Sometime idrottsforum.org contributor Shawn Klein gave a two part lecture series on Jews and Sports for Arizona State University (ASU) Jewish Studies. These allowed him to branch out into topics he has thought about before and also speak to important parts of who he is.
The first lecture, “American Jews and Sports Fandom,” was given on January 25 at the Valley of the Sun JCC in Scottsdale, AZ.
While Jews have sought belonging in many ways: education, arts, entertainment, science—sports fandom presents a distinctive understanding of what it means to be Jewish in America. Being a fan isn’t just about watching games; it’s about the stories we tell about our teams, our communities and ourselves. We will explore what these narratives might say about American Jewish identity.
The video of this talk is below.
The second lecture, “What, if anything, is Jewish in Sport?” was presented on zoom on Tuesday March 24, 2026.
There is no Talmudic tractate on sport. The Bible is mostly silent. Sholem Aleichem doesn’t write of games in the shtetl. Yet sports are far from absent in Jewish life. Is sport merely a neutral pastime picked up from other cultures or is there something Jewish in sport? This talk explores how Jewish thought and culture might engage with the meaning of sports and play. Can Jewish civilization offer a distinctive perspective on the role of sports and games in human life?
The video of this talk is below.
