12 Jewish Reasons to be Gleeful that 'Glee' is on Netflix

By Julia Metraux

As a former theater kid, “Glee” was my favorite TV show in my adolescent years. To this day, I still listen to its covers of classic tunes and newer pop songs.

So as someone who now binge-watches Netflix to my heart’s content, I was thrilled to see that “Glee” is now available on that platform, about a decade after the airing of the show’s debut episode.

I loved watching the development of the characters in McKinley High School’s show choir, New Directions, because I saw so many similarities between them and some members of my own theater groups back in middle and high school.

And while the show may not seemovertly Jewish, I’m here to say it’s Jew-ish.While Jewish themes are not as present as in, say, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend“or “Broad City,” the character of Rachel Berry was one of thefirst Jewish teen protagonists that I saw growing up, which meant a lot to meas a Jewish theater kid.

But it’s not just Rachel who made the show fairly Jewish. In honor of “Glee” finally arriving on Netflix, here are a dozen Jewish facts about the show, some of which you probably know and some you probably don’t.

Rachel Berry is Jewish. In the episode “Preggers” in the first season, Rachel argued that she should be given the role of Maria in “West Side Story” because, like her, “Natalie Wood was a Jew, you know. I have had a deep, personal connection to this role since the age of 1.” This was somewhat of a frustrating introduction to her character’s Jewishness, as Rachel seemed to only announce her religious background to get a role. In general, Rachel was a positive character to me because of her bold ambition, but I wish I got to see her embrace her Jewish heritage and culture a little more onscreen.

2. Lea Michele, the actress who plays Rachel, was raised in a Jewish-Catholic family. In “The Cast of Glee” episode of “Inside the Actors Studio,” Michele said she was “raised Catholic.” But in the genealogy television series “Who Do You Think You Are?” Michele learned about her Sephardic Greek ancestry and the challenges her family faced immigrating to the United States in the early 20th century.

3. In the episode “Born This Way,”Rachel considers getting rhinoplasty after feeling insecure about her “Jewishnose.” Her friends try to helpher accept her nose, with Kurt Hummel (played by Chris Colfer) pointing outthat one of her Jewish idols, Barbra Streisand, publicly refused to get a nosejob. In the end, Rachel decides to pass on the plastic surgery.

4. Co-creator Brad Falchuk is Jewish. Both his parents are Jewish, and his mother is a former president of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, one of the largest international Jewish groups. He met his now-wife Gwyneth Paltrow when she was a recurring character, Holly Holiday, on “Glee.” (Fun fact: on her paternal side, Paltrow is descended from a long line of rabbis from Krakow!)

5. While the character Quinn Fabray isCatholic, the actress who plays her, Dianna Agron, is Jewish. Agron was raised in a religious household and said she was“severely bullied for being Jewish” when she was younger in an interview with Coveteur.

6. In the episode “Glee, Actually,” Jewish half-brothers Jake and Noah Puckerman sing the traditional song “Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah.” At the end of their performance, the brothers get Star of David tattoos on their left shoulders.

7. Jewish singer and “American Idol” alum Adam Lambert guest-starred in Season 5 as Elliot Gilbert, a New York University student who joins the cover band Pamela Lansbury, which also features Kurt, Rachel, Santana (Naya Rivera) and Dani (played by Demi Lovato). In a Q&A with the Jewish Journal in 2009, Lambert describes his Jewish family — his mother is Jewish, his dad is not — as “diet Jews” because, while he grew up celebrating Jewish holidays, he did not have a bar mitzvah and does not speak Hebrew.

8. Rachel’s biological mother ShelbyCorcoran — she has two gay dads — is played by Jewish Broadway legend IdinaMenzel. Before makingher Broadway debut as Maureen Johnson in “Rent,” Menzel was a bar mitzvah performer from age 15 throughcollege. While I know Menzel from Broadway soundtracks — including herperformance as Elphaba from “Wicked” —she is now probably best known, at least among the younger set, as the voice ofElsa from “Frozen.”

9. In the episode “Grilled Cheesus,” Rachel sings, “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” while in a park with Finn (the late Cory Monteith) — Michele’s real-life on-and-off boyfriend — because she “wants nothing to come between them and God.” “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” was performed originally by Streisand in the Jewish-themed musical film, “Yentl.”

10. One of Rachel’s adoptive fathers,Hiram, was played by Jewish actor Jeff Goldblum. In the last season, Hiram and his husband, LeRoy (Brian StokesMitchell), were getting a divorce. Goldblum was raised in a Jewish home inPittsburgh and belonged to an Orthodox synagogue.

11. For a Jewish character, Rachelsure sang a lot of Christmas songs, including “OHoly Night,” a “Last Christmas” duet with Finn and a rendition of “Merry ChristmasDarling.” In comparison, she didn’t sing any Hanukkah songs. Boo.

12. As with any Jewish or Jew-ish show, “Glee” had a bar mitzvah episode. New Directions was hired to perform at the bar mitzvah of the superintendent’s nephew and sang “Break Free” by Zedd, aka Anton Zaslavski, who has Jewish parents. The lack of bar mitzvah ceremony rituals depicted in the episode was disappointing. Fortunately, the party — like every young Jew who has a bar or bat mitzvah hopes — looked like a blast.

Julia Metraux is a New York-based freelance writer and university student. This article originally appeared on Alma and was provided by the JTA international news agency and wire service.