(Fox\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Bialik may be best known for the memorable characters she\u2019s played, including Amy Farrah Fowler in the \u201cBig Bang Theory\u201d and Blossom in the beloved \u201990s sitcom by the same name. But when she\u2019s not on screen, Mayim is in touch with her Jewish identity in so many ways, from her excitement about Jewish holidays to the ways she incorporates Jewish practice into raising her two children.<\/p>\n
In honor of the news, here are 10 Jewish facts this incredible Jewish mom.<\/p>\n
1. She is a second-generation Jewish immigrant. <\/p>\n
Like many Ashkenazi Jews in the U.S., Mayim\u2019s grandparents immigrated from Poland, Hungary and then-Czechoslovakia. Mayim describes herself as \u201ca second-generation American whose grandparents on one side never really mastered the English language.\u201d Given her accomplishments as a scholar \u2014 she has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA \u2014 and a public figure, we can only imagine the immense pride and joy her grandparents would feel over her accomplishments today.<\/p>\n
2. Her name has many layers of Jewish meaning.<\/p>\n
Mayim\u2019s full name \u2014 Mayim Chaya Bialik \u2014 carries serious Jewish meaning. Her first name, Mayim, means \u201cwater\u201d in Hebrew. (She\u2019s named after her grandmother, Maryam, who was known as \u201cBubbe Mayim.\u201d) Her middle name, Chaya, means \u201calive\u201d in Hebrew; it shares the same root as \u201cchai\u201d or \u201clife.\u201d As for Bialik, Mayim\u2019s a distant relative of the pioneering modern Hebrew poet Hayim Nahman Bialik.<\/p>\n
3. Mayim identifies as Modern Orthodox.<\/p>\n
Although she was raised in a Reform Jewish family, Mayim has become more religiously observant as an adult and now identifies as Modern Orthodox. The Orthodox value of modesty is one that she holds dear, and she brings her preference for modest dress into her very spiffy \u201cJeopardy!\u201d outfits. She told Jeopardy.com that her professional dress during her guest-hosting stint was meant to maintain the elements of formality and decorum that she so respected in late host Alex Trebek, and \u201cto look like the academic I was trained to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
4. She was the first woman in her family to become a bat mitzvah.<\/p>\n
When Mayim spoke at the National Museum of American Jewish History\u2019s celebration marking the 90th anniversary of the first bat mitzvah ceremony in the United States, we learned that Mayim was the first woman in her family to have a bat mitzvah. Speaking about the way that the bat mitzvah has become a key marker of women\u2019s equity in Jewish communities, Mayim told the Philadelphia Inquirer:\u201cThe bat mitzvah is the beginning. It\u2019s not the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
5. Education is one of her core values.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons Mayim is so perfect for the \u201cJeopardy!\u201d job is that, in her own words, she has dedicated her life to \u201cknowing things and to being able to communicate things.\u201d Education is deeply valued in Jewish culture, and it is even stressed in Jewish text, as the Talmud dictates that the study of Torah is the greatest commandment. What\u2019s more, as an undergrad at UCLA, Mayim minored in Hebrew and Jewish Studies \u2014 so Jewish education has always been part of her many ambitions.<\/p>\n
6. She was active in Jewish life during college.<\/p>\n
Mayim was also active in Jewish life outside the classroom during her years at UCLA. She was a student leader of Hillel, she founded a women\u2019s Rosh Chodesh group and she blew the shofar during High Holiday services. In addition, she conducted and wrote music for UCLA\u2019s Jewish a cappella group.<\/p>\n
7. Jewish holidays are very important to her.<\/p>\n
Speaking of Jewish education, Mayim makes a point to teach her fans all about Jewish holidays. She recently made a series of six videos for Kveller called \u201cYou Know How I Know: Jewish Basics With Mayim Bialik,\u201d covering Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Hanukkah, Purim and Passover. These short, fun videos are meant to teach viewers about the key elements of each Jewish holiday (with her special Mayim flair, of course).<\/p>\n
8. Mayim was one of the first editors of Kveller.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s true: The Jewish parenting site through which you are reading this article would not be the same without Mayim\u2019s brains and initiative. Mayim was one of the original contributing editors of Kveller (more than 10 years ago).<\/p>\n
9. She has a very Jewish bedtime ritual for her kids. <\/p>\n
Mayim\u2019s sons \u2014 Miles, 15, and Frederick, 12 \u2014 are being raised with many Jewish rituals, including Mayim singing the bedtime \u201cShema\u201d prayer to them before bed. Even as her kids grow older, \u201cI still try to sing the Shema to them,\u201d she said in 2019. \u201cAnd I remember that I used to watch their eyes shift from blinking, to heavy lids, to closing and fluttering, to closing completely for the night, when I used to pray for their souls to be watched over as they slept.\u201d So sweet.10. She is passionate about mental health.<\/p>\n
Mayim has been a longtime advocate for mental healthcare. During her \u201cJeopardy!\u201d guest-host stint, Mayim raised funds for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), where she has referred friends for many years. Mental health advocacy is tied to many Jewish values, including the Talmud passage \u201cKol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh\u201d\u2014 which means \u201call Jews are responsible for one another\u201d \u2014 as well \u201cpikuach nefesh,\u201d the Jewish value of saving a life.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, Mayim\u2019s podcast, \u201cMayim Bialik\u2019s Breakdown,\u201d aims to break down \u201cthe myths and misunderstandings about mental health and emotional well-being\u201d according to Spotify, while \u201cremoving the stigma surrounding mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n
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