running and face-to-face combat such as boxing and wrestling. Whoever manages to injure their opponent more receives a medal…

“They even send young men from Eretz Yisroel, claiming they represent all the people of Eretz Yisroel – when the truth is they only represent themselves! No one pays attention or notices what’s going on there; if they knew, they wouldn’t agree to it. Besides that it’s simply a waste of time, and even doctors say that long-distance running and the like harms the heart and brain, it is also connected with idol worship!”

In 5748 (1988), before the bar mitzva of Eliyahu Schusterman, his father, Rabbi Gershon Schusterman of Los Angeles, prepared a speech in which he derived Jewish lessons to be learned from the Olympic fire which burned on Mt. Olympia in Greece, from which the Olympic torch was lit to open the Olympic Games. When he sent in the speech to the Rebbe, the Rebbe crossed it all out and wrote: “as was publicized, the beginning of all this was actual idol worship.”