This week’s Jewish terminology word is: Maccabiah Games

This week’s Jewish terminology word is: Maccabiah Games!

Shalom Children of G-d! Welcome back to Marie Speaks G-d’s Grace Bible Study.

Today we are going to go over our Jewish terminology for the week.

This weeks word is: Maccabiah Games!

As someone who grew up playing sports…. I am truly feeling this weeks term and have a deep appreciation for those even try to participate in the games. The discipline it takes to be an athlete is in my opinion almost the same discipline needed to serve int he military or law enforcement.

Some many of my childhood wonderful memories involve sports and the wonderful coaches and team mates that I was so very Blessed to have in my life. If I could live a couple of years over again and truly take in the moments…. those sports years would be some. I would also make sure to let those who volunteered and supported us growing up know that … they weren’t just my coaches or assistance coaches; no. In many ways they were my mentors.

I learned to give back to my community from my coaches. I learned team work. Which no doubt helped out when I joined the United States Marines years later. I learned to train when in off season and always know may greatest competition was myself.

My coaches made me want to be a better person.

So if by any chance My Coaches, or teachers, or SNCO’s happen to see this….. please know I am so very grateful to G-D that people like you exist. My world was and is a whole lot brighter because I had the privilege to be able to learn from you.

#thankyouHaShem

So what are the Maccabiah Games?

Maccabiah.org states –

The Maccabiah is the world’s largest Jewish athletic competition in the tradition and values of Maccabi, emphasizing the centrality of the State of Israel in the life of the Jewish people. The Maccabiah takes place every four (4) years in Israel – “the Jewish Olympics” as they are often called, are Maccabi World Union’s largest and most famous enterprise.

The principal mission of the Maccabiah is to facilitate a worldwide gathering of young Jewish athletes in Israel, staging the highest possible levels of sports competitions, and strengthening their connection to the State of Israel and the Jewish people. Within the Maccabiah there are four separate competitions that take place; Open, Junior, Masters, and Paralympics. Junior games are open to any qualifying athlete aged 15-18. Masters are divided into a number of different age categories mostly to accommodate older competitors and the Open division is generally unlimited in age, subject to the governing international rules in each sport, and is intended for the best athletes from each delegation. In order to participate in the Maccabiah, athletes must represent a delegation. Delegations are formed by each of the Territorial Organizations that participate, i.e. France, Brazil, Germany, United States, Canada, Hungary, Australia, etc.

History of the Maccabiah Games-

The Maccabiah Games were the brainchild of Yosef Yekutieli, a Zionist immigrant to British Mandate Palestine from Belarus. Inspired by the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Yekutieli lobbied for a similar event in Eretz Yisrael. The nascent Maccabi organization— named for Judah Maccabee, the Jewish warrior whose revolt against Greek oppressors in the second century BCE is commemorated during Hanukkah—held its first competition in Tel Aviv in 1932.

The games’ initial interval was set at three years, but there was no competition between 1935 and 1950 as both Europe and the fledgling Jewish nation were embroiled in the destruction and turmoil surrounding World War II. The 1950 Maccabiah Games were the first in the new State of Israel and united Israel’s athletic community community in preparation for the 1952 Olympics, a kind of global coming-out for Jewish athletes.

(click hyper link for article credit.)

So wonderful to learn more and more history… don’t you agree?

This week’s Jewish terminology word and definition as define by The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic 2001 copyright 1st edition.

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Until next time, with God’s beautiful Mercy and Grace we will see each other soon.,

Marie.