Is Justin Bieber Jewish?

Is Justin Bieber Jewish? Is Natalie Portman's fiance, Benjamin Millepied, Jewish? Based on my Web research, neither one is Jewish. However, there are many people wondering these questions and doing what curious people do in the Digital Age -- turning to Google.

There are two components to blogging I enjoy most. First, I love writing. Second, I love looking at the analytics to see through which portals visitors have arrived at my blog. Looking at the referral statistics, there is an overwhelming number of Web surfers who are referred to my blog after inquiring about a celebrity's faith -- specifically, whether they are Jewish.

While Jewish people may only account for less than 2 percent of the U.S. population, we have provided society with a vastly disproportionate number of celebrities -- from actors and musicians to authors, producers and directors. No, Jews don't own Hollywood in the anti-semitic canard conspiracy theory way, but there are certainly a lot of "Members of the Tribe" in Hollywood.

When celebrities do the things that only Jewish people have traditionally done, everyone wants to know if they are Jewish or just playing the part. For instance, Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) has been embraced by Madonna, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, and Brittany Spears, but none of them were born Jewish or have converted to the faith. Robin Williams does a great Yiddish accent on stage while telling Jewish jokes, but he's an Episcopalian. The former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson has announced plans to open a kosher restaurant, but converted to Islam. LeBron James gets counsel from an Orthodox rabbi. The French dance choreographer Benjamin Millepied will marry the Jewish Natalie Portman, with Israeli roots, but he doesn't appear to be of the Jewish faith.

And though the teen pop sensation Justin Bieber is not Jewish, he has a ritual of saying the most important statement to the Jewish people before each of his concerts. It turns out that his agent, Scott "Scooter" Braun, taught Bieber the "Shema Yisrael" and now the 16-year-old says those Hebrew words (in addition to a Christian prayer) before taking the stage.

It's human nature to try and know as much as we can about our celebrities. So, it should come as no surprise that fans are curious as to whether Bieber's Jewish or if Natalie Portman is marrying within the Jewish faith. After all, a person's faith can be a private matter, and as the National Enquirer has always said when it comes to celebrities, "Inquiring minds want to know."

 

Follow Rabbi Jason Miller on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rabbijason

Comments

[Marianne TB]

09:26 PM on 12/30/2010

define jewish. the religion? the dna? I am 60 yrs old and 2 yrs ago I get my dna tested and find out I am Ashkenazi. who knows who is a jew, whose ancestors are jews, you never know.
Imagine my surprise.
and I was never told.

[DarthCalvin]

01:21 PM on 12/30/2010

Okay...I have to ask, why do we even care about...wait, who are we talking about again????

[markie G]

06:13 PM on 12/29/2010

shouldnt the more appropriate question be---"is justin bieber the luckiest having-the-world-by-the-a$$ 16-yr-old boy that ever lived?"---cause he's playing that role really well----

and more power to him

[Allen Bouchard]

03:46 PM on 12/29/2010

Superstition is superstition.

[markie G]

06:14 PM on 12/29/2010

correct---dont mess w/ whatever juju is woikin'

[Euterpe360]

11:37 AM on 12/29/2010

Rabbi, no offense intended, but I read this article yesterday. Not saying everything contained within applies, but still...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-shmuley-boteach/the-end-of-the-rabbi-as-m_b_801710.html

[yetiwatcher]

10:56 PM on 12/30/2010

oh snap!
I cannot express how awesome it was when you referred him to that link.
PRICELESS!

[Indigo1941]

07:52 AM on 12/29/2010

My great-grandmother on my dad's side was a Landers. Does that make me a Jewish advice-giver?

[situationcritical]

01:14 AM on 12/29/2010

I find that Jewish people are the ones most interested in other people being Jewish. It's just a religion to me.

[SouthJerseySteve]

12:07 PM on 12/29/2010

I disagree -- being Jewish is more than a religion, it's a culture, like being Italian or African-American. The Jewish Culture has spread around the world and there are ethnic foods (gefilte fish on Passover) and matzoh and knishes that go beyond the religion. Most people that I know and associate with are Jewish (myself included) but identify ourselves more as a culture than a religion.

[situationcritical]

02:17 PM on 12/29/2010

Nope - just a religion.

[RabbiJason]

10:36 PM on 12/29/2010

I agree that Judaism is both a religion/faith and a culture/ethnic group. For some Jews, it's either or, but for many it's both (it's also neither for some).

[french queen13]

10:01 PM on 12/28/2010

Is it anyone's business but his?

[ninetailedfox]

07:26 PM on 02/16/2011

Actually Justin made it everyone's buisness by pimping out Jesus as an evangelist.

[afavor2]

09:51 PM on 12/28/2010

But according to Jewish law their children will be Jewish and Natalie has always said she would raise her children in the faith and that the faith of the father did not matter as long as he was a good partner.

Is the Jewish law assumption correct?

[something really stinks]

10:07 PM on 12/28/2010

I am certain there are Rabbis in Israel who want that law changed.

It isn't like God wrote the damned law.

[cdncommentator]

01:41 AM on 12/29/2010

You don't know what you're talking about. You're just being mean and provocative. It is the most orthodox that insist that you are only Jewish if your mother was. That's been the tradition for as long as anyone can remember. So, it's not likely to change, despite your attempts at anti-Israel hysteria.

[cdncommentator]

01:39 AM on 12/29/2010

Yes it is. For the most orthodox, as long as the mother is Jewish, the children are too. But there are Jewish communities where as long as someone identifies as Jewish, they are considered Jewish.

[RabbiJason]

07:36 AM on 12/29/2010

Currently, only the Reform Movement and Reconstructionist Movement of Judaism recognize a person as Jewish if *either* the mother or father is Jewish. Conservative Judaism and all streams of Orthodox follow matrilineal descent so that unless the child has converted, the mother has to be Jewish before the child is born (whether the mother is Jewish from birth or converted into the faith).

[RasputinsLiver]

08:01 PM on 12/28/2010

If he is that'd make him kinda light in his yarmulke.

Oy vey, sweetums!

[Rozanna]

07:10 PM on 12/28/2010

When I left my own religion, I studied Judaism and considered converting. Although I am not happy with Israel at the moment, I envy the strong identification that Jews have. It's as if you always know, in some part of yourself, who you really are.