As Jewish fans of Sumo (no, we don’t call ourselves Jew-mos) get ready for the second week of Ryogoku Kokugikan’s January Tournament, the question inevitably comes up. Has there ever been a Jewish sumo wrestler? Although the JCC has not yet served the Sumo Stew known as Chanko Nabe, Judaism provides a substitute in the form of a hearty Shabbat regular known as cholent in Ashkenazi circles and chamin in Sephardi ones. If you’ve been around enough Long Island kiddushes, you already know that a Jewish diet more than adequately prepares our people to expand their waistlines in pursuit of the heft necessary to perform well in the Dohyō ring where matches take place.
Before we get to the answer, know that Jewish performance in the gladiatorial arena goes back thousands of years. Rome’s Colosseum was funded by war spoils from the Great Jewish Revolt and built by 50,000 Jewish slaves under the reign of Titus. Once built, the same slaves and many more were compelled to perform in bouts with each other and beasts often with fatal results. One of the most famous rabbinic personalities in the Talmud, Resh Lakish, was regarded as a particularly fierce competitor. Could he have been a sumo wrestler though? When asked by a colleague why he did not use a chair in the study hall like everyone else, Resh Lakish answered ‘my fat is my cushion’ so the likely answer is yes.
Fast forwarding several thousand years, Jews continue to be well represented in the world of wrestling albeit the more American variety. World Wrestling Entertainment and even local Japanese federations have featured many Members of the Tribe including ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage, Goldberg and Barry Horowitz who, following a long JCC playbook, took on a Japanese tag-team partner named Hakushi in 1995.
If you’ve made it this far down then you deserve to know that yes, in 1987 a 22-year-old Argentinian Jew named Marcelo Salomón began what would become an epic 17 year career in sumo. Known as Hoshitango Imachi, Solomon rose as high as the rank of Jūryō 3 in 2000 before retiring in 2004. Not content to while away his days writing the great Argentinian-Jewish-Japanese novel, Salomón moved into professional Japanese wrestling where he continues to compete until today. If anyone knows where to find Imachi-san, please let him know that he and his stablemates are always welcome at the JCC. If you’re sponsoring kiddush the week we host them, please add another 0 to the end of your donation.
Services
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, January 19th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Bo
Kiddush sponsored by the Sitbon Family in commemoration of the 10th yahrzeit of Raphael’s grandfather, Jacques Lazarus, former director of the World Jewish Congress’s Algiers Office
Saturday, January 20th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, January 26th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, February 2nd
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Yitro
Bar Mitzvah of Adam Berman – All Are Welcome!
Saturday February 3rd
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat – Guest Speaker Professor Marc Shapiro
Lecture (Topic TBD) open to all regardless of dinner reservation
Friday, February 9th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Lecture: 8:30pm
Shabbat Parshat Mishpatim – Rosh Chodesh Adar I
Kiddush open for sponsorship
Saturday, February 10th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Events
A Night of Jewish Jazz
Join us at the JCC for an evening of soul nourishing jazz music with JCJ member Selim Benba. Back by popular demand, Selim will play popular jazz standards by famous Jewish composers such as Gershwin, Rogers & Hart, Victor Young, etc. as well as old Jewish favorites.
Saturday, January 20th
Doors: 7:00pm
Start: 7:30pm
Registration Details
Many more in the works including bowling, cooking and of course Purim with the world’s best klezmer band.
If you have an idea for an event or a topic you would like to share with others, please visit our website.
Announcements
We regret to announce the passing of Shmuel Rosenthal, father of longtime JCC board member Carmel Rosenthal. May the family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Representatives of the JCC visited the International Jewelry Tokyo Trade Show at Tokyo Big Sight and wished a Shabbat Shalom to the many traders who flew in from all over the world. Only at a diamond convention do you overhear a Sri Lankan dealer shake a Taiwanese buyer’s hand concluding a negotiation with ‘mazel und broche’, Yiddish diamond parlance for ‘luck and blessing’.
BBYO’s end-of-year Shabbaton demonstrated that our community’s future remains brighter than ever. Over a dozen teens crashed at the JCC overnight with all kinds of ice breakers and activities sure to remembered for many years to come. Thank you to the BBYO Board for planning and to our unsung hero, the chaperone who made sure any problems (thankfully none!) could have been addressed.
Thank you to last week’s anonymous sponsor of a Japanese-inspired seasonal kiddush where dozens of attendees enjoyed veggie gyoza, yaki imo and mikan with dessert the ever-popular chocolate cake flown in from Chicago’s North Shore Kosher Bakery. The crowd was international, intergenerational and intentional about getting just the right amount of sauce onto their dumplings. What’s on tap this Shabbat morning? Suffice to say, you won’t be disappointed especially if you love a combination of Ashkenazi staples with some Sephardic home cooking.
Tu b’Shvat begins Wednesday evening, January 24th. The holiday itself, oddly for Judaism, does not include many specific rituals outside of a kabbalistic seder/meal that began in the medieval period but still hasn’t really caught on all that much. One proposal for the JCC Hebrew School is a mikan eating contest. Knowing the myriad ways that could go horribly wrong, we will first contact our insurance company to make sure we are covered.
Yiddish Club with Jack Halpern: Please contact Jack at jack@cjki.org if you are interested to join. All levels are welcome, from beginner to advanced. Much more than just language, the club’s monthly meetings explore Yiddish culture as well.
Shabbat Bo
Candle Lighting: 4:36pm
Havdala: 5:36pm