The symbolism is striking.
Eighty years ago, Berlin was the site of the Olympic Games. Hitler was the host and the games became victim of the Nazi drive to promote the superiority of the Aryan race by systematically eliminating Jewish athletes from German sports facilities and associations. At the last moment, outstanding Jewish sportsmen were excluded from the 1936 Olympics for fear that their victories would embarrass Nazi hosts and their claim of Jewish racial inferiority.
The 14th European Maccabi Games are now, for the first time, taking place in Germany. Last week some 2,000 participants from 20 countries, including Israel, marched in Berlin’s Olympic Park. The Langemarckhalle – built at the request of Adolf Hitler himself to glorify the regime he swore would last at least 1000 years and eradicate every vestige of the Jewish people – welcomed more than 2,500 Jewish competitors participating in the 10-day event.
Nazi Germany is no more. Jews have survived. But what is so profoundly ironic is how a ritual initiated at the 1936 Olympics resonates with a divine message of biblical origin - a message that was as prophetic to German leadership at the time as it remains to our contemporary world.
It was Hitler who at the 1936 Olympic Games started the tradition of the torch relay, the ceremonial carrying of the Olympic torch from Olympia, Greece to the site of the games. It is a tradition that continues to this day. Its symbolism is the flame that continues to burn, the link with the past, the fire which cannot be extinguished.
And for Jews it is a symbol with an ancient history.
All of us know the story. Moses was tending sheep in the desert of Sinai when he suddenly saw a bush that was engulfed in flames. Yet strangely enough, although the bush was burning, it was not consumed. That defied the laws of nature. Fire always destroys. At this very moment, as Moses stood transfixed by the miracle before his eyes, God revealed himself and proclaimed, “I am the God of your fathers.”
Superficially, the story seems simply to tell us that God performed this wondrous act to impress Moses before asking him to assume the mantle of leadership. God shows this sign so that Moses could grasp the meaning of divine power. But that begs the question; couldn’t God have performed another miracle even more striking, more convincing, more indicative of his control over the entire world rather than just a single bush in the desert aflame which was not consumed?
Rabbinic commentators supply us with a beautiful answer. God wasn’t simply performing a miracle. He was sending a message. God knew what was uppermost in the mind of Moses. From the time Moses fled from Egypt and watched his brothers suffering under Pharaoh’s brutal oppression, Moses worried and wondered: Are my people still alive? And so the very first thing God did was to reassure Moses – not only for the present but for all the days of the future as well.
The bush was a symbol of the Jewish people. The bush was burning but, against all laws of nature, it was not consumed. So, too, the Jewish people, against all laws of history, will never perish!
When Arnold Toynbee completed his classic ten volume analysis of the rise and fall of human civilizations, the study of history, he was troubled by one seeming refutation of his universal rules governing the inexorable decline of every people on earth. Only the Jews survived in defiance of Toynbee’s carefully reasoned analysis. So Toynbee proclaimed the Jews nothing more than “a vestigial remnant,” a people destined to shortly expire.
But somehow, in spite of all those brutal attempts to destroy the children of Israel, Jews have demonstrated the ongoing miracle of burning bush – and the flame that will not be extinguished.
Jewish history defies explanation. Jewish survival is nothing short of a miracle. But it is a miracle long ago predicted by God. And it is a miracle which, God assured Moses, will never cease to repeat itself until the end of time.
A famous Russian author, although not Jewish, understood this message of the burning bush well. Leo Tolstoy, an Orthodox Christian best known for penning War and Peace, wrote this in 1908:
A Jew is the emblem of eternity. He who neither slaughter nor torture of thousands of years could destroy; he who neither fire, nor sword, nor Inquisition was able to wipe off the face of the earth; he who was the first to produce the oracles of God; he who has been for so long the Guardian of prophecy and has transmitted to the rest of the world - Such a nation cannot be destroyed. The Jew is as everlasting as eternity itself.
No, the everlasting torch does not come from Greece. Its civilization is long gone; its empire is no more. It is the Jewish people who continue to be the bearers of light to the world, fulfilling the role the prophet Isaiah assigned to them. It is the Jewish, not the Olympic, torch which replicates the miracle of the burning bush, and against all natural law surviving in spite of all the efforts of its enemies.
