In today’s society, many people are fans of various sports teams, whether in baseball, basketball, football, or other sports. The question has been raised if it is permitted to attend such events as a spectator.
In a letter dated the 14th of Sivan in 1981 (5741), R' Moshe Feinstein addressed this matter. He writes that attendance at such events is prohibited based on Bitul Torah and Moshav Leitzim, wasting one’s time from Torah study and engaging in frivolity. We must also keep in mind that nowadays, at many sporting events, there are major issues of immodesty as well either from the crowd or from secondary forms of entertainment.
Some halachic authorities opine that when there is no problem of Bitul Torah as the person needs some recreation in any case, and the environment is clean of inappropriate images, foul language and the like, attendance would then be permitted.
Rabbi Alt merited to learn under the tutelage of R’ Mordechai Friedlander ztz”l for close to five years. He received semicha from R’ Zalman Nechemia Goldberg ztz”l. Rabbi Alt has written on numerous topics for various websites and publications and is the author of seven books including the recently released “Remarkable Insights about Death and the Afterlife.” His writings, some of which have been translated into Yiddish, Hebrew, German and French, inspire people across the spectrum of Jewish observance to live with the vibrancy and beauty of Torah. He lives with his wife and family in Kiryat Yearim (where the Aron was for 20 years [Shmuel 1, 7:1,2]) where he studies, writes and teaches. The author is passionate about teaching Jews of all levels of observance.
