I am still totally into the folks from In Over our Heads – Jewish reality TV that is interesting. Apparently the Jewish community of Sharon, Mass feels it’s bad publicity, but I think the opposite – it shows that orthodoxy shows many faces.
By Renee Ghert-Zand for The Jewish Daily Forward - The Arty Semite - Malkah Winter feels the need to express herself creatively, and she comes by it genetically. The daughter of the late Yiddish theater owner and producer, Oscar Ostroff, Winter has been single-handedly directing, producing and editing Jewish Life TV’s new reality show, “In Over Our Heads.” The show aims to smash stereotypes surrounding suburban Orthodox Jews in the predominantly Jewish community of Sharon, Mass., whose lifestyle Winter, a 34-year-old mother of five, is intimately and personally acquainted with.
After being a stay-at-home mom for over a decade, Winter (who has had a lifelong interest in the arts but never studied filmmaking) picked up a video camera last November and convinced a small group of friends to allow her to document their day-to-day lives. She sees herself as following in her father’s footsteps, telling the stories of Judaism and Jewish life, only through the more contemporary media of television and the Internet.
We received an Email from Robert Galinsky requesting an interview on his CBS radio show Reality Wanted, so Valerie stepped up to the plate. Click here to listen to the clip. Robert Galinsky is the founder of the NY Reality TV School and the show features industry insiders and reality addicts who call in looking for their shot at fame.
Hashkafah.com touts itself as the Premier Frum (i.e. Orthodox) Jewish Forum. It's always interesting to find random people out on the web talking about the show. I think some of them were complaining about the prerelease episodes (which have subsequently been revamped for national TV), but others just dislike hearing the Orthodox community "airing its dirty laundry." Either way InOverOurHeads is primarily about the conversations that go on after the show and we're always happy to see people talking!
... I am finding [the show] to be really fascinating to watch.
... there are way more interesting things on the internet. I didn't laugh at all. What do you like about it?
... mikveh episode was good and the one where the guy was talking about mooning the rabbi. I just think a lot of their comments are real and talk about some of what Judaism is.
... I am intrigued.
I didn't get the point of it from the commercial. Doesn't look like something I'd sit through.
I found the whole thing sad. ... It was interesting how they interspersed scenes of her in the club with scenes from her wedding video (which was totally frum and looks like two normal Orthodox people getting married).
I watched a bit and I'm not impressed. What is it? Just a stage for frum jews who are frustrated with Judaism and need to vent publicly? The mikvah one was way tmi imo and do we really need to see them french kissing in slow-mo??
As we get older, we start to better be able to see shades of grey. Black and white are not as starkly perceived as they once were, and things that once seemed clear cut get fuzzy around the edges. We begin to realize that at least some of what we thought to be true and immutable is not so, that distinctions can be artificial and arbitrary. In other words, things are not always as they seem or as we thought they were – or were supposed to be. And, oh yeah, we also find ourselves from time to time in over our heads.
"Jewish men are so intellectual."- a sexy and non-Jewish female Santa's Helper trying to seduce the title character in The Hebrew Hammer.
Here are two words that will get the Jews interested: 1. it's got Jews, and 2. it's free :0) I can say that: I'm Jewish. Just kidding. I can say it 'cause here it's a friendly joke.
The Ironic Orthodox generation does not buy into the apologetics: not about the status of women, not about the integrity of the transmission of the Oral Law, not about the "timelessness" of obviously time-bound religious laws, customs, and ideas, etc. This generation is hard to inspire; its demeanor is skeptical and ironic, somewhat aloof and dispassionate. Their irony is not a dramatic irony - like Statler and Waldorf observing the and criticizing the show yet remaining very much a part of it - but a jocular or sarcastic attitude or perhaps even a post-irony that simultaneously adheres to and mocks traditional religious structures. Yet it's not a bitter or angry mocking. It seems to be more of a taking-for-granted of life's absurdities and of the failure of ideology to explain or animate the full gamut of practice. It does not necessarily advocate or seek change.
When Frum Satire showed me In Over Our Heads — billed as “the first unscripted Jewish reality television series” — my knee-jerk reaction was, is it good for Orthodox Jews? The first episode followed women on a trip to the mikveh, a bath used for, uh, spiritual cleanliness (or, “ending the period of not having sex and transitioning into having sex,” as one character puts it).
What does frummer velt have to say about InOverOurHeads? They may all not like it, but it's getting them to think and discuss ... mission accomplished!Check it out at Hashkafah.com.
InOverOurHeads is a new site that is going to attempt its hand at Jewish reality TV. They have 2 videos so far. One is about a woman’s negative perceptions of mikvah and another about some orthodox women going clubbing. They go to the club though they admit it’s wrong and “breaks a few rules”. Totally interesting and worth giving a look. I love that they are not anonymous.
The twelve days (the average apparently for many people, though Sefardim can make it as little as 10 days apparently) are a time where we don't have sex. Many people also try not to be able to touch, pass things, etc. It is an incredibly hard concept to wrap your head around and also do. We honestly do have a hard time being able to not touch, cuddle, pass things. We know people who don't have any issues with separating completely. Regardless of what you do/do not do you need to be able to reflect on the significance of the 12 days that you have a physical break with your spouse.
The Jewish Life Television Network announced it will be adding a reality series into its rotation. InOverOurHeads follows several young Jewish parents from the small town of Sharon, Massachusetts. Sharon is a suburb located near Boston with a bustling Jewish community. The neighbourhood has seven synagogues, three of which are Orthodox.
In Over Our Heads is a YouTube's reality TV show concerning Orthadox Jews wishing to experience "treif (not-kosher)" activities.
Seriously, it does provoke a lot of thought. We know friends and people who actively take part of the beach/club/dance/bar/cruise scene and when they do it there is no way it can be "tznius" or "proper Jewishness". Of course many people would say going to Babeland (love that store) or talking about sex openly would also not be the thing to do.
InOverOurHeads, the first unscripted Jewish reality television series, premiers today on the first global network devoted to what it means to be Jewish, JLTV - the Jewish Life Television Network. InOverOurHeads sneaks a peek at the crazy lives of a few close friends. Coping with the realities of their restless existence as young, Jewish parents, they debate the absurd, laugh at convention, and reevaluate their ideals in a humorous, yet introspective way. Maintaining a decorum not quite fitting for shul [synagogue, the topics wander into sensitive areas such as marriage, parenting, religion, gender issues, and education. The discussions are honest and irreverent, often with a deep spiritual undertone. They rip apart stereotypes of observant Jews - although like most Jews, they hardly ever agree. InOverOurHeads airs Tuesdays at 8pm Eastern and 9pm Pacific, broadcasting nationwide on DirecTV channel 366, in select metropolitan areas via nationwide affiliations with Time Warner and Comcast, and online at www.jltv.tv. (Please see www.inoverourheads.com for additional air times.) JLTV currently reaches 26 million homes and is anticipated to expand to 40 million homes by year end.
I think of Facebook as an evolving scrapbook of my life as a mother, one that my son could look back on one day with great affection. I can hear him now. "February 17, 2008: that's the day Mommy said she was giving up pubic hair for Lent!" "Oh, here's a picture of Mommy showing her cleavage to celebrate Boobquake!" "Wow, Mommy sure talked about Klonopin a lot. A LOT." ... click for more
Episode 2 follows Episode 1, again making Best User Video on the Jewish TV Network. See the link: BEST USER VIDEO: New reality series explores relationships.
JTN is run by an LA production company that has produced award winning programs such as the Jewish Americans series on PBS.
Check out our article on the front page of