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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Religious Jewish girl on "America's Next Top Model"

Esther Petrack, an 18 year old girl who was born in Jerusalem and attended a modern Orthodox school in Brookline, MA, is apparently competing in the TV show America's Next Top Model.

She elicited some controversy when she told host Tyra Banks that she was Sabbath-observant, and then seemed to throw it all away when Banks told her this was a seven-day-a-week competition:



Clearly there was editing in that segment. (Just as clearly, there was more interest in her breast size than in her religious practices.)

Now her mom is defending her, saying that she did not say what the TV show tried to make it seem like.

The fateful words “I will do it” in an answer to the question about working on shabbat were the result of editing. Esther never meant or said that she would give up shabbat for the show, neither did she do it. These words were taken from a long conversation about the principles and laws of shabbat and how Esther was planning to observe them. The producers cut out these 4 words to create a more scandalous storyline; judging from the amount of reaction, they were quite successful!

I'm not quite sure how all of this will affect her chances for a shidduch...