There are many losers in youth sport. For this reason, the JCC Maccabi Games instituted the Rachmanus Rule, which requires players, coaches, and spectators to embody Rachmanus (compassion) and emulate what the Talmud regards as divine qualities.
The rule was the result of a mismatched sporting event characterized by a lack of sportsmanship and a competing desire to fight the hard-edged decisions of adults. In 1984, members of the Pittsburgh JCC Maccabi basketball team traveled to Detroit. The Pittsburgh squad faced a larger, more talented group from Baltimore. As the game progressed, it became clear that the Pittsburghers had no chance of winning.
Lenny Silberman, Pittsburgh’s head of delegation, told the Chronicle he asked the opposing coach to show a little sympathy. Silberman was dismissed and the Baltimore team, despite being more talented and larger, kept pushing and increasing the score.
The absurdity of the experience peaked when Pittsburgh’s David Levine faced off against a much larger opponent. Despite the difference in size and skill, Levine refused to give up and kept fighting with every play.
That relentlessness and unwillingness to get out defined who was the clear winner on the day, Silberman noted.
The 1984 Maccabi Games ended. The players returned to their respective cities. Ten years later, Silberman accepted a position with the JCC Association of North America and became the continental director of the JCC Maccabi Games. In this position, Silberman was given the platform to change the tenor of the Maccabi plays.
For the next five years he worked to infuse the spirit of Rachmanus into the sporting experience of youth. While winning remained a cherished goal, demonstrating compassion and sportsmanship became similarly valuable goals.
The Rachmanus Rule is now a two-page document that sets out the expectations of players, coaches, and spectators at the Maccabi Games.
“Rachmanus involves showing good sportsmanship, respect for one’s opponents and the officials, and displaying appropriate behavior are also important parts of Rachmanus,” the Maccabi Games materials read. “The level of competition at the games is very different due to delegations from different city sizes and delegations with teams with younger players. Although several sports have rules of mercy, it goes against the spirit of the games and shows a lack of Rachmanus to take down a much weaker team to gain points or come out of the box.”
Alan Mallinger, a former employee of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Center, led the Pittsburgh Maccabi Games delegation for 21 years.
According to Mallinger, the Rachmanus Rule makes the Maccabi Games a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
“It’s not fun for kids from a small town to be overwhelmed with 60 points,” he said. “It’s just more fun with Rachmanus.”
Lenny Silberman, left top row, Alan Mallinger, second from right top row. Photo courtesy of Lenny Silberman
Mallinger retired from the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Center in November. His departure spurred former athletes, their parents and Mallinger’s peers to praise someone who embodied the best of the Maccabi Games experience.
“For decades, Alan has been a valued and respected leader who demonstrates a deep passion and dedication to ensuring the success and continuity of the JCC Maccabi Games – one of the greatest Jewish people-building projects of our time,” Samantha Cohen, Vice President for programs and talent management for the JCC Association of North America to the Chronicle. “As a parent of three JCC Maccabi athletes and a longtime coach and delegation leader, we will forever be grateful for the key role Alan played in ensuring that thousands of Jewish teenagers from Pittsburgh and around the world had the opportunity to Find friends, strong Jewish identity and experience the transformative magic of JCC Maccabi.”
Jason Kunzman, chief program officer for the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, told the Chronicle that 2017 solidified his understanding of Mallinger’s relationship with the Maccabi Games.
Kunzman had just accepted a position at the Jewish Community Center and was traveling with the Pittsburgh delegation to the Maccabi Games in Albany, New York.
“What I saw was remarkable: the way ‘Mal’ moved from venue to venue; the manner in which he dealt with each and every situation that was brought to his attention; and quite honestly, the treatment on the red carpet, the way he was treated by peers across the country and around the world was truly amazing,” said Kunzman. As a parent whose child participated in their first Maccabi games, “I had this incredible sense of calm and comfort in knowing that [my son] and the rest of the delegation was looked after by the love and compassion of Alan Mallinger.”
Because of the pandemic, last summer was the Pittsburghers’ first opportunity to return to the Maccabi Games.
Kunzman told the Chronicle that those years without the Games offered perspective.
Online programs, immunization clinics, and myriad activities for seniors and youth reinforced JCC’s commitment to the community during difficult times.
More recently, however, there has been an urge to “go back to basics,” Kunzman said.
The staff began to think about the relationship between the Maccabi Games and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.
“If you look at the underlying principles of the JCC Maccabi Games, where the Rachmanus Rule is emphasized, it’s pretty simple: good sportsmanship and fair play. The question for us was, how can we as JCC and community support these principles of fair play and good sportsmanship as clearly as possible?” said Kunzmann.
In answering this question, the JCC staff drew on the legacy of their beloved former colleague.
“We’ve come up with an award and who better to name it after than one of our longest serving employees, someone whose pride and love was Maccabi throughout his career at JCC,” said Kunzman.
Weeks ago, members of last summer’s Maccabi Games delegation gathered in the gym at JCC’s Squirrel Hill branch.
It has been announced that each year the Alan Mallinger Rachmanus Award will be presented to a player from the Pittsburgh delegation who best embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and compassion.
“It was totally unexpected and I’m very honored,” Mallinger told the Chronicle. “Maccabi is very meaningful to me, and Rachmanus is really a part of that.”
Thomas Levine, left, and Alan Mallinger at the Alan Mallinger Rachmanus Award ceremony. Photo courtesy of Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Center
When the award was announced, a young athlete from Squirrel Hill was standing next to Mallinger. The teenager, Thomas Levine, traveled to San Diego and used his time at the Maccabi Games not only to compete in football, but also to help the heads of delegation and be a role model for the youngest members of the Pittsburgh group.
On receiving the Alan Mallinger Rachmanus Award, Levine, 14, told the Chronicle: “I’m very proud to have this legend with us at this beautiful award and that [his name] carries on everything Maccabi and the JCC are doing. I think it’s really something special.”
“When they told us Thomas was going to win that award, it was really fitting,” Levine’s mother, Dory Levine (a former Maccabi Games competitor) told the Chronicle. “He did everything to make his teammates feel like a team. He really made everyone feel special.”
There was another reason why winning the award was significant.
Thirty-eight years prior to his presentation, Thomas Levine’s father, David Levine, played at the Maccabi Games. David Levine, now a successful business owner and active community member, was once a diminutive teenage basketball player facing a bigger, more talented opponent and realized that winning and losing isn’t always determined by score.
The Maccabi Games, and youth sports in general, have an incredible ability for individuals to demonstrate integrity, sportsmanship and compassion, Silberman told the Chronicle.
“I had the privilege of being in San Diego with David and Dory last summer and watching Thomas play football. We sat on the sidelines and the story of the Rachmanus Rule came up,” Silberman said. “When I think about the journey from David to Thomas it really came full circle and having Mal’s name on the award is Mal’s DNA. That is what Rachmanus is about.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at [email protected].
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