Following a recent appearance on ABC's “The View” by actress Susie Essman promoting Loving Leah, a Hallmark movie in which she purportedly portrays Lubavitch women, Lubavitch.com received many calls and emails by readers expressing their dismay.
What follows is a conversation between Baila Olidort, editor of Lubavitch.com, and actress Leslie Grossman.
Counter-View the View
Following a recent appearance on ABC’s “The View” by actress Susie Essman promoting Loving Leah, a Hallmark movie in which she purportedly portrays Lubavitch women, Lubavitch.com received many calls and emails by readers expressing their dismay.
What follows is a conversation between Baila Olidort, editor of Lubavitch.com, and actress Leslie Grossman.
What’s your response to Loving Leah and its promotion on the The View?
As an actress and a Jewish woman, I can tell you that if I’d have been given that script, I never would have agreed to play in that movie. I cannot imagine why anyone would want to produce something that feeds the worst stereotypes of religious women. To be sure, if it were an African-American film perpetuating the worst stereotypes, there’d be an uproar.
As indeed there was when Don Imus poked fun at the hair of African-American women basketball players last year. He was fired by CBS for that.
Susie Essman is a talented comedienne, so I admit that I was really disappointed by what she said on the The View. It seems to me that if you have the national spotlight, you would want to use it to create a bridge of understanding between the secular and religious worlds.
You take this personally.
Yes. Susie’s Jewish, as am I, and I feel strongly that as Jewish women we have a responsibility to take something that may be misunderstood or mysterious to a secular audience, and help them understand the tradition instead of reinforcing perceptions of religious people as “wacky.”
I’ve never watched The View before, so I don’t really know what passes for thoughtful conversation on that forum. But at the very least, you would expect these women to be better prepared to discuss their topic in a meaningful way.
It’s a shame really. I mean why not use the opportunity to explain something like the Jewish tradition of women’s head covering so that people can appreciate what is sacred and lovely about it even if it’s not something they choose to do. I don’t wear a sheitel, but I appreciate the beauty in the idea that a married woman keeps her hair private, for her husband only.
Corector-In-Chief
The inset is Leslie Grossman not Sussie Essman.
Sussie Essman is an ugly old hag.
Chani V
I still believe that we as frum Jews need to BOYCOTT hallmark, and Disney for this garbage. WE who have more than 1.2 children and a pet and a goldfish, can collectively have our voices heard if we boycott these companies.. WE CAN LIVE WITHOUT THEM,, THEY CANT SURVIVE IN THIS ECONOMY WITHOUT US!!
CHABAD GIRLS
as a chabad admirer i see where these ladies on the view went wrong!
they had based their concept of Religious-women on the Mainstream-anti-religious MEDIA!
they have probably never had the honor to meet a REAL-LIVE chabad shlucha!
they (THE SHLUCHOS) are the ANTITHESES of POOR-TASTE, NARROW-MINDEDNESS OR WACKY!!
I’VE FOUND THESE “REBBETZENS TO BE MOST IMPRESSIVE AND CLASSY,
IF ONLY THE VIEW-CAST WERE BRAVE ENOUGH TO HOST A TYPICAL SHLUCHA AND ALLOW HER TO DEMONSTRATE THE DISTURBING TRUTH
NAMELY
THAT ONE CAN BE DOWN-TO-EARTH, INTELLIGENT, OPEN-MINDED COOL AND WORLDLY AND THAT IS IN NO WAY A CONTRADICTION TO BEING RELIGIOUS! ORTHODOX OR HASSIDIC!
ESPECIALLY TALKING ABOUT GOOD-TASTE AND STYLE, THESE CHABAD WOMEN PROVE THAT BEING VERY WELL DRESSED AND STYLISH DOSE NOT REQUIRE (ACTS OF DESPERATION AND SELF EXPOSURE!) COMPROMISING YOUR DIGNITY AND SELF RESPECT,
THEY SEEM TO BE WELL ADJUSTED AND BALANCED ENOUGH AND COMFORTABLE IN THERE OWN SKIN NOT TO FEEL THE URGE TO DRESS LIKE A CHEAP…
THEY SEEM TO BE IMMUNE TO LOW SELF ESTEEM AND PEER-PRESSURE ISSUES!
TOO MANY YOUNG LADIES TODAY LACK THE CLASS AND SELF-RESPECT TO EVEN REALIZE HOW DESPERATE THEY LOOK TO THE WORLD WHEN THEY MARCH DOWN THE STREET LIKE A CHEAP SL…
SOO SAD SOO SAD FOR THESE PATHETIC THINGS CLUELESS ABOUT HOW EMBARESSINGLY OBVIOUS THEIR SELF-HATRED AND INTERNAL SHALLOWNESS BECOMES TO ALL PASSERS-BY!
