Following the Israeli representative\'s disappointing 16th-place finish in the Eurovision Song Festival two nights ago - leaving Israel ineligible to participate next year - the Tel Aviv Maccabi basketball team won the European Cup last night with an 81-67 victory over their opponents from Athens. Over 150,000 people came out to Tel Aviv\'s Rabin Square last night to celebrate the team\'s victory.
Rabbi Yossi Sarid of the Yeshivat Mevaseret Zion Educational Center was asked his opinion today about what some saw as an overblown display of national joy: \"It seems to have been out of proportion, but it\'s good that there is something to bring people a little joy during this period. It\'s certainly not something forbidden. I tell my students that there are many things that can be learned from basketball: For instance, that the main thing is to aim upwards; to beware of fouls (the Hebrew word for \'foul\' is the same as that for \'sin\'); time-outs are important in life; not to hit others; to know that you\'re not alone in the world, but to play as a team; to know the importance of \'steps\' [the same root as \'Halakhah,\' Jewish Law]; and much more... With all the shortcomings in the leisure culture that is so prevalent today, the best leisure is sports; as Rav Kook said, \'a healthy soul needs a healthy body.\'\"
Rabbi Yossi Sarid of the Yeshivat Mevaseret Zion Educational Center was asked his opinion today about what some saw as an overblown display of national joy: \"It seems to have been out of proportion, but it\'s good that there is something to bring people a little joy during this period. It\'s certainly not something forbidden. I tell my students that there are many things that can be learned from basketball: For instance, that the main thing is to aim upwards; to beware of fouls (the Hebrew word for \'foul\' is the same as that for \'sin\'); time-outs are important in life; not to hit others; to know that you\'re not alone in the world, but to play as a team; to know the importance of \'steps\' [the same root as \'Halakhah,\' Jewish Law]; and much more... With all the shortcomings in the leisure culture that is so prevalent today, the best leisure is sports; as Rav Kook said, \'a healthy soul needs a healthy body.\'\"