MAY 27 • 2021 | 41

FRIENDS REUNION
The long-delayed Friends:
The Reunion Special will
start streaming on HBO
Max on May 27 (can also
be seen on June 24 on the
“basic cable” TVLand chan-
nel). Friends, a mega-hit sit-
com about six young adults,
premiered in 1995 and ran
for 10 seasons.
The Special is not a new
Friends episode. It’s a
one-hour unscripted event
during which all six star
cast members will remi-
nisce about the series. The
“bonuses” are rare “behind-
the-scenes footage” and
very brief appearances
by 18 actors, actresses or
musicians who had recur-
ring roles or guest shots on
Friends.
The main cast included

David Schwimmer, now 54,
as Ross, and Lisa Kudrow,
now 57, as Phoebe. The
others are Jennifer Aniston
(Rachel), Courteney Cox
(Monica, Ross’ sister), Matt
LeBlanc (Joey) and Matthew
Perry (Chandler).
The “18 others” appearing
on the special include Elliott
Gould, 82, who played
Ross and Monica’s Jewish
father; Maggie (Jakobson)
Wheeler, 59, who played
Janice, Chandler’s on-and-
off Jewish girlfriend; and
Larry Hankin, 83, who
played Mr. Heckles, the
annoying upstairs neighbor.
Also appearing are series’
co-creators David Crane,
63, and Marta Kauffman,
64. Kauffman’s ex-husband
Michael Skloff, 61, wrote
the music for the Friends
monster hit theme song, “I’ll
Be There for You.” The lyrics
were penned by Allee Willis
(1947-2019). A top pop/funk

songwriter, Willis was born
and raised in Detroit.
By the way, the Jewish
media has “tracked” the
(fictional) Jewish ties of
Monica, Ross and Rachel
for decades. Here’s the
scorecard: Ross and
Monica’s father is Jewish;
their mother is not. In an
early episode, we find out
Monica had a bat mitzvah,
so it appears that the sib-
lings were raised Jewish.

After the bat mitzvah
“reveal,” nothing “Jewish”
is connected to Monica, but
references to Ross’ Jewish
background show up in sev-
eral episodes. The consen-
sus is that Rachel’s parents
are Jewish, but her “clear”
Jewish ties are limited to
a cameo shot in which she
wears a Magen David neck-
lace and, once, referring to
her grandma as her “bub-
bie.”

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

NBC

ARTS&LIFE

The cast of
Friends

PIRKEI AVOT STUDY
11 AM, MAY 28
Adat Shalom Synagogue
invites adults of all ages to
join Rabbi Aaron Bergman
for a weekly discussion on
Zoom to explore one of
the most beloved and wise
books of our people, which
was written long ago but is

even more relevant today.
The community is welcome.
There is no charge. To RSVP
and receive a Zoom link,
contact Jodi Gross, jgross@
adatshalom.org.

BIM BOM BABY
10-10:30 AM, MAY 28
Celebrate Shabbat on Zoom
with Temple Shir Shalom’s
rabbis. The program is
geared to babies and
children 0-6 years old.
There is no charge; all are
welcome. Information: Julie
at julie@shirshalom.org or
248-406-4255.

A SUMMER OF
TORAH STUDY
JUNE 1
Nishma is a summer
program of the Jewish
Theological Seminary Beit

Midrash where students
immerse themselves in
Torah learning and cultivate
skills to access classical
Jewish sources: Talmud,
Midrash, Halachah, Hebrew,
and parshanut (Torah and its
commentaries). The program
is split into two four-week
sessions. Students can
participate in either session
or both. Courses will be
online. Contact nishma@jtsa.
edu.

JFS MEETING
4:30 PM, JUNE 1
Jewish Family Service will
hold its annual meeting
and community recognition
event on Zoom. Register at
jfsdetroit.org.

‘THE MODERN FACTORY’
7 PM, JUNE 2
The Albert Kahn Legacy
Foundation will host a free
virtual talk “Albert and Julius
Kahn and the invention
of the Modern Factory.”
Michael G. Smith will bring to
life the tale of two brothers
who revolutionized modern
day factories. Register at
AlbertKahnLegacy.org.

Compiled by Sy Manello/Editorial

Assistant. Send items at least 14 days in

advance to calendar@thejewishnews.

com.

ON THE GO
PEOPLE | PLACES | EVENTS

Rabbi
Aaron Bergman