Jewish Characters
Dimitrios Paskoudniakis
of Jewish characters:
Definitely
Jerry Seinfeld
Helen and Morty Seinfeld, Jerry's parents
Leo, Jerry's Uncle and Helen's brother
Stella, Jerry's Aunt (The Pen)
Nana, Jerry's Grandmother and Helen and Leo's mother
Mr. Lippman, Elaine's boss at Pendant Publishing
Adam Lippman, Mr. Lippman's son (The Serenity Now)
Rabbi Glickman from Elaine's apartment building (she calls him Rabbi
Kirschbaum in The Postponement)
Tim Whatley, Jerry/Kramer/Elaine's dentist
Mac, Jerry's Uncle (The Stakeout)
Artie and Carol Levine, Jerry's cousins (The Stakeout)
Myra and Stan Flick, and their baby Steven (The Bris)
The Mohel who performed the bris on baby Steven
Rachel Goldstein, Jerry's girlfriend (The Raincoats, The Hamptons, The
Opposite)
Mr. Goldstein, Rachel's father (The Raincoats)
Fred Savage (The Trip)
Mel Torme (The Jimmy)
Bette Midler (The Understudy)
Eddie Sherman, the fatigue-wearing psycho at J. Peterman (The Fatigues)
Geraldo Rivera (The Finale)
Jewish Characters frequently mentioned but never appeared
Lomez, Kramer's friend
Jeffrey, Jerry's cousin and Uncle Leo's son
Possible (but can't confirm)
Estelle Costanza, George's mother (plays Mah Jongg, won't ride in a German
car, house smells of kasha (Jewish cuisine), ...)
George Costanza (if his mother is Jewish, then he is Jewish, seems to know
Jewish men like to date non-Jewish women due to their "shiksappeal")
Estelle Costanza's Mah Jongg girlfriends (The Handicap Spot) (Mah Jongg is a
game that as a stereotype is played by elderly Jewish women)
Joel Horneck, Jerry's childhood friend (Male Unbonding) (Jerry would
presumably have Jewish childhood friends, Jewish sounding name, Joel is a
Hebrew name)
Manya and Isaac, (The Pony Remark) (Manya's Yiddish accent, Isaac is a
Hebrew name)
Levitan, George's real estate boss (The Revenge) (Jewish sounding surname)
Tabachnick the bootleg cable installer (The Baby Shower) (Russian Jewish
sounding surname, many Russian Jews live in NYC)
Mr Cohen the Chinese Restaurant regular (The Chinese Restaurant) (Cohen is a
Hebrew surname)
Joe Bookman, Library Cop (The Library Cop) (Jewish sounding name)
Sherry Becker, Jerry's high school classmate (The Library Cop) (Jewish
sounding name)
Jack and Doris Klompus, Jerry's parents' neighbors (Jerry's parents
presumably have Jewish friends/acquaintances, Jewish sounding names)
Evelyn, Jerry's parents' neighbor (ditto)
Old man/Polar Bear Club member at the Intervention (The Pez Dispenser) (his
Yiddish accent/use of words, acknowledged in DVD commentary)
Mrs. Lenore Sokol, George's Unemployment caseworker, and her daughta' Carrie
(The Boyfriend) (Jewish sounding name)
Doctor Dembrow (The Wallet) (Jewish sounding surname)
Naomi, Jerry's funky-giggling girlfriend (The Watch, The Bubble Boy) (Naomi
is a Hebrew name)
Shelly, George's cousin (The Contest) (if his mother is Jewish)
Mr & Mrs Harold Reichman, George's friend's parents (The Opera) (Jewish
sounding surname)
Sharon Leonard, NYU student (The Outing) (Jewish sounding name, Sharon is a
Hebrew name)
Sid Fields, old man with record collection (The Old Man) (Jewish sounding
name, named for the real Sid Fields, Jewish actor of Abbott and Costello
fame)
Dr Siegel (The Junior Mints) (Jewish sounding surname)
Sal Bass, Salman Rushdie lookalike (The Implant) (Jewish sounding surname,
has been to the Middle East)
Barry Profit, Jerry/Kramer/Newman's accountant (The Sniffing Accountant)
(Jewish sounding name)
Jake Jarmel, Elaine's boyfriend and author (Jewish sounding name, Jacob is a
Hebrew name)
Arthur Pensky, George's client of the Pensky file (The Barber) (Jewish