And indeed it is a measure of great consolation that in the very spot where Hitler swore our final and total destruction Jewish children have come back in the thousands to play and to assert with joy our continued presence on earth.
(13) Anonymous, August 5, 2015 5:40 PM
Another amazing article by Rabbi Blech! I love how you take history and show us the meaning in it. This was truly a very inspiring article.
(12) Anonymous, August 4, 2015 9:18 PM
It is not the first time the olympic games take place in Germany after the war. It was in Munchen in the 70's when the israelis sportsmen were killed by terrorists
(11) Zsolt, August 4, 2015 12:15 AM
through unity
I agree it is highly symbolic that such a high profile Jewish event happens exactly in that stadium.
Especially as the Maccabi Games are also symbolizing the unity of the Jewish people.
As long as we stay together and remain mutually responsible for one another we will keep surviving and showing positive example to others.
Gert, August 4, 2015 1:25 PM
Mutually responsible
Mutually responsible and setting good examples is the only way.
Eliyahu, August 4, 2015 3:25 PM
Od Aveinu Chai -- if, and only if in unity
Od Aveinu Chai -- if, and only if in unity. For they understood:
Rashi [on Exodus 19:2]: we arrived opposite Har Sinai "as one man with one heart."
Hillel: "What you hate, do not do to your friend, this is the whole of Torah, the rest is commentary, go out and learn." [Don’t erase the identity of your "chaver," the one you form a "chibur"—connection—with.]
Rabbi Akiva: "Love your neighbor as yourself, this is a general (unifying) principle of the Torah." [Those adjacent to you but yet away from connection with you, connect to them.]
"R. Nahman b. Isaac said to R. Hiyya b. Abin: What is written in the tefillin of the Lord of the Universe? He replied to him: ‘And who is like your people Israel, one (a unified) nation in the earth." [Babylonian Talmud, Brachot 6a (see also Chagigah 3a-b)].
And this is repeated in our most intimate moment of the week with G-d, during the crescendo of the Shabbat Mincha Amidah: “You are One, and Your Name is One, and who is Like Your people Israel, one nation on earth.” This is specifically the introduction to praise over the holiness of the day, and only in holy places and times like Shabbat, the Temple and that moment at Sinai—and to a people made holy by their unification--do you find the Presence.
Only if Od Aveinu Chai, will Am Yisroel Chai. And if so, it will live forever. Although links may lock, one completely broken link dooms a chain. However, no unique point can ever go missing from a unified continuum.
(10) Laura, August 3, 2015 8:10 PM
Triumph over tyrants
My father in law lived in Berlin when the stadium was built. His family was extremely fortunate to get a visa to Palestine in 1938, before Kristalnacht. He only saw it from a distance, because Jews were not allowed near it. The Maccabiah games being held there will be a triumph over Hitler. However, I have no desire to visit Germany now or ever.
(9) Anonymous, August 3, 2015 7:46 PM
Ha Torch
The article is interesting and I enjoyed reading it, however look at the flame from this point. Assimilation is the true fire that has been consuming Bnei Israel for generations, long after the Flame of Nazi Radicalism the assimilation continues to burn....so as Moshe Rabbeinu did to the bush, we must stop, turn aside and recognize the problem before it completely consumes us!!!
"First they wanted to kill us, now they want to marry us"
(8) Igor Bartolic, August 3, 2015 4:29 AM
Good win evil and wicked.Most important is education and truth.HaShem give power in faith and unity.Shalom.
(7) Sara Smith, August 3, 2015 4:28 AM
re: Rabbi Blech's "Jews in Berlin"
The burning bush is a symbol to the world, let us hope we don't destroy ourselves from within. Regards and mazal tov.Sara
(6) Anonymous, August 2, 2015 7:06 PM
Such a statement only has posibive meaning if the Jews DO NOT compete on Shabbos.
