Lisa Edelstein and Josh Malina want you to vote Image by youtube

When a Jew turns 12 or 13, according to tradition, she has a bat mitzvah.

When a Jew turns 18, according to a new video from Hillel, she has a MitzVote.

In the niftiest thing to come out of Hillel since the matzo sandwich, the Jewish campus organization paired with celebs to make a non-partisan video urging 18-20 year old Jews to vote in the upcoming midterm election. Lisa Edelstein (of “House” and “The West Wing”) and Josh Malina (of “The West Wing” and “The Big Bang Theory”) star in the video, a cheeky send-up of b’nei mitzvah party videos made by loved ones, as parents of a brand new 18-year-old who’ll celebrate her “MitzVote” in November.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Alongside a chilled out female rabbi and an enthusiastic URJ summer camp counselor, the video features cameos by beloved HQ Trivia host Scott Rogowsky and “Mean Girls” and “The Goldbergs” star Tim Meadows. But the best line comes from the fictional “MitzVote” celebrant’s grandparents:

Grandpa: Your great-grandfather didn’t vote in the 1933 elections. Grandma: In Germany! Grandpa: Big mistake.

So vote! Or curse your descendants with intergenerational guilt forever. According to the Hillel MitzVote site, only 15% of 18-20 year olds voted in the 2014 midterm elections. So if you’re a Jewish American and you’re eligible to vote for the first time, see you out there. And happy MitzVote.

Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

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.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount