Jewish Trivia: Music at the Olympics
Published February 7, 2022
Jason Brown is a Jewish figure skater who will be representing the United States at the Beijing Olympic Games. He has won numerous events in the past, including 9 medals at Grand Prix international events, the 2015 United States National Championship, and a bronze medal in a team event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. In 2019 Brown began using the music from Schindler’s List as the accompaniment for his routines.
Explained Brown, “I have really loved tapping into the heart and soul of the piece.” He will be presenting a free skate routine to this music later this week. Jewish music has been used before at the Olympics, most notably by Jewish American Aly Raisman, who performed her gold medal-winning gymnastics floor exercise to Hava Nagila at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Raisman dedicated her medal to the 11 Israeli Olympians who were killed by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
More controversial use of Jewish music took place at the Rio Olympics in 2016, when an athlete competed to a klezmer song, Kol Ha’Olam Kulo. The melody to Kol Ha’Olam Kulo was written by Rabbi Baruch Chait utilizing words by Reb Nachman, the founder of the Breslover Hasidic movement.
Why did Rabbi Chait object to the use of that song at the Olympics?
A) Rabbi Chait objected when the song was used to accompany Japanese gymnast Sae Miyakawa during her floor routine. Rabbi Chait stated that her routine was “not very modest.”
B) Rabbi Chait objected when the song was used to accompany Turkish gymnast Tutya Yılmaz during her floor routine. Rabbi Chait stated that the music “is not appropriate for a Muslim athlete.”
C) Rabbi Chait objected when the song was used to accompany Japanese gymnast Sae Miyakawa during her floor routine. Rabbi Chait stated that the music “is a matter of sanctity that cannot be used for just anything.”
D) Rabbi Chait objected when the song was used to accompany Israeli rhythmic gymnast Neta Rivkin during her floor routine. Rabbi Chait stated that “a woman should not be performing to the music of our Rebbe in a public place. Only a man is allowed to do that.”
E. Rabbi Chait objected when the song was used to accompany Japanese gymnast Sae Miyakawa during her floor routine. Rabbi Chait stated that her routine was “not very modest” and the music “is a matter of sanctity that cannot be used for just anything” and, by the way, he should have been paid royalties.