sounding name)
Joel Rifkin, Elaine's boyfriend (The Masseuse) (Jewish sounding name, Joel
is a Hebrew name)
Stu Chermak, NBC employee (The Pitch, The Ticket, The Virgin, The Pilot, The
Finale) (Jewish sounding name)
Rita Kierson, NBC president (The Virgin, The Pilot) (Jewish sounding name)
Sylvia, the furniture repair store employee (The Cigar Store Indian) (common
Jewish female name, recognized the smell of kasha from George's parents'
house)
Aaron, Elaine's boyfriend, the close talker (The Raincoats) (Aaron is a
Hebrew name)
Jocelyn Landis of Doubleday (The Chaperone, The Switch) (Jewish sounding
surname)
Ronnie Kaye, the prop comic (The Fire) (Jewish sounding name)
Aronson, the Poland Spring/Morgan merger businessman (The Gymnast) (Jewish
sounding surname)
Gary Fogel, Jerry/George's lying about cancer friend, (The Scofflaw) (Jewish
sounding name)
Mr. Mandel, interviewing Elaine at Viking Press (The Doodle) (Jewish
sounding surname)
Sid Farkus, Frank Costanza's bra salesman friend, (The Sniffing Accountant,
The Dinner Party) (Jewish sounding name)
Dr. Howard Cooperman, aka The Assman, Frank Costanza's Proctologist (The
Fusilli Jerry) (Jewish sounding name)
Alec Berg, Jerry's friend (The Face Painter) (Jewish sounding name, and
great "John Houseman" name)
Fred Stoller, Elaine's forgetful date, (The Secret Code) (Jewish sounding
name)
Mrs. Mabel Choate, Jerry's parents' neighbor and marble rye victim (The Rye)
(see above about Jerry's parents' neighbors, shops at Schnitzer's, a Jewish
delicatessen)
Herb, Ralph, "Bldg A", "Bldg B", and "Bldg C", Jerry's parents' neighbors
(The Cadillac) (see above about Jerry's parents' neighbors)
Bob Grossberg, hard-of-hearing Peterman employee (The Friars Club) (Jewish
sounding name)
Ethan the gay Wigmaster (The Wig Master) (Ethan is a Hebrew name)
Jeannie Steinman, Jerry's fiancee (The Invitations, The Foundation) (Jewish
sounding surname)
Ned Isakoff, Elaine's communist boyfriend (The Race) (Jewish sounding
name)
Dr. Stern and Dr. Resnick, Elaine and Uncle Leo's Doctors (The Package)
(Jewish sounding surnames)
Cynthia Pearlman, the mentor and Banya's girlfriend (The Fatigues) (Jewish
sounding surname, presumably took Banya to Kramer's Jewish singles event)
Ben the intern, Elaine's boyfriend (The Abstinence) (Benjamin is a Hebrew
name)
Mr. Shellbach, Kramer's living will attorney (The Comeback) (Jewish sounding
name)
Ruthie Cohen, Monk's Cashier (The Gum, The Foundation, plus cameos in many
others) (Ruth and Cohen are Hebrew names)
Emily, Kramer's girlfriend with the jimmy legs (The Money) (she took Kramer
to Schnitzer's, a Jewish deli, and her friends are the Feinermans, a Jewish
sounding surname)
Steven Koren, disputed Susan Ross scholarship winner and member of the Van
Buren Boys (The Van Buren Boys) (Jewish sounding name)
Izzy Mandelbaum, neighbor of Jerry's parents (The English Patient, The
Blood) (see above about Jerry's parents' neighbors, Jewish sounding name)
Izzy's father (The English Patient) and son (The English Patient, The Blood)
Shlomo, Frogger truck driver (The Frogger) (Shlomo is a Hebrew name)
Sid Luckman, Jerry's parents' neighbor in the exercise room at Del Boca
Vista (The English Patient) (see above about Jerry's parents' neighbors,
Jewish sounding name)
"Fragile" Frankie Merman, Jerry's childhood friend (The Junk Mail) (see
above about Jerry's childhood friends like Joel Horneck, Jewish sounding
surname)
Lou Filerman, Elaine's sidler colleague at J. Peterman (The Merv Griffin
Show) (Jewish sounding name)
Gwen, Jerry's two-faced girlfriend (The Strike) (met Jerry at Whatley's
