The Jewishness of a 'Friends' Thanksgiving.

50% of the "Friends" group is, apparently, Jewish.

It’s Thanksgiving Week, which means it’s officially “Friends” rewatching season. 

While the show about six friends — Chandler, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel and Ross, who live together in way-too-nice neighboring New York City apartments — aired its last episode more than two decades ago, it still remains a perhaps uncontested master of The Thanksgiving Holiday Episode genre, having aired 10 specials around the turkey-centric holiday.

All the episodes have their own strong points, but in my opinion there is no more iconic Thanksgiving TV moment (and there might never be!) than that of Monica Geller (Courtney Cox) with a turkey on her head with those giant yellow glasses and Fez hat, as a peace offering to Chandler (Matthew Perry, may his memory be a blessing) in “The One with the Thanksgiving Flashbacks.” 

Perhaps somewhat less iconic, but memorable nonetheless is her brother, Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) dressing up as a Holiday Armadillo (“The One With The Holiday Armadillo”) for his son, Ben, in order to share the magic of Christmas and Hanukkah. It was one of the few reminders we got throughout the show’s decade on air that Ross and Monica are both Jewish (their father is, after all, played by Elliott Gould). Many of those reminders were in the holiday episodes, which contained a few mentions of Hanukkah gifts.

The one thing we didn’t get a reminder of before the show finished airing was that there was another Jewish person in that group of friends! In 2014, a decade after the show’s finale, Jewish co-creator Martha Kauffman confirmed what some fans and critics argue we should’ve always known: Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) is a Jew. That means that half of TV’s most iconic friend group is Jewish (and two of the actors in the group, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer, are as well). 

So what were the clues that Rachel is Jewish, even if we didn’t get a clear declaration of her religion by any of the characters on the show? Well, her last name was Green and she grew up in Long Island alongside the Jewish Gellers. She was engaged to an orthodontist named Finkle. Phoebe sings about her celebrating Hanukkah. She calls her grandmother “bubbe.” She maybe?? wears a Star of David necklace early in the show:

And in the Thanksgiving flashback episode, we do get to see Rachel’s nose job — a rite of passage for many a Jewish American woman of her milieux — in its full before and after, and even get to hear Elliott Gould’s Jack Geller share notes about their joint plastic surgeon, which maybe feels like the most Jewish moment of all.

Rachel pre-rhinoplasty! Woo!

I could kvetch about why Rachel Green embodies so many negative aspects of the JAP stereotype and about why she wasn’t allowed to be called explicitly Jewish on the show even when she was written so obviously as a Jew (but also, as much as I am a person who can’t go one conversation without mentioning that I’m Jewish in some overt or covert way, I do know people like Rachel Green who just never claim their Jewishness in any way, so maybe there’s a touch of realism there). A lot of the characters — then and now — can be, rightfully, picked apart for many a-reason. It’s hard rewatching “Friends” with an uncritical eye, but no! Let’s not do this now. This is the holiday season, and so I will save my nitpicking for a time when it feels more proper (we all know some of you will have to listen to your fair share of complaining at the Thanksgiving dinner table, so why should I add to that burden).

Instead, I’m going to kvell about all the reasons why we still watch this show — especially the Thanksgiving flashback episode every year. While many funny lines don’t pass muster now, many are still really hilarious. The acting skills, comedic timing and chemistry of this cast are still all incredible to watch. I still want to shop Rachel’s, Monica’s and Phoebe’s closets. And while it seems pretty run-of-the-mill now, the show was considered kind of raunchy when it first aired for how it depicted the relationships of the women at its center and definitely felt ahead of its time with the way it portrayed modern families.

I think “Friends” has a lot to say about the Jewish American dream and Jewish American assimilation, and the complexity of two Jewish creators — Kaufman and David Crane (who even have writing credits on that iconic opening song!) making a popular mainstream show — and I’ll probably write more about those feelings sometime in the future. But right now, as so much of the country is streaming those still-delightful episodes and preparing for the most American (the most complexly American!!) holiday of the year, I’m just feeling grateful for this flawed and fabulous and Jewish show. 

Some Jewish observations about “The One With the Thanksgiving Flashbacks:”

1. The person who said post-nose job Rachel looks like Sarah Jessica Parker is really spot on.

2. Ross does look better with that Elliott Gould-y head of curly hair in the first 1980s flashback (no notes on the mustache since we’re staying positive).

   

   Elliott Gould hair, Tom Selleck moustache. Also Chandler’s hair is incredible.

3. Monica in her fat suit looks kind of like Cass Elliot and how can that be unattractive?!

   

   That sweater also looks cozy AF.

4. The Geller’s childhood home totally looks like a Jewish bubbe’s home, complete with the prints of Monet paintings, cabinets full of china and avocado green fridge. 

   

   That should be a menorah on that mantle, but I don’t think it is.

   Do you celebrate “Friends” rewatching season? What’s your favorite episode? Did you know Rachel Green was Jewish? Let me know in the comments!