But is that work?

Mr. Koufax didn't play Game One of teh 1965 Baseball World Series because he refused to play on Yom Kippur. Will this young man have the same high moral standards or will he sell Yom Kippur out for another medal?

If you're Orthodox, sports are forbidden due to the halacha "Do not follow the laws of the gentiles," and especially Israeli sports, which are so closely related to Shabbat desecration that they are forbidden even on Wednesdays.

To hold the matches on days that would force people to violate their religious practices.

why should this guy be any different. Irrational religious BELIEFS in mythology got in my way from the ages of 16-32.5. I'm glad to see this guy came to his senses by not waisting his potential like I did. Kol ha'kavod Yuval!

the old joke of the rabbi and the hole in one on Yom Kippur.................... not only Shabbat but Pesach as well, what did he do for food in Baku?

Are you aware of the thousands of Jews who still live there? And it is known that secular Jews from the Caucuses generally are much more religious and traditional than their secular counterpart here in Israel or in the USA. Just like here in Israel and because Azerbeijan is a Moslem republic - it is not difficult to keep kosher. I wonder - DO YOU YOURSELF KEEP KOSHER??? I do. I would have gone to Baku, contacted the Jewish community, said I was from Israel, and would surely have had no problem getting kosher invitations.

but not religious, masorti (traditional) at best. A religious Jew would rather die than violate Shabbat, to say nothing of a bronze medal.

I dunno what #5 is talking about that sports are forbidden on wednesdays. The Efrat little league baseball is held every Wednesday in Efrat, with lotsa "loyal Jews" playing. Opening day was today with 3 games held. In Efrat. All orthodox Jews so far as I could tell (well, there were at least 2 mothers present who, oy vay, didn't cover there hair!). Not to mention that the true Loyal Jews of Efrat also have a soccer league, basketball league, tennis courts (open on Wednesdays!), and Loyal Jewish old farts who play softball every Friday morning. As the sages say, the Temple was destroyed by sinat chinam and there obviously ain't no shortage of it in Efrat.

Does it mean that if it was on a regular day he would not have won, only because he desecrated Shabat? Stupid is as stupid writes. About the boy and his religiosity, WINNING is more important than having a relation with G-d and he had his advertising.

Yes, Efrat has all of those. It also has problems of drugs, alcohol, abandoning of the faith, et cetera.The two are related. It starts by going to the sports field on Wednesday and it continues with fencing on Shabbat.

It is obvious that competing in some international competition is certainly not in the spirit of Shabbat. However, it is possible to do so without technically breaking any halachot. It certainly must have been a tough decision for him and his family. Anyway, I suspect that they are a "traditional" family, the kind where they keep kashrut and shabbat, but don't necessarily wear kippot or daven every day.

Hillul Hashem (desecrating Hashem's Name) technically violates a few halachot, doesn't it?

Your statement is one of the most ignorant examples of sinat chinam that I've seen in a long time. Sports > drugs > alcohol = chilul Shabbat What deranged rabbi told you that, or did you jump to the conclusion on your own? Are you sure you're living in the right community? Maybe you should move to Betar Ilit (where lookout! some kids play sports during the week! GEVALT!!!) or Mei Shearim. To say that playing team sports during the week leads to drugs and chilul Shabbat is one of the most bizarre statements I've heard in a long time based on your own ignorance with no connection at all to halacha. If you're so loyal a Jew, what are you doing reading a website like Ynet with it's adverts showing scantily clad women? Wow... you must really hate people to look at the hundreds of healthy, religious, Torah observant kids playing soccer and baseball and conclude that they are all turning to drugs and sin because of it. As I recall, the temple was destroyed because of talk like that....

If you think that sports during the week is chilul Hashem, then what are you doing living in Efrat? The matnas (community center) is built around not just hobbies, music and arts, but sports sports sports and sports. Lots of sports. Efrat has baseball, soccer, basketball, cycling trips, martial arts of all kinds (you should see the black belts in Tae Kwan Do do their stuff - very impressive!). Not just for kids, but for adults too (men AND women! Oy! but not mixed, of course!) Chess!!!! (During the week - and kids play it on Shabbat .... GEVALT!!!!) The official policy of the community center is to promote sports - they have a full time person to coordinate it. Efrat teams go out and play against other teams not just locally but in Jerusalem and elsewhere. So why are you choosing to live amongst all us sinners in Efrat? Crikey... do you lecture all of your neighbors about keeping their kids out of sports??!?? And, of course, how do you read Ynet if it has all those filthy advertisements of almost naked women?!?!?! If you think kids playing sports during the week is sinful, why are you even reading Ynet?

The article doesn't talk about a school or matnas that lets children play sports or chess. It's about a "religious" boy in a "religious" community who became very skilled in a sport, then went abroad, bumped into Shabbat, and gave Shabbat a smack in the face with the goyim looking on approvingly. Who let this happen? The Israeli cultural system, which desecrates Shabbat without a thought, or worse, with a thought. For this reason as I was taught before aliyah, official organized culture in Israel is off limits on Wednesday, too.

Hullooo! The news is not that a 15-year-old decided to break Shabbat and compete. The news is that he WON. Ynet's choice to publicly announce this kid's decision about religious observance (or worse, mock him for being a "hypocrite" when Jews all over the world make personal decisions about observance every day) is rediculous! Unfortunately, it's also typical of YNet's "Jewish World" section, which consistently seeks out articles that denigrate religion.

You were taught wrong. Who let this happen? His parents and coaches and his own personal decision. You want to blame it on Israeli society? Well, it's also religious society that has produced haredi drug pushers and child rapists - and yes, they do indeed exist. Using your logic, you won't go to an Avram Fried concert because it's part of the Israeli cultural system. What a stupid, illogical attempt at rationalizing baloney! I personally know of several Israeli sports organizations that send Israeli national teams abroad to compete and represent Israel. They arrange in advance NOT to compete on Shabbat because they have frum players on the teams and they find value in NOT playing on Shabbat. You show people by example, especially Jews who don't know better, and these athletes are excellent examples of midot tovot. Unfortunately, your example is to stick your head in the ground and pretend that the world does not exist. Very apropo for Kiryat Sefer, not normal for Efrat. Everybody else in Efrat seems to have had a different education than you. Go look outside! Your neighbors are jogging night and day (also because many of them enter marathons!), hundreds of kids are playing sports on wednesdays, and some of them even kick the ball around on Shabbat and that is totally halachically ok for a kid to do! You may be loyal to Hashem, but so are Jews who play sports on Wednesdays.