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Is it wrong to be taking pride on jewish celebrities? I obviously don’t mean frum ones. Should we be celebrating the fact that many extremely influential people in this pop culture world are jewish and supporters of Israel, which can have a positive effect on how the world views us? Or should we dismiss them like we would any other non jewish celebrity?
give an example. like Dr. Middos or more like Shweky?
This actually has halachic implications. You’re not supposed to praise or compliment a non jew because of לא תחנם.
It happens to be I don’t usually tend to like the Jewish celebrities, only the goyish onesThe question is: What is a “positive impact on the world”?
Being in the public eye and like Israel isn’t necessarily a positive impact.
It’s only when someone does mitzvos that it can lead to a positive impact.So be proud of the mitzvos a Jewish celebrities does, the things that link them to their Jewishness. But be proud of them being a Jew if they don’t behave as one is supposed to? I think that’s a stretch.
You can feel a kinship with them, knowing that we come from the same holy roots, but proud of someone not following the Torah? Hmmm…in no particular order – Einstein, Trotsky, Chomsky, Marx, Rothschild, Moses, Avraham, Kushner, Sharon, Kissinger, Haber, Brin, Zukerberg, Friedman, Brandeis, Disraeli.
I don’t think pride is the feeling that should be evoked. Pity is more appropriate. These are tinokos shenisheu. It should make one take a step and recognize the immense power and talent that has been endowed to klal yisrael. We excel in everything that we do both for the good and bad. You would be surprised when you look at the genealogy of the majority of Hollywood actors and actresses. If I had to make an estimate I would say that over 50% have either a Jewish mother or father. Imagine if all that raw talent was used to serve Hashem instead of Hollywood.
We are fortunate that a few have not sucked into the anti-israel left but that is a very small consolation to the tragedy of the fact that they represent a symbol of how many of our brethren we have lost to assimilation.In many cases, it is impossible to differentiate the positive benefits resulting from certain public policy decisions or action as between yidden and people in general. There is no reason so forego praise of someone whose actions result in benefits to society as whole, where such outcomes are not contrary to daas torah.
Please define celelberties, UJM, CTlLawyer, Avira, Godalhatorah, Reb E, Amil most likely all have a different take on who is one.
Alan Alda has Jewish children as his wife is jewish. Michael Landon is not Jewish as his mother was not Jewish but Lorne Greene is.
Every Jew is a celelbrity. Especially if you “look Jewish” or “dress Jewish”. People are looking at you and judging Jewish people/Torah/Hashem accordingly. Not my words.
Celebrities, as a klal, are the lowest people.
@Always_Ask_Questions. You are 100% correct. I was walking in Cape Town SA a few months ago and a non-Jewish man stopped to chat to me. After a while he said ” You are a real Jew”. I said “why?” He said “you dress like a Jewish modest woman, you respect others and have a love for G-d”
Zaphod, the answer to your question is 42.
Maskildo Love the inspiration!
wow. ummmmm… yeah? duh? like, so many frum people have so much talents and kol hakavod for those that do it in a kosher way!!! keep it up!!!
The real “rock stars” are those who are able to consistently articulate their beliefs and positions in a respectful way without engaging in hateful, racist or otherwise hyperbolic commentary regarding those with whom they disagree.
While I’ve not come close to “celebrity status”, as long as I’m on my TDS meds, its certainly a long-term aspirational goal.
Gershon Distenfeld – see WSJ article 2 days ago, a bond guy who also plays professional poker once in a while, donating all $300k of his earnings. supports a bunch of things, inlcuding a kew yeshiva in Teanack.
Only jerks care about celebrities, and since we Jews seem to have some jerks among us, I guess they need a few Jewish celebrities.
Ujm- This was the post I was looking for!
Huju- why are you so harsh/bitter?!?! Relaaaaax! Take it easy!
I agree with huju here and I don’t think he/she is bitter because of that true statement.
To me there’s no such thing as “celebrities”. There were some entertainers that used to be enjoyable to watch or listen to but today “entertainers” are all “celebrity jerks” for the jerks who worship them.
This is a very well thought out question. But before i provide my answer can you tell me which rav gave you a heter to be on the internet?
Pride, otherwise know as gaava, is not a quality and Jew should have. We should be happy when we see people defending the Jewish people, supporting us and encouraging others to do so. We should be thankful that Hashem has sent these people who will undoubtedly make a difference in the way people perceive Jews, whether they themselves are Jews or not.
Reb Eliezer, the same goes for Paul McCartney – his children were born to his now-deceased wife Linda, who was Jewish.
Philosopher- I didn’t say he/she was wrong, but the way it was said was unnecessarily harsh. You don’t need to call people jerks because they have dumb interests.
bored_teen, I hear you. But what would you call someone who worships/is infatuated by another human because they can act well/play baseball well/ sing well, etc.? I personally think that being a fan of “celebrities” is jerky kind of behavior. Non-frum “celebrities”, (who despite being called Jewish are often non-halachic “Jews”) are most often narcissist and empty and it is really immature to admire such empty shells. And not only are most of them empty shells, most “Jewish celebrities” are liberals who contaminate and spread immoral garbage within the world. These people should be condemned, the last thing that they should be is “celebrated”.
That isn’t any better than every random guy in the street shaking a lulav from a Chabad kiruv worker.
Mayim Bialik is an actress who has been on several TV series and is currently the host of Jeopardy. She is a baalat tshuva who is an aspiring Orthodox Jew. She is quite public about it.
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