This is kind of a silly observation, but I think I enjoy tennis and bridge because you are playing independently, but responding to a partner. In team sports, you only get to play one role; in individual sports, such as golf or bowling, you effectively play by yourself, and then just compare scores. Boxing is similar to tennis and bridge, but winning is not just making your opponent lose. It's more a finesse than a bludgeoning.
In many ways, I see Judaism the same way. It's not a team sport -- you can't delegate different aspects to different people -- but it's not an individual sport, either -- the community is an integral part of the process, and many of the experiences would be meaningless without them. in fact, in Judaism, the most sacred prayers require a quorum of ten people just to say them!
How I interpret it, how I celebrate it, what I value -- this is all left to me, it all has to be reflected by me. Sure there are plenty of books and guides, just as there are books and teachers on tennis and bridge, but it comes down to how I practice it. That said, I can't practice it in a vacuum -- I need the community, and they influence me just as I influence them.
Fortunately, religion isn't going to become an Olympic sport any time soon, but I just thought it an interesting correlation between my current three favorite pasttimes. I also noticed, not coincidentally, that all three are extremely complex, and that is part of their joy: how you are always facing new situations, and how you can always grow.
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