Hanukkah Party)
Mr. Elinoff, New Yorker magazine (The Cartoon) (Jewish sounding surname)
The Old Men who couldn't use tip calculators (The Wizard) (Jerry's parents'
neighbors)
Irwin Lubeck, Peterman's pastry appraiser (The Frogger) (Jewish sounding
name)
Bobby, grandson of the late Gammy Kranz (The Maid) (Gammy has Jewish
sounding surname)
More of a Stretch
Meryl, Jerry's fake wife (The Wife) (female name used by Jews and non-Jews)
Carol (You Gotta See the Bay-Bee), Michael, and their Bay-Bees,
Jerry/Kramer's former neighbors (The Boyfriend (2), The Hamptons, The Soul
Mate, The English Patient) (Hamptons/ugly baby Adam is a Hebrew name, though
Michael being the Jewish son of a lobsterman is a bit of a stretch)
Mel Sanger, the bubble boy's father (The Bubble Boy) (name sounds Jewish,
but they live in a presumably non-Jewish area upstate)
Mrs. Sanger and Donald the Bubble Boy (if Mel is Jewish)
Dr. Bakersoll, Estelle's eye surgeon (The Fusilli Jerry) (made-up Jewish
sounding surname)
Donna Chang(stein), Jerry's girlfriend (The Chinese Woman) (made-up Jewish
sounding surname)
Dr. Beth Lookner, Elaine/Jerry's friend (The Wait Out, The Yada Yada)
(obvious Jewish sounding name, but she made an anti-semitic remark in The
Yada Yada)
David Lookner, Beth Lookner's first husband (The Wait Out) (Jewish sounding
name)
Arnie, Beth Lookner's second husband (The Yada Yada)
TheNewsGuy(Mike)
>list of Jewish characters:
<list snipped>
Very nice job!
>Naomi, Jerry's funky-giggling girlfriend (The Watch, The Bubble Boy)
>(Naomi is a Hebrew name)
So my mother will let me date Naomi Watts? WOW!!! ;-)
>Joel Rifkin, Elaine's boyfriend (The Masseuse) (Jewish sounding name,
>Joel is a Hebrew name)
Adopted, so not really Jewish.
===========================================================
How about Jewish famous, and infamous celebrities mentioned
===========================================================
David Steinberg [The Friars Club]
Dustin Hoffman [The Calzone]
Elliot Gould [The Merv Griffin Show]
Harrison Ford [The Engagement]
James Caan [The Letter]
Kirk Douglas (p)[The Gum],[The Good Samaritan]
Sammy Davis Jr. [The Foundation]
Dennis Franz [The Bizarro Jerry]
Fred Savage [The Trip]
Paul Winchell [The Pie]
Buddy Hackett [The Parking Garage]
Curly Howard [The Trip][The Heart Attack]
Gabe Kaplan [The Fatigues]
George Burns [Good News Bad News]
Jerry Lewis [The Soulmate] [The Strongbox]
Larry Fine [The Beard]
Lenny Bruce [Male Unbonding]
Milton Berle [The Friars Club]
Moe Howard [The Jacket]
Shep [The Trip]
Abbie Hoffman [The Library]
Golda Meir [The Outing]
Jesus [The Strongbox]
Abel [The Merv Griffin Show]
Abraham [The Bris]
Herod [The Label Maker]
Joseph [The Wig Master]
Moses [The Pick] [The Little Kicks] [The Butter Shave]
Virgin Mary [The Understudy]
Al Jolson [The Old Man]
Art Garfunkel [The Merv Griffin Show]
Artie Shaw [The Mom and Pop Store]
Benny Goodman [The Old Man]
Leonard Bernstein [The Maestro][The Doll]
Neil Diamond [The English Patient]
Paul Simon [The Glasses]
Robert Schuman [The Jacket]
Harry Houdini [The Mango]
Ann Landers [The Trip]
Arthur Miller [The Summer of George]
Larry David [The Wizard]
Leo Tolstoy [Marine Biologist]
Neil Simon [The Letter]
Woody Allen [The Alternate Side]
Richard Loeb [The Junior Mint]
Albert Einstein [The Seven] [The Old Man]
Andrey Dmitriyevich Sakharov [The Baby Shower]
Sigmund Freud [The Heart Attack]
Calvin Klein [The Pez Dispenser][The Pick]
Moe Ginsberg [The Subway]
Bernhard Goetz [The Baby Shower]
Dimitrios Paskoudniakis
"TheNewsGuy(Mike)" <tnguym...@yaho.com> wrote in message
news:3f52d$450c0777$cf705e5d$16...@PRIMUS.CA...
