Paul Rudd Defends Bar Mitzvahs and Explains His Own Judaism

Image by Getty Images
As his new superhero film “Ant-Man and the Wasp” flies into theaters, Paul Rudd has still found time to process his Jewish upbringing with fellow Jew and comedian Marc Maron.
Today is Paul Rudd day on @WTFpod! Wet Hot American Summer, Judd Apatow, Letterman, Carlin, Ant Man! Great talk! Do it up! https://t.co/TRZkCfIIIs
— marc maron (@marcmaron) July 2, 2018
Rudd appeared on Maron’s acclaimed podcast, “WTF with Marc Maron,” and not too far into the conversation, Maron admitted to the classic move we know all too well at the Schmooze: searching a celebrity’s “Wikipedia” page for evidence of their Jewish identity.
From this admission onwards, Rudd and Maron’s conversation becomes nothing less than a side-by-side comparison of their Jewish childhoods. Both growing up in New Jersey — Rudd in Passaic, Maron in Jersey City. Rudd’s declaration, at one point in the episode, of his Jewish identity in the phrase “if you are you are” creates a great sense of symmetry between the Hollywood star and a large number of the American Jewish population. He highlights the way of cultural Judaism that remains steadfastly central to American Jewish lives, despite varying levels of religious practice.
Despite stating that he “never was raised very religious”, Rudd evidently found a large part of his early life influenced by Jewish culture. He commented that there was “always a Hitler documentary on in the house”, (something many of us can relate to), and that his father was “very pro-Israel”.
Whilst Rudd may not be a practicing Jew, he proudly addresses the innate feeling he possesses of his Jewishness, evident in his insistence on his son’s recent Bar Mitzvah ceremony. On the topic, Rudd comments “there is something to be said about participating in something that is thousands of years old, that gives you a sense of sanity and something continued.” In one comment Rudd perfectly articulates what, for many people, it means to be Jewish: to be a part of an everlasting tradition and to be reminded of the community you come from.
When listening to this podcast, the Schmooze felt a great sense of pride in having Rudd, a person who so publicly takes ownership of his Jewish identity and recognizes the importance of it in shaping him, as part of our community. It may not be enough to make us go see “Ant Man and the Wasp,” but we’ll be in the front row for the upcoming film “The Cather Was A Spy,” where he’ll star as Moe Berg, a Jewish baseball player who joins the World War II effort as a spy.
Nicola Lewis is a summer intern at the Forward, writing for the life section. You can reach her at [email protected]
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
- 4
Opinion Yes, the attack on Gov. Shapiro was antisemitic. Here’s what the left should learn from it
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward On his first trip to Auschwitz, New Jersey governor urges vigilance against rising antisemitism
-
Fast Forward Survivors of the Holocaust and Oct. 7 embrace at Auschwitz, marking annual March of the Living
-
Fast Forward Could changes at the FDA call the kosher status of milk into question? Many are asking.
-
Fast Forward Long Island synagogue cancels Ben-Gvir talk amid wide tensions over whether to host him
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.