Ben Platt is most known for his roles as an actor, singer and songwriter… but we know him best for being a certified NJB (nice Jewish boy).
Here’s everything we know about Ben Platt’s Jewish identity.
The basics
Benjamin Schiff Platt was born on September 24, 1993, in Los Angeles, California, to Julie Beren and Marc Platt.
He identifies as an “anxious, Jewish, queer, musical, somewhat socially anxious person.”
His dad is a film, television and theater producer whose credits include Legally Blonde, Into the Woods, La La Land, Mary Poppins Returns and the musical Wicked.
His mom is a lay leader and philanthropist. Currently, she is the chair of the board of trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America and previously served on the boards of various Jewish organizations including as the board chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, the Foundation for Jewish Camp and Camp Ramah. She also led the advisory board of directors for the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University in Los Angeles.
The Brothers Platt
Ben is the fourth of the five Platt siblings.
The three Platt brothers (affectionately called the Brothers Platt) can often be found singing together. Here’s them performing the Hebrew prayer, Ahavat Olam.
He was raised on Jewish values
Both of Platt’s parents are Jewish and were in traditional Jewish homes, Julie Beren Platt said in an interview. It was important for them to raise their own children in the same way, in part to “protect them from Marc’s world, to teach them to be committed to a community larger than themselves and to live a grounded life,” she said.
The Platt family are members of Sinai Temple, a conservative synagogue in Los Angeles. Julie and Marc have been friends with the synagogue’s senior rabbi, David Wolpe, since college.
Here are the Brothers Platt killing an acapella rendition of Hodu L’Adonai on Temple Sinai’s YouTube channel.
He was a Jewish summer camp kid
Platt attended Camp Ramah in California – a Conservative Jewish sleepaway camp. It was a foundational experience for his personal development and Jewish identity, he said.
Summer camp was “the first place that I was allowed to decide for myself what kind of Jew I would be,” he explained.
“Obviously my family’s traditions are beautiful and I loved growing up in my family, but until I went to camp, everything was just what I was taught by the family, which is wonderful, but there comes a time when you need to figure out for yourself what is going to mean the most to you, and what will keep you connected to your Judaism,” Platt said.
“So going to camp and being your own person there, and learning how to socialize with all these other Jewish kids and discuss Judaism openly was a huge impactful thing for me, and that is kind of the reason that I am still very close to my Judaism.”
He sings in Hebrew
In a 2016 interview on NBC’s “Late Night,” Platt sang some lines from the musical “Guys and Dolls” for Seth Meyers – in Hebrew.
“I played Sky Masterson four times in ‘Guys and Dolls’ in my childhood, and one of those was at my Jewish summer camp, Camp Ramah in California,” he told Meyers. “We do all of our productions there in Hebrew, so I can give you a little bit of ‘Luck Be A Lady,’ in Hebrew.”
He’s been to Israel, ‘as you do when you’re a Jew’
We know Platt has been to Israel at least once.
“I was in eighth grade on a trip to Israel, like you do in the eighth grade. When you’re a Jew” he said.
He had a theater-themed Bar Mitzvah
Platt is besties with Beanie Feldstein. The two met at a bat mitzvah “of course,” Feldstein explained in an interview. Apparently, they also both had theater-themed bar and bat mitzvahs.
More Jewish besties
Platt is also best friends with Jewish actress and singer, Molly Gordon.
The two performed this iconic Yom Kippur song on Instagram in 2018 and it has been stuck in our head ever since.
Originally Published Jun 10, 2022 12:02AM EDT