IF ONLY THEY KNEW WHAT STATEMENT THEY ARE REALLY MAKING TO THE WORLD!
ITS THE MEDIA + SOME VERY BROKEN SOULS = MINDLESS PEER-DRIVEN SELF-DESICRATION! CLUELESS TO THE CULT THEY ARE SHACKLED BY.
NO DIFFERENT THAN THESE LADIES ON THE VIEW WHO’S IGNORANCE SHALLOWNESS AND SELF-LOATHING IS MADE KNOWN TO THE WORLD BY THERE IMMATURE BULLYING ON LIVE TV! AND THEIR TRANSPARENT DOUBLE-STANDARD!
anonymous
to corrector-in-chief,
susie essman is still a jew, and you bashing her does not make this situation any better. 2 wrongs don’t make a right.
beverlyhillsprincess
oh come on chill out we are all Jews even though im not chabad i go to a chabad school and i love it there cuz there is something different about chabad its not like bais yakkov or yeshiva schools which focus on other minor stuff u know what it is its the love the unity the ahavas yisrael seriously look at susie essman, barbara walters, whoopi goldman do they look any better than u or me? I can assure u that the answer is NO! So why do u care they dont look better than we do and they r Jews 2 they r just giving themselves a bad rep
Roses
Strange. On the other hand you have people admiring (or critizing) the beauty and fashion flair of Lubavitcher women.
Obviously, this is a case of misinformation, no real study of Lubavitcher women, or, unfortunately, a deliberate slur on Chassidism.
a ffb lubavitcher
I am absolutely outraged with this website! To post pictures vos pastn nisht, with content of this sort is shem ushomayim!
On crownhieghts.info this shmutz does not belong. Pictures of women, etc.. shocking. We better get a hold of ourselves, and clean up this garbage, not to mention the content!
CONFUSED
to beverlyhillsprincess
i dont get your point at all, can you please clerify?
y, kfar chabad
oh quite it!
like I meant to write in a previous post, how dare any of you get mad at them , when all of you share worser sentiments about THEM and their people. Since when have lubavitchers, become so conscientious, and cared for “political correctness” (as you can plainly see from the comments left on the other blog). You should only thank G-d that in part of her playing her role, and “getting into character” as “eineh foon unz”, she wasn’t taught some of the sentiments we’re taught regarding “neet yeeden” etc…
from their point of view, it’s not exacly “racism”, or hate-speech in any way, in the same way a black commediane can say the “n” word, where no one else will get a way with it, or a jackie mason, making fun of jews, where no one else can get away with it.
i have no meaning to incite, or turn off anyone, or be cynical… (although two years ago it would off been) i say, this, as a fully PROUD, but INTELLECTUALY HONEST Lubavitcher,
and once again, Pay no attention, to a group of babble-mouth, and pretend to care. Instead maybe send them each flyers, on tznius, etc. or a copy of the WONDERFULL!!! book: “Jewish Alternatives in Dating, Love and Marriage” by Pinchas Stopler? (i’m almost sure that’s the title).
it’s a great book, and i would reccomend it to anybody including the frum world, it’s a great source of chizuk (sorry if that’s too snag a word), and It takes a look on the timeless wisdom of the torah laws regarding tznius, and it’s halachas. A reader, (such was my own expereince) having the preconceptions, or misconceptions about judaism, and halachas of tznius, seeing them as archaic and “taliban-like” even, sharing the same sentiments as they do regarding, jewish law, and tznius.
The author, starts off with the question “why does jewish law prohibit ”neggia“ even touching a women, before marriage” this set me off, at that i just and i put the book down, in anger, and it took awhile too pick up again, to me the first thing that the author addressed was a concept that so infuriated me, that to me seemed so inane and trite, the anathema too everything western and “rational”, that the tought was “how can he possibly give an intellectual, answer to this law, when it seems so archaic, and backward and ”Taliban-like“ I who had by then had an affinity for more modern western, outlook on things, was repulsed by the book, but… i was drawn to it, despite myself, (this was around the time I was ”coming around “ on a lot of things, this book was perhaps a precursor) and I read on, the author, with amazing talent, gives answers, and sets down a rational, reasonable, framework for these ”stringent rules and regulations“ and I began too see the Beauty and Wisdom in them, ,
P.S.
i would also like, to retract my comment before about them being ”jews for nothing,” but they are too be pitied.
observer
WHO CARES!!!
If you are so insecure about your being a frum jew that you need the validation of “The View” that is a little pathetic to say the least.I dont need their validation.The views that are typically espoused on that show are typically liberal and many times anti american/conservative/religion etc.In the end we have freedom of speech if you dont like what they say dont listen and just turn it off.Live and let live.As Y, Kfar Chabad wrote intelectual honesty .