It was,
until I landed there on Thursday, 10th April 2025, a country that I had seen
from the air close to a hundred times (although Stephnie will claim that I’m
exaggerating).
Setting
that to one side, my experience of Greece was the knowledge that once we hit
its airspace, we were only two hours away from Ben Gurion. The European continent was vanishing behind
us as Asia beckoned.
It was an
ancient civilisation that I had known about since childhood as I recalled the
events of Chanukah every November/December.
One of our closest friends was Basil (Vassilis) and he told us about his
beloved homeland.
My
knowledge equation was: Annual trip to Israel + Chanukah + Basil = Greece.
In addition to:
- The appalling security at Athens Airport that led to the Air France hijacking and subsequent Entebbe Operation
- Zorba
- Telly Savalas
- The Guns of Navarone
- Irene Papas (who seemed to appear in every film that had even the most tenacious link to anything Greek)
- Jackie Onassis
- Demis Roussos
- Nana Maskouri and Taramasalata.
Here we
were at Athens airport with what seemed like half the Jewish population of
Israel (with some Yanks thrown in for good measure) waiting for our bus to take
us to the resort which we had been told was three hours’ drive away but
actually took five! Please note that I’m
not bitter even if it took us longer to get there than fly from Heathrow to
Athens.
Geia sou Elláda! / Hello Greece!
A few
days into our holiday, we visited Olympia, the site of the original Olympic
Games, which was relatively close to where we were staying.
It’s a
fascinating site and although there isn’t much left to see, there is enough to
give one an idea of the ancient magnificence of the place. We were particularly impressed with the
remains of the earthen racetrack in the stadium which is 212 metres long and 30
to 34 metres wide. It is here that the
actual games which originally ran for a whole day and over time were extended
to five (the last day reserved for the closing ceremony and the presentation of
the olive wreath prizes). The participants
and audience entirely comprised of males and nearly all the events saw the
athletes competing in the nude. This was
a culture that celebrated the beauty of the human form and how it could be used
to attain honour and fame. What could be
more noble than showing it off by pushing it to its limits under an unforgiving
sun?
Let us
contrast this with the way in which the Torah views the human body.
In this
week’s double Parasha, we read: (Vayikra 13.2)
"When a person has on the skin of his flesh a
swelling, a scab, or a bright spot, and it develops into a tzaraat affliction,
he shall be brought to Aharon the priest or to one of his sons the
priests."
No-one
knows exactly what Tzaraat was. It was
not leprosy which is ironically a Greek 6th Century CE mistranslation
of the Hebrew word.
The
reason it is so misunderstood lies in the fact that it was a Divine spiritual
affliction that presented itself as a physical ailment. Our Rabbis tell us that the bearer was
punished primarily for the sin of Lashon Hara (literally ‘evil speech’) and
their being isolated from the community had nothing to with fears that they may
be infectious. This was to compel them
to repent allowing a return to the friends and society that they had maligned.
Far from the Greek ideal of displaying the beauty of their body, this was the exact opposite. No one who had a disfigured complexion (which if the sin was not atoned for led to Tzaraat appearing on his or her clothes and eventually the walls of their house) would have wished to appear in public.
The
differences between the Greek and Jewish cultures constitute a complex subject
which requires much exploration. Due to time constraints, I will only be able
to skim the surface and Please Gd return to this topic in future sermons.
As I
wrote above, ancient Greek belief focused entirely on the external appearance
(even if the athlete was battling psychological demons) whilst Jewish thought
centres on the individual working on improving their inner being.
The
Olympic victors were idolised in public for the rest of their lives. They were allowed to erect statues of their
likeness at Olympia, had victory songs written about them and some even
received free lodgings and meals in perpetuity.
Whereas
our slanderer achieved a different public image.
They were
cast out and readmitted in the full glare of the Biblical audience. However, in the knowledge that, because of
their experience, they would have learned their lessons and presumably be a
more valued member of society. All this,
without being awarded a wild olive wreath or impressive statue.
There are
also similarities between both the ancient Greek and Jewish cultures.
In both
cases, the common factor was that of excellence.
The
Olympics measured physical greatness whereas our people have always prided
ourselves on our high moral achievements. Is this not what the Torah teaches us
in Parasha after Parasha?
We are
constantly told to remember who we are and where we come from. We are instructed to avoid oppressing the
orphan, widow and strangers for we were strangers in Egypt. Time and again, we are challenged to create a
society that is based on justice and equality for all.
On that trip, one of the most powerful messages I came away with was that one of the reasons the games had originally been created was to promote peace and unity amongst the different city-states. Setting aside the religious aspect (which is problematic from a Jewish point of view granted the idolatrous aspect of the competition), is this not something we can all ascribe to in these challenging times?
I believe
that inside each of us there is an inner soul driving our desire to excel at
being the best version of who we can be.
We all have the potential of being an Olympic athlete in terms of how
much we can give to others. We don’t need
wreaths or statues (although I wouldn’t turn down a free meal!) to be the best
version of ourselves.
Kali tychi / Good luck in your efforts and Shavuah Tov!
