Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher has spoken candidly about his spiritual journey from being a Catholic altar boy to embracing Judaism, in a poignant conversation released as the world reels from a deadly antisemitic attack in Australia.
A Conversation of Faith and Resilience
The 47-year-old star and his wife, Mila Kunis, 42, marked the first night of Hanukkah at the Los Angeles home of Israeli activist Noa Tishby. In a video shared on Monday, Kutcher reflected on his faith, the meaning of the festival, and the urgent need to stand against hatred following the tragedy at Sydney's Bondi Beach.
Kutcher explained his unique path to Judaism, rooted in his Christian upbringing. "I was an altar boy," he told Tishby and Kunis. "The whole thing in Christianity is, be like Jesus. What would Jesus do? If you want to actually understand what Jesus would do, you learn Judaism. Because that's what he learned."
He described the profound personal impact of this exploration: "When you start to learn Judaism, you understand why people do what they do, how they do what they do. You actually learn ways to live better as a human."
Speaking Out Against Antisemitic Violence
The intimate discussion took place against the grim backdrop of a terrorist attack in Australia. On Sunday, alleged father and son gunmen targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled the assault an act of antisemitic terrorism.
The attack left 15 people dead, including a 12-year-old child, and 42 others injured. Two police officers were among the wounded. The 50-year-old alleged gunman was shot dead by police, while his 24-year-old son, an alleged accomplice, remains hospitalised in critical condition.
Kutcher, who publicly condemned the attack on social media, emphasised his duty to be open about his faith during times of persecution. "Anytime the world is in a place where there's an instant stigma on an identity... I tend to feel like that's a good moment to be totally revealing about my identity, so that there's a sense of safety in that," he stated.
Family Life and Creating Miracles
The couple, who celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary in July, have fully embraced Jewish traditions within their family. They are raising their two children—11-year-old daughter Wyatt Isabelle and nine-year-old son Dimitri Portwood—as Jewish and have been seen attending Shabbat services at a reform synagogue in Los Angeles.
In the video, Kutcher spoke beautifully about the Hanukkah theme of miracles. "We always talk about, if you want to have a miracle happen in your life, you create a miracle for someone else," he shared. "We all meditate before we light the candles, on what is a miracle that I could create for somebody else and somebody else's life?"
In a striking blend of tradition and modern technology, Kutcher revealed he has created a unique memorial to his late rabbi. Using OpenAI's ChatGPT, he built an AI chatbot trained on all his rabbi's writings and teachings. "I created a GPT of my rabbi... so I can talk to my rabbi," he explained.
Kunis, who was born Jewish and emigrated from the Soviet Union as a child, humorously praised her husband's dedication, calling him a "super Jew" and "Rabbi Kutcher." She reflected on her own evolving relationship with her identity: "Growing up in Russia being Jewish, you didn't really talk about it... I never thought about it until the current state of the world where now I'm like, Oh yeah, I get it. And then I married this super Jew."
Noa Tishby, the host and activist behind the #BringOnTheLight campaign, expressed her admiration for Kutcher's "encyclopedic knowledge" of Hanukkah's spiritual and Kabbalistic meanings. The edited video playfully showed her and Kunis' eyes glazing over as Kutcher detailed intricate aspects of the menorah lighting ceremony.
As Jewish communities worldwide light candles for the eight-day festival, which commemorates the miracle of a one-day oil supply lasting eight days in the rededicated Temple in Jerusalem, Kutcher's message of creating light for others resonates with renewed urgency in the face of darkness and hate.
