From tefillin and Shabbat to kabbala and mysticism, Jewish tradition has become cultural currency among secular Israeli artists and celebrities. But this selective return to Judaism embraces its symbols while sidestepping their religious and political implications
Interest in Judaism has been growing in Israel’s cultural world in recent years. Artists don a mystical air and sprinkle Jewish references in their works. Influencers babble about kabbala. Celebs put on tefillin, declare that they are “first and foremost Jews” and embrace markers of Jewish tradition without calling themselves religious.