Not only did Mila Kunis find love through her marriage with Ashton Kutcher, but she also found a new perspective on her Jewish identity.
While chatting with activist Noa Tishby about Hanukkah in a Thursday, December 26, YouTube video, the actress, 41, revealed that she credits Kutcher, 46, with making her feel “Jewish and proud.”
“[He’s Jewish] by choice. By choice? I was like, ‘Why would you choose this?’” she quipped before adding: “I fell in love with my religion because he explained it to me. The thing about being Jewish is it’s like a choose your adventure, where you can pick and choose things about it that resonate with you. And there’s no right or wrong way to be Jewish.”
While Kunis was born and raised Jewish in present-day Ukraine, Kutcher grew up Catholic but has been practicing Kabbalah (a form of Judaism focusing on Jewish mysticism) for several years. He even called Kabbalah “one of the essential ingredients” in his marriage to Demi Moore in a March 2008 interview with Harper’s Bazaar. (Kutcher and Moore, 62, were married from 2005 to 2013.)
The O.C.’s Seth Cohen may have introduced the world to “Chrismukkah,” but the tradition lives on! In fact, several celebrity couples celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah during the holiday season. Mila Kunis, for instance, was raised Jewish, while her husband, Ashton Kutcher, was raised Christian. They opted for different traditions for daughter Wyatt and son […]
“Every time we come up against a challenge, we turn to the tools we have learned and a solution follows,” Kutcher told the outlet. “Imagine waking up every day knowing with certainty that whatever obstacle you come up against, you will be able to navigate through it to the best possible outcome. That’s what our spiritual foundation provides.”
During Thursday’s interview, Kunis revealed that she was told “never” to talk about being Jewish during her childhood. “I think because I was in a country that didn’t allow for religion,” she explained. “I was raised culturally Jewish, so for me, it’s a culture.”
Kunis also quipped that she was “raised with a lot of guilt,” and that carried over into her adult life. “I think I have a fear of not having enough food. My fear of someone being hungry. Like, the worst thing my kids can say to me is, ‘I’m hungry,’” she stated. “Food fixes everything. You’re tired? Eat some food. You’re cranky? Eat some food. … It is just something that’s embedded in me.”
Kunis and Kutcher wed in 2015 and went on to welcome two kids — daughter Wyatt, 10, and son Dimitri, 8. While chatting with Tishby, 49, about the holiday season, Kunis said she “never lit Hanukkah candles until I had kids.”
To channel Adam Brody’s character in The O.C., this year was truly Chrismukkah, as the first night of Hanukkah fell on Christmas Day. Gwyneth Paltrow kicked off the celebrations on Wednesday, December 25, by lighting a menorah with activist and fellow actress Noa Tishby. “I think my most favorite [memory] is when I go back […]
Now, Kunis is getting to experience new aspects of her culture through her and Kutcher’s children. “My kids very much identify with the religion aspect of it,” she said. “I was like, ‘OK, I guess we’ll do [Shabbat] and we’ll do the candles.’ There’s so much beautiful tradition in it.”
Kunis helped Tisby light candles for the second night of Hanukkah during Thursday’s video, and the pair even called Kutcher to clarify which way they should do so. “It’s right to left, babe,” he told Kunis over the phone. “You load them right to left, but you light them — you start with the center candle, so it’s like the anchor candle, and then you light them left to right.”
After successfully lighting the menorah, Tishby joked: “When in doubt about Judaism, call Ashton Kutcher, I guess.”
