Muscular Judaism (german: Muskeljudentum) is a term coined by

Max Nordau Max Simon Nordau (born ''Simon Maximilian Südfeld''; 29 July 1849 – 23 January 1923) was a Zionist leader, physician, author, and social critic. He was a co-founder of the Zionist Organization together with Theodor Herzl, and president or vic ...

in his speech at the

Second Zionist Congress The Second World Zionist Congress (Hebrew: הקונגרס הציוני השני) met in Basel, Switzerland on 28 August 1898. and was the second meeting of the Zionist Organisation. The World Zionist Congress brought together delegates from ac ...

held in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...

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 Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

. Nordau saw Muscular Judaism as an answer to ''Judennot'' (" Jewish distress").

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 Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. The characteristics of the muscular Jews are the exact opposite, an

antithesis Antithesis ( Greek for "setting opposite", from "against" and "placing") is used in writing or speech either as a proposition that contrasts with or reverses some previously mentioned proposition, or when two opposites are introduced together ...

, of the Diaspora Jew, especially in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

, as shown in the

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

literature and in the

Haskalah The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Euro ...

movement's literature. Nordau saw the promotion of muscular, athletic Jews as a counterpoint to such depictions of Jews as a weak people. 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 Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

. At the time of Nordau's speech, the idea of

Muscular Christianity Muscular Christianity is a philosophical movement that originated in England in the mid-19th century, characterized by a belief in patriotic duty, discipline, self-sacrifice, masculinity, and the moral and physical beauty of athleticism. The mov ...

was already widespread in various Christian countries.

Jewish athletes in Europe

European Jewish leaders heeded Nordau's philosophy. Between 1896 and 1936, Jewish athletes won disproportionational amount of medals for

Austria at the Olympics Austria has competed at all of the modern Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1920 Summer Olympics, from which it was barred because of its involvement with the Central Powers in World War I. Austria has won more medals in alpine skiing than ...

than their proportion of the total Austrian population. Nordau's idea of Muscular Judaism also inspired the founders of Hakoah Vienna, a Viennese

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

especially well known for its

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team. American journalist

Franklin Foer Franklin Foer (; born July 20, 1974) is a staff writer at ''The Atlantic'' and former editor of ''The New Republic'', commenting on contemporary issues from a liberal perspective. Personal life Foer was born in 1974 to a Jewish family. He is t ...

has written that Hakoah (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

for "the strength") was "one of the best teams on the planet" at its height in the mid-1920s. Hakoah players decorated their uniforms with Jewish symbols, such as the

Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

, and adopted nicknames of historical Jewish military leaders, such as

Bar Kochba Simon ben Koseba or Cosiba ( he, שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כֹסֵבָא, translit= Šīmʾōn bar Ḵōsēḇaʾ‎ ; died 135 CE), commonly known as Bar Kokhba ( he, שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כּוֹכְבָא‎, translit=Šīmʾōn bar ...

References

{{Zionism 1898 in Judaism 1898 in Switzerland Jewish movements History of Zionism 1890s neologisms Jewish sports Physical culture Masculinity

History

Jewish athletes in Europe

See also

References