Esther Petrack
Encyclopedia
Esther Alexandra Petrack (b. March 31, 1992) is a Jerusalem-born, American fashion model. Petrack was a contestant on Cycle 15
of the American reality TV show America's Next Top Model
. Petrack is a Modern Orthodox Jew
from Boston, Massachusetts who has been criticised for attempting to reconcile semi-professional modeling with observant Judaism.
. She attended Maimonides School
in Brookline, where she participated in running a Kosher soup kitchen. She told The Jewish Advocate
that she missed her high school graduation because she was filming for the show while she told Maimonides that she was visiting relatives in France.
, the Jewish New Year; prior to the premiere, Petrack posted on her Facebook page that she would not be able to watch the premiere until two days later because of her observance of the holiday.
Petrack ranked 7th out of 14 contestants.
Some blogs favored her involvement, othershttp://blog.beliefnet.com/idolchatter/2010/09/modern-orthodox-antm-contest.html did not.
asked her whether she would forgo Sabbath observance to participate in the show. In addition, the administration of Petrack's alma mater, Maimonides School, was very critical of her participation in the show. In one speech to the entire student body, former Maimonides Head of School Rabbi David Shapiro referred to the act of modelling as "prostituting one's self."
On October 19, 2010, Petrack's mother, Marina, responded to the accusations that her daughter would give up her religious observance for a spot on the show, calling the accusations "scandalous" and blaming the editing on America's Next Top Model
for extracting four words, "I will do it," from a "long conversation about the principles and laws of shabbat and how Esther was planning to observe them."
America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15
America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15 is the fifteenth cycle of America's Next Top Model and the ninth season to be aired on The CW network. It premiered on September 8, 2010...
of the American reality TV show America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry....
. Petrack is a Modern Orthodox Jew
Modern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....
from Boston, Massachusetts who has been criticised for attempting to reconcile semi-professional modeling with observant Judaism.
Childhood
Petrack was born in Jerusalem, lived in France as a child, and was raised in Brookline, MassachusettsBrookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
. She attended Maimonides School
Maimonides School
Maimonides School is a coeducational, Modern Orthodox, Jewish day school located in Brookline, Massachusetts. The school was founded in 1937 by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and his wife Tonya Soloveitchik...
in Brookline, where she participated in running a Kosher soup kitchen. She told The Jewish Advocate
The Jewish Advocate
The Jewish Advocate is a Jewish weekly newspaper serving Greater Boston and the New England area. It was established in 1902, and is the oldest continuously-circulated English-language Jewish newspaper in the United States...
that she missed her high school graduation because she was filming for the show while she told Maimonides that she was visiting relatives in France.
America's Next Top Model
Petrack applied to Cycle 15 of America's Next Top Model during her senior year of high school. She was featured in one of the first promotional advertisements for the show. The premiere of Cycle 15 was on the eve of Rosh HashanahRosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
, the Jewish New Year; prior to the premiere, Petrack posted on her Facebook page that she would not be able to watch the premiere until two days later because of her observance of the holiday.
Petrack ranked 7th out of 14 contestants.
ANTM and Judaism
ANTM allowed Petrack to follow Judaism's food laws of Kosher; they allotted her a weekly budget to purchase food of her choice and disposable plates and cutlery. According to her mother, she "toveled" pots (Judaism's ritual to purify dishes made of certain materials) in the Pacific Ocean. In the episode of October 20, an entire segment was devoted to Esther's Judaism and the degree to which it differentiated her from the other girls. During the segment, Jane Randall asks her to say something in Hebrew (she responds, "Shmi Esther—"My name is Esther") and the camera zoomed on the cabinet marked, "Esther's Cabinet," containing all of her Kosher materials.Some blogs favored her involvement, othershttp://blog.beliefnet.com/idolchatter/2010/09/modern-orthodox-antm-contest.html did not.
Controversy
Petrack has encountered much criticism from the Orthodox Jewish world for her participation on a show which is often thought to be detrimental to women's body image. Writers for the Tablet Magazine, The Jewish Chronicle, and the Pacific Jewish Center were disappointed with Petrack's response "I would do it" when Tyra BanksTyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks is an American model, media personality, actress, occasional singer, author and businesswoman. She first became famous as a model, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough...
asked her whether she would forgo Sabbath observance to participate in the show. In addition, the administration of Petrack's alma mater, Maimonides School, was very critical of her participation in the show. In one speech to the entire student body, former Maimonides Head of School Rabbi David Shapiro referred to the act of modelling as "prostituting one's self."
On October 19, 2010, Petrack's mother, Marina, responded to the accusations that her daughter would give up her religious observance for a spot on the show, calling the accusations "scandalous" and blaming the editing on America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry....
for extracting four words, "I will do it," from a "long conversation about the principles and laws of shabbat and how Esther was planning to observe them."