(5) Anonymous, August 2, 2015 6:46 PM
sorry, jews should not b in Germany
or buy German products or spend money in germany
i know people who fly their airline to save a paltry 200. i personally would not put a foot on the ground there When my children were growing up and learned about the Holocaust, i implored them not to buy german cars ir german products Then entire family of my maternal grandfather was destroyed in Poland by the Nazis I sent fotos i had from my zayde to yad v'shem so they would not be forgotten It is not a privilege to be in hitlers stadium Our privilege is living in the land of Israel and remembering our past in order to protect our future
Werner, August 3, 2015 5:00 AM
Germans and Jews today,
I am German by birth and my parents were also survivors of Allied Phosphorous bombings of German cities. My father was in the German Kriegsmarine . We live in Australia and have always supported Israel's right to exist. We support Israel by purchasing Israeli made goods and my niece lives in Tel Aviv married to a Jewish man. I drive a German car and the Israeli Navy has German nuclear capable submarines. Don't judge every German, the same way as Palestinians should not judge every Jew. God is the only judge.
Eugene Mazzilli, August 3, 2015 2:01 PM
Reply to Werner and readers,
Dear Werner,
Werner is correct....God is the ONLY JUDGE!
My family too is part German. They are good, industrious, educated, respectful, kind and honor the race, creed and religions of everyone. That includes Jews. We are also part Jewish, so we also know (and hear) the hatred whispered by people and the poison they inflict upon the world. If you are a Jew, you should honor HaShem by your goodness and love of all peoples, including the German people and Gentiles, not just Jews.
Remember, if you want to be judged favorably by God, you must keep the commandments, and the greatest of these are two... Love your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and the Second - To love your neighbor as yourself. That includes all peoples, once again not only Jews.
The hallmark of the truly deservedly Jewish person is kindness, charity, love, and compassion. When this is given, God rewards tenfold. Then it is not appreciated, when you are slighted, abused, and disrespected, God sees (and Judges) and rewards accordingly. Remember, goodness, kindness, charity, and love surpasses all and endures forever.
Roland, August 3, 2015 10:15 PM
Jews in Berlin
I am Jew, Canadian and French. I survived the Shoa in spite of the Petain,s Milice and the Gestapo.
It is UnJewish and uncivilized to impute the crime of the father on his innocent offspring.
Judge a person by her/his actions in our times.
Just drive a Mercedes and enjoy Hitler's soul spinning a little faster in Hell.....
Gustavo Barajas, August 3, 2015 9:48 PM
The Torah instructs every Yid to Love your neighbor as yourself. We must rise above our egos and connect with all humanity even if they are Germans. The Jew must teach every nation Binah and Malchus or bestowal or reception. Don't do unto other what you don't like done to yourself! Love is not passive, it is active. The Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson of blessed memory would say what we must be a people that is able to initiate love not wait for love!
shlomo, August 4, 2015 6:49 AM
where do you think jews can leave in Europe after thousands years of persecutions? France? Ukraine? Russia, Lithuania or Spain? or is this kpeida just on the last thing we remember? ultimately i believe all jews should live Eretz Isroel (yes not even in Brooklyn) but as long as moshaich doesn't come we are all spread around the world i the golus and golus is golus no matter in berlin on in flatbush.
Dvirah, August 8, 2015 7:01 PM
An Ironic Win-Win
I can't help thinking that we finally have a win-win situation for Jews: if we don't buy German products, we "punish" the instigators of the Holocost; if we do buy German products, we "defeat" the intention of the Holocost by enjoying products originally proscribed to Jews. Both decisions are valid.
(4) Ron, August 2, 2015 5:10 PM
Maccabi sports
My son played Maccabi golf in Israel 2 yrs ago. We are a family of Holicaust survivors. Playing in our country and spending time on our homeland is our revenge. Spending money in Germany is not for me.
(3) Anonymous, August 2, 2015 4:27 PM
but should we have even gone there?
Is this the place that Jews/Israelis should be participating in sports or anything? a place so filled with the terrible energy of the past? No protests even over our being there? Do we forget so fast?
(2) Mika Krok, August 2, 2015 3:26 PM
V for Victory and V. for Vengeance.
(1) Yossi, August 2, 2015 3:03 PM
Thank you for this perspective--I found this very meaningful as I have all your writing through he years.......shalom...