Jews in the Spotlight

By Becky Adelberg
KOACH Midwest Field Worker

My claim to fame is that I’m related to Monty Hall (from the game show, Let’s Make a Deal) and somehow distantly related to Phil Collins. There is an excitement in our culture of being connected with a celebrity, either through relatives, having interacted with someone famous (even if he/she was just an extra on a PBS special) or the rare chance of a celebrity spotting. I remember being at Venice Beach and spotting Nicholas Cage sitting outside of one of the oceanside apartments or, while I was in NY, walking around Central Park and seeing Denise Richards walk out of a movie set trailer.

Besides the excitement and random conversation facts that these experiences have included, how has this impacted my life? Well, for the most part, it hasn’t. What I have thought about in relation to these questions is how celebrities are idolized in our culture and how, when it comes down to it, they are doing a job and pursuing their passions.

So what does this have to do with Jews and Showbiz? Well, if we take that a step further to the subject of pursuing passions, it is evident that Jews have always been in the spotlight in some form, from the political arena to television to humanitarian causes. A survey conducted in 2002 by the Jewish Agency for Israel stated that there are 13,296,100 Jews living in the world; for a number this small we sure have made a name for ourselves.

The list goes on of Jewish famous personalities from Lauren Bacall, Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor to Jeremy Piven, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld to Senator Joe Lieberman, Bob Dylan, Natalie Portman…just to name a few. What can we take from this?

We have inspirations in the media who come from one of the smallest populations on this planet; on the other hand, we also have inspirations in our day to day lives who can inspire us and help us to make a name for ourselves, to help us pursue our calling and to become famous in whichever area we wish to impact!

As it states in Pirkei Avot 1:6: "Make a teacher for yourself."

[Posted 04/18/07]