Raised in a household where Reform and atheistic beliefs converged, my expertise in slicing H&H bagels was considered far more crucial than studying my Torah section for a bat mitzvah that was unappealing to me and my parents reluctant to fund, most of my understanding of Jewish beliefs and customs came not from temple but from television.
The initial TV rabbi I recall watching appeared—like numerous excellent things—in Sex and the City; I was captivated as Charlotte York endeavored to adopt Judaism for her bald, assertive, Jewish partner Harry Goldenblatt, only for her neighborhood rabbi to refuse her thrice (a valid tradition, apparently?) before reluctantly granting her an invitation for Shabbos dinner with his relatives. Fast forward to Season 1 of And Just Like That… two decades on, Charlotte York-Goldenblatt had transitioned to being a fully-fledged Jewish matriarch with Hari Nef portraying her family’s rabbi. (Definitely an upgrade!)
Observing Nef—a Jewish actress acclaimed initially for her role as a trans woman from Weimar Germany on Transparent—conduct a joyful, sleek “they mitzvah” for Charlotte’s nonbinary child Rock felt like the ultimate indication that we, within the faith, had progressed beyond the static, Fiddler on the Roof-style portrayals of Jewish spiritual leaders in media toward a more vibes-centric rabbinic era.
Admittedly, there were a few attractive ones: Mandy Patinkin as a drenched yeshiva student in Yentl; Ben Stiller portraying Rabbi Jake Schram in the 2000 film Keeping the Faith. Now, mere years after Kathryn Hahn embodied the stunning, well-meaning, fuckboy-dating Rabbi Raquel on Transparent (prompting me to wear a conservative dress and a tallit for Halloween), Adam Brody plays a rabbi in the new Netflix rom-com series Nobody Wants This. Watching The O.C.’s Seth Cohen—one of television’s initial truly endearing, unassimilated Nice Jewish Boys—embark on perhaps the most esteemed position within the Jewish spiritual domain makes me feel a) significantly older and b) pleased to see the rabbi newly inhabit the cool, relatable, romantic-lead sphere.