Maccabi – a great community-building exercise

There are sporting achievements. And then there is successfully organising three days of sport involving hundreds of South African Jews, children and parents, schedules, referees, food, weather, opinions, and, most frighteningly, South African Jewish mothers. 

For that alone, Darryn Edinburg deserves a gold medal. Possibly two. And a week somewhere without cellphone reception! 

The inaugural Maccabi Games South Africa took place in Johannesburg last week and what an unbelievable few days it was. Five-a-side soccer, netball, tennis, table tennis, padel, golf, chess, and probably another sport I’ve forgotten because I spent most of my time next to a soccer pitch watching fathers think they were Pep Guardiola, or maybe Enzo to be more relevant. 

But the sport was almost secondary. What was special was seeing our community together. 

A huge contingent came up from Cape Town as an incredible united force, Johannesburg had teams from different schools and clubs, and suddenly hundreds of Jewish children who might never normally cross paths were competing, laughing, chirping each other, and making new friends. 

And obviously eating. Lots of eating. Because apparently Jews cannot simply play sport. 

We need to play five-a-side soccer and follow it with a Burger & Brew burger and chips. Netball requires Michelos pizza. Synchronised dancing apparently burns exactly the number of calories contained in a freezo or a slush from Brewsky. And I’m fairly certain that padel existed only so that everyone could justify the tacos afterwards. 

Basically, it was less Maccabi Games and more Jewish Uber Eats with intermittent exercise. 

Was everything perfect? Of course not! It was the first local Maccabi Games. There were always going to be hiccups, teething problems, and lessons for next time. And yes, there were possibly one or two parents who seemed to believe Olympic selection was taking place and their child’s future Nike contract depended on the result of an U12 five-a-side match. But that’s a post for another day. 

What the Maccabi team, organisers, volunteers, and sponsors created was something far bigger than a tournament. They created community! 

For three days our kids competed against each other, supported each other, ate together, laughed together, and were reminded that although they may come from different schools, cities, teams, and backgrounds, they belong to something much bigger. 

And right now, with what’s going on in the world, there is something incredibly beautiful and important about that. 

Sport. Food. Friends. Family. Community. 

And approximately 47 000 WhatsApp messages required to make it happen. Side note: do you know how hard it is for a Jewish parent to belong to a WhatsApp group that they can’t message or reply to? 

These games deserved 10/10. Kol HaKavod, Maccabi South Africa and everyone who played a part. You didn’t just organise a sporting event, you brought people together. And you gave our children some pretty special memories along the way. 

Sure we missed the real deal in Israel this year, but this was a great consolation prize. 

Maybe next year the people who were too bravo or too scared to enter, will join the fun of Maccabi South Africa’s 2nd Games. 

• Adam Thal is a multi-award-winning South African filmmaker and executive producer who is known for bringing powerful human stories to global audiences.