Rabbi's Blog

The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and officially branded as Paris 2024, is an international multi-sport event taking place from 24 July to 11 August 2024 in France, with the opening ceremony having taken place on 26 July. Paris is the host city, with events held in 16 additional cities spread across Metropolitan France. Now, taking politics and agendas out of Paris, leaves us just with the fun games of the Olympics. A report from the Olympics stated, “Australian female swimmers at the 2024 Olympics are now faster than Mark Spitz.”

The comparisons of contemporary women’s times to historical men’s times are a fascinating window into the progression of the sport. PARIS — The stunning stat that tells the ongoing story of Olympic swimming’s evolution is, on the surface, a testament to Australian speed. It’s the story of Ariarne Titmus, the “Terminator” of world records; and Mollie O’Callaghan, a 20-year-old who could soon be a breakout star of these Paris Games.

Titmus and O’Callaghan, on June 12, 2024, became the first women to swim faster than Mark Spitz ever did. Spitz, an Olympic legend, swam to a then-unprecedented seven golds at the 1972 Games in Munich. He set world records in all seven events, including four individual ones: the 100 and 200 freestyle, and the 100 and 200 butterfly. Until last month, no woman had ever touched those times. No team of women had ever bettered a 1972 Spitz-led relay. Then along came Titmus and O’Callaghan. At first, Rowdy Gaines, an acclaimed Olympic champion swimmer of the 1978 and 1984 Olympic Games,.  was amazed, exclaiming that the Aussie times were faster than Spitz’s personal-best 1:52.78. But then, after pondering the statistic, Gaines amended his reaction. “At first, when you told me, I was shocked. And then I started thinking about it. ... Maybe it's not so shocking at all. Because that's the natural progression of the sport.”

I was eight years old when Mark Spitz won seven gold medals. Jews around the world took *pride in a Jew rising to the top. Kids at that age are influenced by athletes and try to emulate them in every sport. This is especially true because it is around this age that boys develop the desire, ability, and maturity for a sport, both in following and playing.  I was a decent all-around athlete, including swimming. I knew all the basic strokes, attained awards for certain swimming accomplishments. There was only one area that I failed in the overall swimming dimension, I never learned how to breathe properly during the crawl. I would either swim with my head in the water holding my breath or swim with my head above water. I never learned how to breathe properly while swimming until fifty-two years later, with the guidance and supervision of my wife I finally mastered the art of breathing while swimming.   I learned how to slowly turn my head through the water, moving my face to the left to breathe and then turning my face back into the water. This was a major accomplishment for me. There is a major difference between putting something in water rather than putting something through water. In my case, it potentially opened a new world of opportunity to begin training for the next summer Olympics! On a more serious – and realistic plane – this seemingly simple lesson has great ramifications in the realm of kosher preparation, as we see regarding  halacha in a mitzva in this week’s Torah reading.

The Torah in this week’s first Parsha of Matos (Masei is the second we read this week) states in Bamidbar 31:23 "כל דבר אשר יבא באש תעבירו באש וטהר, אך במי נדה יתחטא, וכל אשר לא יבוא באש תעבירו במים" “As far as the gold, silver, copper, iron, tin and lead are concerned, whatever was used over fire must be brought over fire and purged, and [then] purified with the sprinkling water. However, that which was not used over fire need only be passed over (immersed) in a mikvah”. 

Rashi explains ‘that which does not go through the fire’ to mean everything. Every vessel which is not used with fire, such as cups, glasses, which are used with cold water and do not absorb prohibited foods, ‘you shall make to go through water’. They shall be immersed, and that is sufficient for a Jew to use this vessel previously owned and used by a non-Jew. Ramban objects to Rashi’s definition of the word Taaviru (you shall pass through), stating that it does not refer to immersion, for then the word tavi’u, meaning you shall put in would have been used.  Tavi’u is the expression used in connection with immersion. Ramban also is curious as to why the Torah would not mention the method of purification for such vessels as it did with reference to those vessels that come into the fire.

Ramban explains the meaning of ‘you shall pass through the water’ is that you should wash the vessels and rub them thoroughly in water until you remove the deposit of forbidden foods which has formed on the vessels by being used for such foods. This process constitutes their purification from the forbidden foods. The Torah is saying that to purify a vessel from forbidden foods, the vessel must be expelled in the same manner. But for cold items the Gemara in Avodah Zorah 75b states, ”He scours them, immerses them, and they are then pure.” This IS the koshering process for utensils only used for cold usage.

Therefore, the Torah says ‘passes through the water’ to wash and scrub them well with water until the rust is removed. The forbidden substances that cling to the vessel must be scrubbed off; this is the koshering process for removing the forbidden ’stuff’. The same way vessels need to go through fire, these cold-usage vessels need to go through the water, not just be immersed in water.

In conclusion, another dimension to the koshering process is that when something is koshered in boiling water, it should be doused and rinsed off in cold water. This is to prevent the non-kosher substance that is drawn out through heat from returning inside. The object being kashered in immediately sealed by cold water to prevent the non-kosher substance from re-entering. We too, as we purge some sin or bad trait from within us, need to immediately act to ensure it does not return. No matter how difficult it may be to remove the impurity, never give up. We can always learn how to improve, even years later.                                                           

Ah Gutten Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky