The Big Bang Theory's Mayim Bialik Discusses Religion At Jewish Museum

In the middle of taping an episode of "The Big Bang Theory, Mayim Bialik, who plays neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler on the show, came to Philadelphia for a whirlwind 24 hours. Bialik gave a poignant keynote address at the 90th anniversary celebration of the first Bat Mitzvah, the Jewish ceremony that commemorates a girl becoming a woman at the age of 12, held at the National Museum of American Jewish History at Independence Mall in Philadelphia.

Bialik's own Bat Mitzvah occurred on the same day that her picture was splashed across the front page of the Los Angeles Times Arts Calender. She had been cast as the young Bette Midler in "Beaches, which opened at the same time. Since her name Mayim is the Hebrew word for water, the theme of her bat mitzvah was oceanic - blue dresses, goldfish in bowls as table centerpieces, and submarine sandwiches.

She also talked candidly about the conflict of being religious in Jewish but secular Hollywood. "As a religious woman, I had not worn pants in public for 4 years. Amy, my character, had to wear sweat pants in one scene that would be seen all over the world. While there are several rabbinical rulings about wearing pants, I just went with the halacha ruling that it would be alright if my back side was covered. I have not perfected everything about my observance.

Bialik, whose mother tongue is Yiddish, had a chance to tour the museum. "The Sandy Koufax glove was my favorite item in the museum. It was pretty wonderful to see that the museum was part of Independence Mall."

I will be writing more for my cover story on Bialik for the summer issue of Chutzpah Magazine. One thing is for sure, she is not acting when her character on "The Big Bang Theory" sounds intelligent.