> >Having recently done a list of Italian characters, I thought I'd try a
> >list of Jewish characters:
>
> <list snipped>
>
> Very nice job!
>
>
> >Naomi, Jerry's funky-giggling girlfriend (The Watch, The Bubble Boy)
> >(Naomi is a Hebrew name)
>
> So my mother will let me date Naomi Watts? WOW!!! ;-)
>
>
> >Joel Rifkin, Elaine's boyfriend (The Masseuse) (Jewish sounding name,
> >Joel is a Hebrew name)
>
> Adopted, so not really Jewish.
>
either? Or Sammy Davis Jr who is on your list? Children who are known to
be ethnically non-Jewish at birth and adopted by Jewish parents undergo some
of the same Jewish religious rituals (ie circumcision (bris) for males,
ritual bath (mikvah) for all) that adult converts undergo and are converted
to Judaism. A convert to Judaism is as Jewish as someone born Jewish, so
the fact that Joel Rifkin is adopted is meaningless.
===========================================================
> How about Jewish famous, and infamous celebrities mentioned
> ===========================================================
> Fred Savage [The Trip]
He was actually in the episode, so he was on my list.
> Shep [The Trip]
That's Shemp Howard (Curly's and Moe's brother)
> Abel [The Merv Griffin Show]
Can't be; he lived and died before Abraham.
> Calvin Klein [The Pez Dispenser][The Pick]
His character was in the episode, so I'll add him to my list, Thanks!
TheNewsGuy(Mike)
...
>>>Joel Rifkin, Elaine's boyfriend (The Masseuse) (Jewish sounding name,
>>>Joel is a Hebrew name)
>>
>>Adopted, so not really Jewish.
>>
>
> Hmmm, I can't agree with that. By your logic, is Tim Whatley not Jewish
> either? Or Sammy Davis Jr who is on your list? Children who are known to
> be ethnically non-Jewish at birth and adopted by Jewish parents undergo some
> of the same Jewish religious rituals (ie circumcision (bris) for males,
> ritual bath (mikvah) for all) that adult converts undergo and are converted
> to Judaism. A convert to Judaism is as Jewish as someone born Jewish, so
> the fact that Joel Rifkin is adopted is meaningless.
I know; but it was the defensive response by Jewish people linking the
religion to a serial killer. "He may have converted but since there was
no real lineage..." ;-) I will accept your argument, though.
Still think you have done a great job.
--
Seinfeld Lists http://tinyurl.com/f7k9d
California Photos http://tinyurl.com/ann2l
Sawyer's Nicknames http://tinyurl.com/gowma
slas
TheNewsGuy(Mike) wrote:
> Dimitrios Paskoudniakis wrote:
> ...
> >>>Joel Rifkin, Elaine's boyfriend (The Masseuse) (Jewish sounding name,
> >>>Joel is a Hebrew name)
> >>
> >>Adopted, so not really Jewish.
> >>
> >
> > Hmmm, I can't agree with that. By your logic, is Tim Whatley not Jewish
> > either?
Without the parents, it's a breeze.
james_powers
"Dimitrios Paskoudniakis" <gree...@yeahright.com> wrote in message
news:65-dnXh1SZu3WJbY...@comcast.com...
Oops, does that make me an anti-dentite?
Lars
<gree...@yeahright.com> wrote:
>Hmmm, I can't agree with that. By your logic, is Tim Whatley not Jewish
>either? Or Sammy Davis Jr who is on your list?
I thought Sammy Davis had one jewish parent and one black.
Isn't that so?
Are you saying he was adopted into a jewish family?
Lars
Stockholm
KarenCannoli
"Lars" <La...@fake.com> wrote in message
news:m4vqg21jjrlj1at4a...@4ax.com...
CareWren
osmium
>>Hmmm, I can't agree with that. By your logic, is Tim Whatley not Jewish
>>either? Or Sammy Davis Jr who is on your list?
>
> I thought Sammy Davis had one jewish parent and one black.
> Isn't that so?
>
> Are you saying he was adopted into a jewish family?
??? The usual way to go about this business is to have two parents.
Jeff Gagnon
LRod
wrote:
>Holy sweet Moses!
No, no, no.
It's "sweet, fancy Moses!"
--
LRod
Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite
Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999
Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997
email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.
LRod
<gree...@yeahright.com> wrote:
>Jewish Characters
>(Mah Jongg is a game that as a stereotype is played by elderly Jewish women)
>Jewish sounding name
>Isaac is a Hebrew name)
>(Russian Jewish sounding surname, many Russian Jews live in NYC)
>(Cohen is a Hebrew surname)
>(Jewish sounding surname)
>(common Jewish female name
>(name sounds Jewish
>(made-up Jewish sounding surname)
>(obvious Jewish sounding name
Should we be talking about this?
nana2b
Nana
Dimitrios Paskoudniakis
Both parents were black. He converted, just like Tim Whatley.
Lars
<gree...@yeahright.com> wrote:
>> I thought Sammy Davis had one jewish parent and one black.
>
>Both parents were black. He converted, just like Tim Whatley.
I just remember him joking about how tough it was being unusually
short, black and jewish. I thought he was referring to his childhood,
but probably not then.
Unless he was a child convert ;-)
Lars
Stockholm
Norman M. Schwartz
"Dimitrios Paskoudniakis" <gree...@yeahright.com> wrote in message
news:65-dnXh1SZu3WJbY...@comcast.com...
George is not intended to be Jewish: In The Opposite Jerry says to George
"so your Messiah is the anti-Christ". No Jew suggests to another Jew, that
his Messiah is Christ. In a another epsisode which has George sitting on a
couch along side his girlfriend's good ear, he makes the sign of the cross
when he overhears that she learns one of her relatives died. No Jew crosses
himself. (I've never crossed myself, nor do I know how to.) Although Estelle
supposedly prepares kashsa she also makes bologna sandwiches in the Puffy
Shirt. Jews hardly ever, or never prepare/eat bologna sandwiches, (I haven't
had one in over 50 years).
Er
"Norman M. Schwartz" <nm...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:QQSPg.88$cC4...@newsfe11.lga...
> George is not intended to be Jewish: In The Opposite Jerry says to George
> "so your Messiah is the anti-Christ". No Jew suggests to another Jew, that
> his Messiah is Christ. In a another epsisode which has George sitting on a
> couch along side his girlfriend's good ear, he makes the sign of the cross
> when he overhears that she learns one of her relatives died. No Jew
> crosses himself. (I've never crossed myself, nor do I know how to.)
> Although Estelle supposedly prepares kashsa she also makes bologna
> sandwiches in the Puffy Shirt. Jews hardly ever, or never prepare/eat
> bologna sandwiches, (I haven't had one in over 50 years).
He is, on the other hand, circumcised. All Jewish men have that done (to
them).
And he did convert to Latvian Orthodox, with no word of denouncing.
Er
Will
"Dimitrios Paskoudniakis" <gree...@yeahright.com> wrote in message
news:65-dnXh1SZu3WJbY...@comcast.com...
Pronounced Le-Veen, not Le-Vine, thank you very much.
Norman M. Schwartz
"Er" <egerrits[remove]@afpollution.com> wrote in message
news:urKdnWqHRcufkY3Y...@storm.ca...
Jewish men most likely have it done, (if they believe it should be done) and
Gentile men may have it done if they care for it to be done, by a physician.
> And he did convert to Latvian Orthodox, with no word of denouncing.
>
And if he had denounced something it most probably would not have been
Judaism. In any event born of a Jewish mother, or for that matter, a Jewish
grandmother, you're still Jewish regardless of what you do, e.g., the Third
Reich. Jewish mothers are less likely to prepare/serve bologna sandwiches
than are Gentile men be circumsised. :-) I'm pretty sure Larry David (who
wrote the show) did not have a mother who made bologna sandwiches; that's a
dead giveaway, all we'd have to told is that they were made using white
bread :-) .
> Er
>
>
Weezel
<james_...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>Oops, does that make me an anti-dentite?
A rabid Anti-dentite. You anti-dentite Bastard!
LRod
<nm...@optonline.net> wrote:
>...a mother who made bologna sandwiches; that's a dead giveaway,
>all we'd have to told is that they were made using white bread :-) .
