by Assi Philosoph
Once again, the Jewish community are living through dark times. As I’m writing these words, there are still 59 hostages, who have now been in Gaza for 515 days. Some of us may ask ourselves: How can I play in the Maccabiah games, how can I compete in sports, whilst our people are being cruelly starved, chained, beaten and abused, without even seeing daylight for so long?!
It’s not an easy question, and the answer is also not simple or definitive. Unfortunately, sometimes it appears that there is no such thing as being Jewish without the experience of suffering. Throughout history, Jewish people were deported from their land twice, and then, in the diaspora, suffered the most terrible atrocities in human history: the Inquisition, pogroms, and the worst of them all: the Holocaust.
The tragic story of the Polish Grand Master Miguel Najdorf is one of millions from the Holocaust. While Najdorf was playing the Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires, in September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. With the invasion, it became clear to Najdorf and his Jewish teammates that they couldn’t return to Europe.
Najdorf decided to stay in Argentina, only to later discover that his wife, child, mother and four of his brothers had all been killed by the Nazis. His grief would have been unimaginable. Yet, even in the face of the tragedy, and guided by the hope of finding any member of his family alive, Najdorf played an unforgettable blindfold exhibition in Sao Paulo in Brazil in 1947, against 45 opponents simultaneously, breaking a world record. His hope was that news of the event would spread in European newspapers and that there was some chance that one of his family members or friends would read it.
“I did it so that the news would reach Poland, if there was anyone who knew me still alive”, said Najdorf in an interview for El Grafico in 1988.
Later, he married again and had two daughters, commenting that “She (my mother) wanted me to become a doctor. I didn’t become one, but now I have two daughters who are doctors. It’s a way of indulging her, isn’t it?” He also added “I was born twice, without having ever died.”
Najdorf made a decision to continue living, and to continue playing chess, displaying a deeply human spirit to keep playing, writing, and producing meaningful things, thus bringing hope for a better world.
The same can be said for many Jewish holocaust survivors, who have gone on to become great writers, artists, and scientists, amongst other professions, winning hundreds of Nobel prizes, and contributing to development, discoveries, and the progress of humankind. All this despite being part of what is likely the most pursued group in history.
In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl, an Auschwitz survivor and the developer of logotherapy, discusses how suffering may be a source of meaning and growth. He writes:
“We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life even when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed. For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into a triumph, to turn one’s predicament into a human achievement…I only insist that meaning is possible even despite suffering—provided, certainly, that the suffering is unavoidable”.
It cannot be forgotten that people who were prisoners in the ghettos and camps, even suffering from terrible famine and disease, still kept making art and playing chess. For more information, please read Dr. Kandelshein’s article “Jewish chess players murdered in the Valley of Death in Auschwitz” via the following link: https://www.maccabiahchess.co.il/jewish-chess-players-murdered-in-the-valley-of-death-in-auschwitz/
In the same spirit, and to conclude, I would like to share an initiative of hope and empathy, promoted by the chess community in Israel in Jerusalem on September 26th. Around 1000 chess players, of different ages and from all around the country, participated in a simultaneous game in Safra Square, Jerusalem. The unique event called for the release of the kidnapped with a giant table construction of a yellow ribbon, the symbol of the struggle.
The yellow ribbon formed with the chess tables.
About fifty Masters played against 1000 players, meaning each Master competed against 20 players. The event spread hope among the participants, giving a feeling of unity, as well as positive energy and prayers for all the hostages to come back home. Since then, dozens of them have been returned, but we will not rest until the last of them is home.
Let’s play for them, and without forgetting them.