If you’re getting excited for the upcoming election debates, then I admire your ability to keep a sense of humor and sanity throughout this soul-sucking election cycle. Also, you may want to check your Jewish calendars; the High Holy Days fall around the same time.

In particular, the only vice-president debate is set for October 4th, the same evening that Rosh HaShanah ends.

All of the debates are held from 9 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the holiday ends a few minutes after seven, so that gives East coasters plenty of time to turn on a television or get to a watching party. But those in different time zones may be in a bit of a bind.

If you’re in Los Angeles, for example, the holiday ends at about 7:10 p.m., which is 10:10 on the East coast, which is towards the very end of the debate. So if you’re traditionally observant (e.g., no electricity on the holiday), you’re in trouble. If you’re living in Mountain time, you’ll miss the beginning, but still get the bulk of the evening.

Is this as anti-Semitic, as, say, tweeting an image of your opponent with a Jewish star to represent corruption? No, but it is mighty inconvenient.

While we don’t yet know who will be participating in the VP debate (but we will in the next couple of weeks!), given the antics of this election it may make the SNL Palin vs. Biden skit seem realistic and measured. The odds of an observant Jewish VP candidate is low (unless Trump pulls in his son-in-law, and anything’s possible), but even if that were the case, they could rush to the debate and be there on time; it will be held on the east coast, at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.

The other debates as they’re scheduled seem to be near misses with holidays: the first presidential debate is before the holidays begin, the second is between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, and the third is during Chol HaMoed Sukkot (will the Las Vegas debate be held in a neon sukkah? We can only assume so).

At least this way, all the candidates will have the opportunity to ask for forgiveness for their debates between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.

Image credit: Wikimedia

The post Heads Up: The VP Debate is at the End of Rosh HaShanah appeared first on Jewcy.

But even in the midst of chaos, a few things remain relatively steady from episode to episode. (Yes, this contradicts everything I just said. How very Glee!) There are the songs, of course, which form the show’s backbone even as they become increasingly irrelevant to its plot. And then there are the characters, who, in the grand tradition of long-running TV comedies, can each be described by a handful of rigid defining traits. Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris) is a dumb cheerleader. Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) is a sensitive jock. Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) is a bitch. And Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) is a talented, obnoxious, and Jewish superstar in training.

During Glee’s first few seasons, Rachel’s Semitism was as ingrained as her thirst for a Broadway spotlight. The character’s middle name is Barbra, as in Streisand—another Jewish performer who doubles as Rachel’s idol. Early in Season 1, she briefly dated fellow Member of the Tribe Noah Puckerman after he supposedly received the following message from God: “Rachel was a hot Jew and the good lord wanted [him] to get into her pants.” (Puck seduced his non-shiksa goddess by singing “Sweet Caroline,” presumably because Glee couldn’t get the rights to “Miracle of Miracles.”) During a second season episode that’s themed on religion, Rachel even told her once and current boyfriend that if the two of them ever have kids, they must be raised according to her faith. When Finn agreed, she allowed him to round second base.

Rachel, then, is the classic prudish overachiever with a kosher twist—Election’s Tracy Flick with a better voice and a bigger nose. (TV creators really need to think of a more creative way to describe their young, type-A female characters.) Or, at least, that’s who she once was. As time has passed and Glee has burned through storylines with increasing manic frequency, the series’ writers have been forced to take shortcuts. And instead of slowing down Glee’s breakneck pace or sacrificing potential iTunes singles for extra scenes of dialogue, they’ve chosen to neglect previously established characterization—thus making their show’s already archetypal characters even less dimensional.

Much like Will Schuester’s redeeming qualities or Tina Cohen-Chang’s entire personality, Rachel’s Jewish-ness has been a casualty of this downsizing process. There was a time when an entire episode—Season 2’s “Born This Way”—focused on Rachel’s yearning to transform her Semitic schnoz into a dainty, goyish nose like blonde cheerleader Quinn’s. (The irony: Quinn is played by Dianna Agron, a Southern Jew who’s a card-carrying bat mitzvah. By contrast, Lea Michele has a Jewish father but was raised Catholic.)

But as Season 3 draws to a close tonight, Rachel’s once-vital religion has been all but forgotten. In this year’s emphatically denominational holiday episode, for example, Rachel presented Finn with an exorbitant Christmas list, enthusiastically participated in an homage to The Judy Garland Christmas Special, and cheerfully sang a bevy of Christmas carols—only remembering her heritage during a quick, barely audible “Happy Hanukkah!” shouted just as the hour ended. And when Rachel noted during last week’s episode that she’s “still Jewish,” her remark was more of a sheepish reminder than an affirmation.

Demanding some semblance of reliability would be asking too much of Glee at this point. Nonetheless, it’s disappointing to watch one of network TV’s most visible Jews lose an affiliation that used to define her—even if her rendition of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” can still put Barbra to shame. (Provided, of course, that she can remember the words.)

Previously on Network Jews:

Maurice Levy, the Jewish lawyer from David Simon’s HBO drama The Wire

Krusty the Clown from FOX’s long-running animated classic The Simpsons

Annie Edison from NBC’s cult favorite Community

The post Network Jews: Rachel Berry from FOX’s ‘Glee’ appeared first on Jewcy.

This article originally appeared on Repair the World.

I was raised by an American History teacher for whom missing any election–even ones when no major national or statewide offices are at stake–is a grave sin against democracy. (Thanks Mom for the guilt!) This means that I’ll be trekking to the polls early on Tuesday morning November 2 to vote in the midterm elections. But not everyone has a needling Jewish mother. Many will stay home on Election Day and their voices won’t be heard.

This year there is something you can do aside from casting your own ballot — you can take others to the polls with you! Define America 2010, a campaign of the newly-formed Jewish Social Justice Round Table, is a major initiative to get Jews to help increase voter turnout through local outreach.

There are many different organizations and ways to get involved in the effort. If you visit the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs’ website, you can find out about local voter outreach events.

If you happen to live in New York, the Jewish Funds for Justice will join Families United for Racial and Economic Equality on Sunday October 24th, going door to door in Brooklyn to remind people to vote and to discuss campaign issues. To RSVP, please call or email Abby Bellows at abellows at jewishjustice.org or 212-213-2113 x68.

In Minnesota, Jewish Community Action will be hitting the pavement every Sunday to help others exercise their right to vote. For more information, contact Jewish Community Action Voter Engagement Coordinator Hannah Knazan-Lippman,hannah at jewishcommunityaction.org or 612-723-4233.

Or if you find yourself in Alexandria, Virginia you can join Jews United for Justice for Trick or Vote 2010! In their finest Halloween costumes, volunteers will be going door to door just a couple of days before the election to “scare” up some votes. (Actually, scaring is a permissible tactic only to get candy. To get to potential voters, you’re going to have to engage them in lively and friendly conversation.)

Even if there are no local events you can attend, you can still contribute to the effort by getting on the phone and speaking to potential voters, reminding them to raise their voices and “define” the future the America and democracy through voting.

Pledge your time and help Define America in 2010.

The post The 2010 Election: Jews Get Out the Vote! appeared first on Jewcy.