Christian actress lights a Hanukkah candle: "I am a descendant of 17 generations of rabbis""

December 26, 2024   

Gwyneth Paltrow, the Oscar-winning American actress, lit the first Hanukkah candle with Israeli advocacy activist Noa Tishbi. In a video posted by Tishbi on her Instagram account last night (Wednesday), Paltrow, the daughter of a Christian mother and a Jewish father, shared her childhood memories of the holiday of Hanukkah. Before lighting the candle, she said that she had always felt a tremendous attraction to her Jewish roots. "I recently discovered that I am a descendant of a lineage of 17 generations of rabbis," she revealed. Paltrow lit the first Hanukkah candle and surprised many when she blessed in fluent Hebrew the candle-lighting blessing. Paltrow, 52, is the daughter of a Christian actress and the late Jewish director Bruce Paltrow, born in Brooklyn, the son of Dorothy née Wigert and Arnold Paltrow - née Paltrow. About 14 years ago, on a television program broadcast in the US, Paltrow shed tears after discovering the lineage of the Paltrowitz family from northeastern Poland. Her paternal great-grandfather was the Gaon Rabbi Zvi Hirsch ben Rabbi Paltiel - hence the name Paltrowitz, who served as a rabbi in the cities of Lithuania. First in Shaki, from where he moved to Janawa and later moved to serve as a kohen in Novogrudok, where he died. His wife Hanna immigrated to Jerusalem and died there. His son, the Gaon Rabbi Simcha Paltrowitz zt"l - married Mrs. Zipporah-Zippa and immigrated to the US in the 1940s-1950s. He served as rabbi in several places and towns in the US, including Chicago, Buffalo, and at the end of his days in New York, where he died on the 26th of Tishrei, 1957. He authored several books, most of which were printed by his brothers in Jerusalem: Kol Simcha, Keter Zvi, Simchat Hagyon, and more. [Gallery]

The Gaon Rabbi Simcha Paltrovitz zt"l and his wife Mrs. Tzipa in New York

She said of her parents' interfaith marriage: "I grew up in a time when interfaith marriages were a big deal. So it was very difficult for both parents when they got married, and it was even quite scandalous. Neither side was happy about it. But I felt lucky, because I got to grow up between these two different worlds and different beliefs. "My favorite childhood memory is from visiting my grandparents' house on Long Island where I received Hanukkah money," she recalled. "I really remember the chocolate coins, which my brother and I loved to tear off their golden wrappers." She said that every year she makes pancakes. "We always light the Hanukkah menorah," added the actress, who is married to Jewish television producer Brad Falchuk. "We all get together and after we light the candles it's so lovely. We all hug. "And ever since the children were little, they sit on the floor, close their eyes, and I give them their gifts." The video received enthusiastic responses and tens of thousands of shares on social media.