Long before the mythical Dane Saul, Jews walked in a sportive walk
It seems that walking as a sport is a product of the modern age, not her. This branch has a long history, at least from the point of view of the records, dating back to the Middle Ages, and perhaps even rooted in the second century CE, as can be read in the appendix: "Abba Shaul says: There is no seriousness on Shabbat to exercise, but he walks as he likes, and even all day long and is not afraid (Tosefta Shabbat 22/XNUMX XNUMX). And if so, we have before us a significant, almost revolutionary innovation in relation to the definition of walking as physical activity.
The awareness of the importance of walking, the trip, as characteristics and manifestations of physical activity, was not the property of the Christians in the Middle Ages, with the exception of a few rare cases, such as in the "House of Joy" by Vittorino da Platra, or by Hieronymus Mercurialis in his essay "On the Art of Gymnastics" published in 1569, and in relation to it there are legs to the theory that it was influenced by the Arab-Muslim and Jewish school, from the time of Maimonides and his successors. Namely, the strong enthusiasm for the physical activity of walking.
Both from the Arab-Muslim writers, and especially from the famous Ibn-Rashad, and those from the Jews of the Middle Ages, it turns out that walking was associated with several sports, such as ball games, and was even used as a sports-physical branch in itself that requires a certain effort and improves physical fitness, so there is To say with certainty, that in a casual trip and walking combined with physical effort. And even the Hebrew phrase "mashayim" (walkers) was attached to the Periphathetic school of Aristotle, who used to teach his students while walking.
Maimonides in the 12th century, who worked so hard to make souls among Judaism, in everything related to the subject of exercise, found it necessary to emphasize the importance of walking as part of physical activity. This is how Rambam's ruling in the Book of Science is as follows: "Forever, when a person eats, he should sit in his place or lean to the left and not walk... and not walk until the food in his intestines is digested." And anyone who travels after his food, or goes crazy (that is, he exercises), after all, this brings upon himself bad and difficult filth" (Sefer al-Hamadea, Halchut De'ot, XNUMX, XNUMX). There is no doubt that his warning comes against the background of an existing reality, in terms of preventive medicine, in terms of folk remedies for weight loss, or purely for pleasure. It seems that the Rambam's distinction between "walking" and "walking" is like the difference between a "rough walk" (as the sages say), or fast walking, as part of physical activity, and between a "walking", which is walking for pleasure, which is no less important in the same framework of physical activity.
Maimonides, who was known for his scientific and methodical way, emphasized that physical activity should not be overdone and that it should be performed within certain limits, i.e. after the digestion of food in the intestines. For example, Rambam stated that "the bodies, which are at the end of the heat, will not need exercise at all, and will be content with walking and bathing..." (Moshe Chapters in Medicine, 10:XNUMX). Maimonides also stated that one should not travel after the blood is shed.
Following Ibn Rashad, who recommended walking among the very old and the elderly, the Maimonides ruled that "the general rule of thumb for the health of the elderly is to apply oil in the morning (that is, massage), after sleeping and (then) walking..." (Moshe Chapters in Medicine, 27, XNUMX) . He also recommended to all those suffering from black bile that "it will go away by hearing music and singing songs and taking a walk" (introduction to the treatise Avot Pa). This is to teach us that the importance of walking, like any physical activity, also lies in the health of a person's mind and body, and it is also a kind of amusement and pleasure.
In Barcelona, which is in northeastern Spain, in the second half of the 12th century, the physician and writer Rabbi Yosef ben Meir Ibn Zabara, in his "Book of Amusements", wrote in praise of the importance of upright walking, it is the natural walk, good for the lungs of the body and soul, and also Rabbi Shem-Tov ben Joseph Ibn Falkira (1290-1225) spoke of the merit of walking that leads to physical activity.
In the 12th stage, Rabbi Eliezer bar Shmuel of the city of Metz in France (1198-1110) said that "a person must make a habit in everything in which his heart finds joy and excitement ... and on a trip" (Sefer Hasidim Siman Titkemet).
