Gwyneth Paltrow Talks Hanukkah Family Traditions, Jewish Heritage With Noa Tishby

Jewish American Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow joined author and activist Noa Tishby in celebrating the first night of Hanukkah on Wednesday, as part of the latter’s new Hanukkah-themed video series on YouTube called “#BringOnTheLight.”

Paltrow — whose late father Bruce Paltrow was Jewish while her mother, actress Blythe Danner, is Christian — also talked with Tishby about her Jewish faith and holiday tradition. When Tishby asked the “Iron Man” star and Goop founder and CEO about a childhood memory from Hanukkah that she holds dear, Paltrow recalled being at her grandparents’ house in Long Island, New York, and getting Hanukkah gelt.

“I have such a strong memory of the gold, round coins, and my brother and I just tearing into them,” she reminisced, talking about the coin-shaped chocolates that are typically given to children during Hanukkah.

The “Contagion” star also told Tishby that in her home now, she makes latkes for Hanukkah and lights the menorah with her family. “We always light the menorah, we always gather together after we light the candles; it’s very sweet actually. We all hug and we bring in the light,” she said. “And ever since [my kids] were little, they would sit on the floor, close their eyes, and then I would give them their present. We do eight presents. I’m a spoiler.”

Paltrow has two children — Apple, 20, and Moses, 18 – with her ex-husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. She is now married to American television writer, producer, and director Brad Falchuk, both of whose parents are Jewish. His mother was previously the national president of the Hadassah Women’s Zionist Organization of America.

In 2011, Paltrow discovered that she comes from a long line of rabbis on her father’s side of the family and that her great-great-great grandfather was Rabbi Tsvi Paltrowitch, a Kabbalah master and the Gaon of Nitzy-Novgorod in southwest Russia. She told Tishby she comes from 17 generations of rabbis.

Paltrow also discussed what it was like growing up with a Jewish father and Christian mother. “I grew up in a time in the 70’s where I think interfaith marriage was a big deal, so it was really hard for both of my parents’ parents that they were marrying each other. So it was a big scandalous. Nobody was happy about it,” she said.

“They definitely grew to accept it later in life,” the actress added, talking about her grandparents.  “They kind of let go of all that. But I felt so fortunate because I got to grow up with these two very different worlds and very different faiths. I always felt an incredible pull to my Jewish family and I still do. And the traditions, and the warmth, the unconditional love, the food, the yelling, the family … I’m so close to everybody on that side of my family. We are all kind of interwoven and important to each other and just show up for each other again and again and again.”

Tishby’s eight-part video series “#BringOnTheLight,” which coincides with the eight days of Hanukkah, launched on YouTube on Wednesday and promotes Jewish pride and unity. A new video will be released each day of Hanukkah at 11 am ET.

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