At some point of the season finale all the contestants came on stage and were singing and dancing together. Noticeably absent was Eyal Cohen. According to Kikar, Cohen chose, with the approval of the show's producer, to not participate in this event due to the women singing. And it was not just at the end, but it seems he had received special permission throughout the season to not be present when women were singing.
It is great that they were so accommodating. I might say that when you see someone is so sincere, as was the impression that Eyal gave over throughout his participation in the show, it really is not all that difficult to be accommodating. I do wonder what would have happened had he won. Would he have discreetly stepped off the stage when the female contestants came out and joined in the singing and celebration? Would he have stayed on - as the winner it would be hard to disappear for a few minutes at that point? I guess we will never know, but I feel confident that whatever he would have chosen to do it would have been done "bneimus ubdarkei noam" - in a pleasant and non-confrontational manner.
And that is probably the secret to all those other situations that become such an issue. If things are done sincerely, and with forethought and in a way that is not specifically looking for confrontation, people are generally happy to be accommodating.
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It's also a great counterpoint to the ludicrous claim that kol isha is a women's issue. No women were affected by Cohen's adhering to this halacha, only he was.
ReplyDeleteI would like to provide what might be a Hollywood (or "Industry") perspective.
ReplyDeleteWhether the producers and hosts are tollerant to religious or not. These "back-stories," as they are called, can add to the show's intrigue and tension, if it is presented in the right way. The idea is that this will attract people to watch the show in addition to the
This is pretty common in the U. S. with reality shows. I haven't watched these reality shows in Israel, so I don't know how they present these elements, if at all.
P. S. I agree with Yoni r.
in last year's Brothers Gat on israel x-factor, similar accomodations applied....
ReplyDeleteThere would be no reason for Eyal to leave the stage at the end. I followed him through out the season and his fellow female contestants never hugged him even if he did have to stand very close to them. Winning the Voice is not entirely the best outcome. You are locked into a contract that might seem too demanding and restrictive like them getting a large cut of your first album sales and requirement to perform at The Voice events they might produce like on Yom Haatzmaut.
ReplyDeleteI heard Eyal a few times say that winning is not everything, and even Aviv Gefen many times throughout the year emphasized that it is more important what happens after the confetti has been swept up. The whole process is really incredible and while the less serious people want to enjoy the lights and cameras, you see how the serious contestants will take advantage of professional mentors with experience and also the production itself which is prime time quality.