You don't think all the pig parts in bologna might be a deciding
factor?
nana2b
Er
"LRod" <duckecho@gmail-dot-.com> wrote in message
news:efe2h2di00m6d4r2q...@4ax.com...
>
> You don't think all the pig parts in bologna might be a deciding
> factor?
Well, "Mechanically separated pork and/or beef and/or chicken and/or mutton"
MAY include some pig parts.
Exactly WHICH pig parts are included we are left to ponder, however, that is
for the better.
Er
Dimitrios Paskoudniakis
The items you cite by George - remember his father is Catholic (gets Kramer
his K of C hall to hold the Jewish singles function in The Fatigues, and has
an ethnic Italian surname). So if his father is Catholic and his mother is
Jewish, and he learns to make the sign of the cross from his Catholic
father, and Jerry calls his Messiah the anti-Christ because his father's
Messiah is Christ - his mother is still Jewish and therefore he is Jewish.
His mother could have served kosher bologna. She could be non-observant
(after all she married a Catholic), and serve pork chops, but she would
still be Jewish. I'm Jewish and I have eaten bologna sandwiches, pork
chops, crab cakes, lobster, ... and that doesn't mean I'm not Jewish. So
what if Estelle serves such a thing.
You haven't said anything to refute that Estelle could be Jewish. And if
she is, George is. Bologna, crosses, and Messiahs wouldn't matter.
Norman M. Schwartz
>
> "Norman M. Schwartz" <nm...@optonline.net> wrote in message
> news:XtZPg.726$gQ7...@newsfe08.lga...
>>
>> "Er" <egerrits[remove]@afpollution.com> wrote in message
>> news:urKdnWqHRcufkY3Y...@storm.ca...
>>>
>>> "Norman M. Schwartz" <nm...@optonline.net> wrote in message
>>> news:QQSPg.88$cC4...@newsfe11.lga...
>>>
>>>> George is not intended to be Jewish: In The Opposite Jerry says to
>>>> George "so your Messiah is the anti-Christ". No Jew suggests to another
>>>> Jew, that his Messiah is Christ. In a another epsisode which has George
>>>> sitting on a couch along side his girlfriend's good ear, he makes the
>>>> sign of the cross when he overhears that she learns one of her
>>>> relatives died. No Jew crosses himself. (I've never crossed myself, nor
>>>> do I know how to.) Although Estelle supposedly prepares kashsa she also
>>>> makes bologna sandwiches in the Puffy Shirt. Jews hardly ever, or never
>>>> prepare/eat bologna sandwiches, (I haven't had one in over 50 years).
>>>
>>> He is, on the other hand, circumcised. All Jewish men have that done (to
>>> them).
>>
>> Jewish men most likely have it done, (if they believe it should be done)
>> and Gentile men may have it done if they care for it to be done, by a
>> physician.
>>> And he did convert to Latvian Orthodox, with no word of denouncing.
>>>
Does anyone (have to) _denounce_ their former faith to enter the new chosen
one?
>>
>> And if he had denounced something it most probably would not have been
>> Judaism. In any event born of a Jewish mother, or for that matter, a
>> Jewish grandmother, you're still Jewish regardless of what you do, e.g.,
>> the Third Reich. Jewish mothers are less likely to prepare/serve bologna
>> sandwiches than are Gentile men be circumsised. :-) I'm pretty sure
>> Larry David (who wrote the show) did not have a mother who made bologna
>> sandwiches; that's a dead giveaway, all we'd have to told is that they
>> were made using white bread :-) .
>>
>>> Er
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
> The items you cite by George - remember his father is Catholic (gets
> Kramer his K of C hall to hold the Jewish singles function in The
> Fatigues, and has an ethnic Italian surname).
Surnames don't always give away a person's faith.
So if his father is Catholic and his mother is
> Jewish, and he learns to make the sign of the cross from his Catholic
> father, and Jerry calls his Messiah the anti-Christ because his father's
> Messiah is Christ - his mother is still Jewish and therefore he is Jewish.
>
> His mother could have served kosher bologna. She could be non-observant
> (after all she married a Catholic), and serve pork chops, but she would
> still be Jewish. I'm Jewish and I have eaten bologna sandwiches, pork
> chops, crab cakes, lobster, ... and that doesn't mean I'm not Jewish.
