Well, Orthodoxy is on display again in the world media. Or, is it? The current season of NBC’s “The Apprentice” features two Orthodox Jewish contestants, Yeshiva University graduate Dan Brody and HAFTR graduate, Lee Bienstock. Both are observant, knowledgeable Jews and Mr. Brody actually spent one year learning in Israel. First of all credit must be given to Donald Trump and the producers of the show for their willingness to accommodate the Orthodox requirements of these two gentlemen. Previous editions of The Apprentice were all taped on Shabbos as Mr. Trump’s busy schedule gave him little other available time to do the show. This season, they have gone out of their way and avoided any of the taping on Shabbos.
I have watched the first two episodes of the show and have mixed feelings. On the one had I am extremely gratified that Orthodox Jews are so favorably featured. Both gentlemen are quite attractive and normal looking. This is usually not the case when Orthodox Jews are depicted by Hollywood in dramas or comedies. Orthodox Jews are at best depicted as quirky and at worst as quite odd or even primitive. Not so here. These gentlemen are as cool and collected as any of the other contestants, if not more so.
So what’s my problem? Well, I have none really. Except for the classic K’nardly. What’s a K’nardly? Well... you K’nardly tell they are Jewish, let alone Orthodox. In fact you wouldn’t know it at all if not for the media attention paid to it. Both Mr. Brody and Mr. Bienstock have decided not to wear Kipot. They did not want that to become a media sideshow or the primary focus. They wanted to be on par with the rest of the contestants and be judged on their merits. I can understand that and I’m not even sure it’s such a bad idea.
But I wonder what it would have been like if they had worn their Yarmulkes. Would the producers of the show have edited it to make them look just a wee bit weird? Or is it the Yarmulke itself that makes you look weird? Or, ...is the opposite true? Would their all American good looks plus Yarmulke made an even bigger Kiddush HaShem, and in the process blaze a new trail in the normalization of a Yarmulke wearer? The truth is I don’t know. It will be interesting to watch and see how the show unfolds and whether their Orthodoxy comes into play at all... and if it does, whether it will be a Kiddush HaShem or a Chilul HaShem. It might have been even more interesting to see them wearing their Yarmulkes, but then I begin to wonder about the “weirdness” factor. If the editors saw it was weird and cut the tapes to emphasize that, it could kill any potential Kiddush HaShem.
So I am neutral about this at the moment. I like the fact that they are so... normal. But I don’t like the fact that if no one had told me, I wouldn’t even know they were Jewish. I guess we’ll have to wait until the end of the season to see how it plays out.
One more thing. It might be interesting to note the difference between how the Right Wing and the Modern Orthodox communities might see this event. The views I expressed above can be considered a Modern Orthodox viewpoint. The Right would probably look at it quite differently. They might say that participating with Non-Jews in an environment that may be less than Tznius... in a medium they have Assur'd does not do anything for Kavod HaTorah and instead debases it. In no way should these two gentlemen be looked at as role models for the Torah world as there is nothing "Toradic" about them. If they asked a Shaila to a Charedi Rav about whether it is Mutar to be involved in such a show, I am pretty sure they would have gotten a big fat “No”. To the Right, it probably amounts to a Chilul HaShem no matter how we slice it.
