[Avodah] Is the Superbowl Kosher?

Micha Berger micha at aishdas.org
Thu Jan 31 12:51:22 PST 2019


And I'm not talking about watching the half-time show or the cheerleaders.
In fact, my question would apply even more to HS football.

Should O Jews be capable of enjoying watching people play a support that
involves pounding each other until Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
is commonplace. CTE used to be called dementia pugilistia ("punch drunk"),
but now pugilists aren't the most common sufferers.

The stam beraisa (AZ 18b) prohibited going to itztadinin (stadia) mipenei
moshav leivim. R' Nasan permits, because he may be able to scream and
save someone, or at least prevent his widow from becoming an agunah.

But aside from halakhah, from a straight mussar point of view; shouldn't
knowing the amount of danger people are subjecting themselves to for my
entertainment shterr my ability to enjoy it?

(Assuming I personally enjoyed spectator sports to begin with.)

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Life is a stage and we are the actors,
micha at aishdas.org        but only some of us have the script.
http://www.aishdas.org               - Rav Menachem Nissel
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