Same here. However my mother would never have prepared bologna sandwiches
(kosher or otherwise) for others to eat. (She did prepare lobster for us to
eat, but never bologna for others, it's insulting.)
So
> what if Estelle serves such a thing.
>
> You haven't said anything to refute that Estelle could be Jewish. And if
> she is, George is. Bologna, crosses, and Messiahs wouldn't matter.
>
I've eaten kosher and non-kosher bologna. Kosher or non-kosher, bologna
sandwiches is not something my mother would have prepared for *others* to
eat. It is about as low as you can get on the kosher luncheon meat scale and
near insulting to offer to others. Larry David's mother (Jewish, of course)
wouldn't have done so and I believe he's telling you Estelle is not Jewish.
Estelle could also have been an atheist, as could the entire lot of them,
perhaps with the exception of Jerry and Elaine.
Dimitrios Paskoudniakis
No, but Frank is a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic
organization, as mentioned in The Fatigues.
>
> So if his father is Catholic and his mother is
>> Jewish, and he learns to make the sign of the cross from his Catholic
>> father, and Jerry calls his Messiah the anti-Christ because his father's
>> Messiah is Christ - his mother is still Jewish and therefore he is
>> Jewish.
>>
>> His mother could have served kosher bologna. She could be non-observant
>> (after all she married a Catholic), and serve pork chops, but she would
>> still be Jewish. I'm Jewish and I have eaten bologna sandwiches, pork
>> chops, crab cakes, lobster, ... and that doesn't mean I'm not Jewish.
>
> Same here. However my mother would never have prepared bologna sandwiches
> (kosher or otherwise) for others to eat. (She did prepare lobster for us
> to eat, but never bologna for others, it's insulting.)
>
> So
>> what if Estelle serves such a thing.
>>
>> You haven't said anything to refute that Estelle could be Jewish. And if
>> she is, George is. Bologna, crosses, and Messiahs wouldn't matter.
>>
> I've eaten kosher and non-kosher bologna. Kosher or non-kosher, bologna
> sandwiches is not something my mother would have prepared for *others* to
> eat. It is about as low as you can get on the kosher luncheon meat scale
> and near insulting to offer to others. Larry David's mother (Jewish, of
> course) wouldn't have done so and I believe he's telling you Estelle is
> not Jewish.
>
What nonsense. Just because your mother wouldn't serve a bologna sandwich
doesn't mean that another Jewish woman can't, or that your mother represents
everything all Jews do or don't do. Remember the Costanzas have no class.
Remember their visit to the Ross' for a dinner party in The Rye? She never
heard of merlot. She served bologna because she has very little class, not
because she is not Jewish.
> Estelle could also have been an atheist, as could the entire lot of them,
> perhaps with the exception of Jerry and Elaine.
>
Whether she was an atheist, being Jewish is also an ethnicity, and a given
if her mother was Jewish.
Please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estelle_Costanza. This article
indicates that Larry David himself, in describing the character of Estelle
Costanza, "she can't be anything but Jewish." .
Also please refer to http://www.seinfeldchronicles.com/faq.html#3.6. This
article indicates Estelle wears a chai in The Serenity Now.
What say you now?
Norman M. Schwartz
Yea, if one is either an Orthodox Jew or a Nazi.
>
> Please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estelle_Costanza. This
> article indicates that Larry David himself, in describing the character of
> Estelle Costanza, "she can't be anything but Jewish." .
>
> Also please refer to http://www.seinfeldchronicles.com/faq.html#3.6. This
> article indicates Estelle wears a chai in The Serenity Now.
>
In recent years Sammy Davis (converted, by who knows what branch of Judaism,
not Orthodox for sureI don't) had worn a Star of David ALL THE TIME.
> What say you now?
Your points taken; but the big bagel is that George doesn't consider himself
to be Jewish, since he crosses himself (no one considering themselves Jewish
does such a thing, (and moreover some or most Jews would consider it sinful
to do so). Secondly George's best friend, the Jewish Jerry doesn't consider
George to be Jewish either, or he wouldn't have suggested to him (in The
Opposite) that his Messiah is the Antichrist.
Even if in fact Estelle is Jewish, that makes George Jewish ONLY in the eyes
of Orthodox Jewish Law or in the eyes of the Nazis.