The Book of Chassidim (13-12 centuries) in Ashkenaz also recommended that anyone who seeks to remove sorrow from his heart should go for a walk with his boys and demanded the verse from Deuteronomy 15:XNUMX) - "And you were but happy" in this language: "You can with a bullet or a rough step" (ibid. get stuck), which suggests that this is an activity on Shabbat and that it was perhaps influenced by the teachings of Maimonides. On the other hand, Rabbi Eliezer of Wormeiza (Worms in Germany) resents the many trips that Ashkenazi Jews take on Shabbat, which indicates the explosive nature of this custom.
Rabbi Yosef Karo permitted the trip on Shabbat, but subject to the limitation of "a rough stride", which as a rule is forbidden to exceed the forearm (56 cm) in one stride, and added that there is "the stricter even in a trip, if the intention (of the exerciser) is to exercise for medicine" (meaning to the "Blessed Mishna" XNUMX).
In my humble opinion, Rabbi Yosef Caro's reference to the Sephardic community of Toledo is interesting as follows: "And whatever the elders (of the congregation) fix and do, in all this the time and the treasurers with them and the Torah preacher with them." And everything according to the majority, to fulfill, and they all swore a solemn oath... and they counted and ended up fixing one regulation and agreement, which has a Maltese gender and it is, that they saw in the iniquities of the generation breaking out and on the other hand that the boys and girls are going to walk on Shabbat outside the city in those special places to walk... and on a second Shabbat some of the KK's sons ( Kehilat Kodesh) Toledo went through the agreement and went for a walk" (Podak Rochel Association, Siman Row).
Before us is interesting information, somewhat implicit, about special routes for walking, marked for a trip, and perhaps marked by the municipal authority, the castle, that if this hypothesis is correct, then before us is a historical update. Moreover, if the sages of the city of Toledo convened the mayors and its leaders for the purpose of establishing a regulation and agreement in the oath, which forbids the trip on Shabbat in those special places for the trip, then from here we will learn precisely about the explosiveness of the custom, to the extent that even after the severe oath no solution to the problem was found - so that young people violated her.
We also learned about the spread of the practice of traveling from the owner of "Abakat Rokhel" who tells about this phenomenon in the different Sefer communities, such as in Lorca.
East of there, in Prague, which is in Austria-Hungary (now in the Czech Republic), the Maharal (1609-1512) spoke of the virtue of walking upright. There, although the intention was more allegorical, to show that the structure of the human body dictates the image of God in him, but the generally positive attitude of the Maharal regarding physical activity (such as, for example, regarding ball games), we can assume that his recommendation regarding upright walking is related to our case.
Two somewhat late pieces of information pertain to the subject of our discussion as follows. One refers to the years 1731-1724 regarding three congregations in Ashkenaz (Altona, Hamburg Wanzibeck) which accepts a bitter that "the teachers go for a walk every day in the street after the offering prayer" (Rule AA) and those who violate this prohibition will be subject to punishment. This practice probably got out of the teachers' way to go for a walk with their students after the minachah prayer.
The second document deals with the letter of Rabbi Eliyahu Morfurgo of Gradiska to the heads of the "Chinuq Nearim" company in Berlin in the 18th century. The heads of the society appealed to the educated thinkers with a request that they propose their plans for the benefit of improving the state of education. In the sixth section of his answer, we read that every day, with the guidance of the teacher, the teachers and their students would go for a trip outside the city, "and it was for them to take care of their souls and to save the health of their bodies" (Sh. Asaf, Mekorot le toldid el education in Israel, XNUMX, soft).
We have before us an interesting testimony regarding the beginning of the institutionalization of physical education classes in the school in the 18th century, and Rabbi Eliyahu Morfurgo, who presented to that educational society his doctrine regarding the branches of physical education that should be included in the school educational system, such as playing with a stick, playing with a hand stone, or Playing ball, a separate section points out the importance of the trip.
