I just received an email from a "kiruv" website linking an article about a 16 year old Israeli boxer who skipped an important tournament because it meant that he would have to box on Shabbos which he refused to do.
Is it just me or does anyone else think that there is something wrong with getting into a ring and trying to punch someone else so many times and with such force that he can't stand up? Shabbos is great. I keep Shabbos too. But if someone would tell me that a prostitute gave up her job because her clients insisted she perform on Shabbos and that would mean she would have to drive which she refused to do, I wouldn't be so excited. I would be happy that she keeps Shabbos but very very dismayed at how she earns a living. Or that a guy who quit the Mafia because they made him carry out hits on Shabbos and he refused to kill on Shabbos. There was actually a famous Mafioso in the middle of the previous century who was Shomer Shabbos. A רשע מרושע but Shomer Shabbos. He kills, steals, cheats and lies but is meticulous to separate the fish from the bones and not the bones from the fish or to not handle money on Shabbos. Meshugga. [See Yoma 23 when the lines get wide].
I find boxing morally abhorrent. A disgrace to the human race. A competition to determine who can inflict more pain on a human being. And with thousands of thousands cheering fans encouraging them on..... "KILL 'EM!!!"
The problem with our culture is that in some areas we are so far "gone" - we don't even realize it.
