Should 'Muscular Judaism' make a comeback?

"Muscular Judaism" is a term coined by Max Nordau, one of the founders of modern Zionism, as an answer to "Jewish distress."

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“Muscular Judaism” is a term coined by Max Nordau in his speech at the Second Zionist Congress held in Basel in 1898.¹

Born in 1849 in the Kingdom of Hungary, Nordau was one of the founders of the modern Zionist movement, as well as a philosopher, author, physician, and journalist.

In his 1898 speech, he spoke about the need to design the “new Jew” and reject the “old Jew.” Nordau saw Muscular Judaism as an answer to Judennot (“Jewish distress”).²

Specifically, he outlined three aspects of “Muscular Judaism” — some of which are very much a strength in today’s Jewish world, and others of which we still have serious work to do.

These three aspects are: