Rabbi Mordechai Wollenberg, of Woodford Forest synagogue, has been filmed having 'frank and open conversations' with the celebrity journalist
May 27, 2021 10:26
A rabbi and his family are set to tell all about Orthodox Jewish life in the latest series of ‘Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over’.
The series follows celebrity journalist Ms Dooley as she spends time with a variety of families whose “routines and rituals make them unique”.
Rabbi Mordechai Wollenberg, of Woodford Forest synagogue, his wife and nine children, hosted Ms Dooley across three nights last year.
A television crew set up shop in the family’s East London home, capturing the ins and outs of their day-to-day life.
The Wollenberg’s hope their appearance will educate the wider British public about Orthodox Jewish life, while also highlighting that in some ways they battle through the same ups and downs as any other family.
Rabbi Wollenberg told the JC: “I talked to my wife and the more we talked about it the more we thought it’s an educational opportunity – a rabbi needs to be a teacher and you can’t get more of an audience than a television audience. If they don’t ask us, they’ll probably ask someone else.
“It’s always hard to watch yourself on screen but we’re quite pleased with the result. It was an experience and we hope that we will get a positive message out there.
“We’re just a normal family. We do things a bit differently but we’re not scary.”
The episode will feature frank and open conversations about the Orthodox Jewish way of life, even including details about the religious bedroom.
Rabbi Wollenberg said: “I told Stacey that she can ask me anything and she was very taken by that.
“We had some very open discussions, which were quite personal in places. We talked about the orthodox bedroom and why there are two beds – things like that.
“Stacey was really lovely and down to earth – we had a good laugh and were good friends by the end of it.”
Despite not owning a television himself, Rabbi Wollenberg is looking forward to the episode airing and is even open to doing more TV work in the future.
He added: “In some ways it’s a little bit embarrassing, a little bit personal…
“It was quite an experience… and it’s come across really well."
Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over, Strictly Orthodox Jewish Family, is scheduled to air on W Channel on Monday May 31 at 10pm.