Orthodox Hungarian Boy Steals Show on Oprah Winfrey’s ‘Belief’
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — Orthodox Jewish boys from Hungary are not typically a hot topic on Twitter.
But after the Sunday night premiere of Oprah Winfrey’s “Belief,” a seven-part documentary series exploring various faiths around the world, the Internet is enamored with Mendel Hurwitz, one of the show’s first subjects.
Hurwitz, now 15, hails from Budapest, where the show followed him as he prepared for his bar mitzvah. Over the course of the episode, Hurwitz displays precocious wisdom and a lovable sense of humor that endeared him to many fans.
In fact, Hurwitz was the only subject whose story Oprah herself tweeted about after the premiere.
Emmy-winning actress Uzo Aduba and others hopped on the Hurwitz bandwagon.
Oprah’s website also shared a recent video of Mendel and his father, Orthodox Rabbi Shlomo Hurwitz.
“I think he brings comic relief,” Hurwitz’s father said in explaining why he was chosen for the show.
So what does Hurwitz want to do with his future after exploring his faith?
“My dream is to become a very smart rabbi, and that’s achievable,” he said with a smile.
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
