Top 5 Jewish Moments on GLEE

Now that the first season of Glee is over – and admittedly, the second half of the season was a bit of a letdown after the first – we’re taking a look back at some of our favourite Jewish moments on the show, from hot hookups to bizarre Simchat Torah traditions.

“Natalie Wood was a Jew, you know” (from “Preggers”)

When Mr. Schue tries to spread the solos from West Side Story around in the name of fairness, Rachel isn’t having it. “Maria is my part,” she tells him. “Natalie Wood was a Jew, you know. I’ve had a very deep personal connection to this role since the age of one.”

Even though Rachel may have been wrong on this one – Wikipedia says she was born to Russian parents, and other sources say she was Russian Orthodox, not Jewish – it was nice to see her proudly declare her roots.

“So your last name’s Puckerman, huh?” (from “Throwdown”)

Who would have guessed? Puck – the bullying, MILF-loving, Mohawk-sporting high school bad boy – is Jewish, and a fairly devoted one at that. Mark Salling’s pronunciation of “Shalom” may have been a little awkward, but the fist-raising in Jewish solidarity gave us naches.

The entire episode of “Mash-up”

There were just too many good moments in this episode to name: Puck’s family’s “traditional Simchas Torah dinner” (eating Chinese food and watching Schindler’s List) his dream of Rachel in a floaty white negligee and big, bold Magen David necklace (“It was more than a dream it was a message from G-d. Rachel was a good-looking Jew and the good Lord wanted me to get into her pants”) his attempt to woo her by singing Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” But our favourite was this come-on line when she hesitates in the middle of a make-out session. “We’re a couple of good-looking Jews,” he tells her. “It’s natural.” We don’t know why, but that line was hilarious.

“Jessie will never fully understand what it means to be a Jew” (from “Bad Reputation”)

“Puckleberry” returns – albeit briefly – as Rachel recruits Puck in her bid to become ‘musically promiscuous.’ They share a moment in her bedroom, and we can’t blame Rachel for looking so smitten when Puck looks deep into her eyes and urges her to cheat on Jessie with him. “Jessie will never fully understand what it means to be a Jew,” he whispers as he leans in to kiss her. Of course she doesn’t go through with it, but Rachel and Puck showed more chemistry in that moment than Rachel and Finn have the entire season.

Did you know that King Martin Luther loved Jews? (“Laryngitis”)

Once again Puck uses his religious background to try and woo a girl. “I did some research,” he tells Mercedes by their lockers. “Blacks and Jews have a history of sticking up for each other. And Wikipedia says that King Martin Luther loved the Jews.” (“Okay, you just said like 10 offensive things,” Mercedes replies.) When that doesn’t work, he joins a black church and learns all of Sammy Davis Jr.’s music (“He was a black Jew,” he informs the club) before pulling Mercedes up onstage for a sizzling duet.