Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

How About A Nice Jewish Guy For Your Wall?

(JTA) — Don’t confuse them with the “Hottest Rabbis” of 2013, for which the Jewrotica website is currently soliciting nominations.

No, these are the “Nice Jewish Guys” of 2014: the stars of a glossy wall calendar produced in partnership with JDate, just in time for Thanksgivukkah.

This year’s gentlemen include Roe (shown caressing a braided challah), Jason (enjoying a hot dog) and Alex, who happens to be actor Howie Mandel’s son.

The Mandel connection no doubt helped the calendar, which has been published annually since 2011, snag a mention on last night’s “Tonight Show.” Jay Leno interviewed the more famous Mandel and chided the calendar-makers for basing it on the Gregorian, rather than Jewish, year.

Neither the selection criteria nor target audience is entirely clear. Are all the guys ISO female and/or Jewish partners? Just how “nice” are they? Is the whole thing meant ironically? And are they aware that few singles under the age of 50 actually look up from their Google Calendar and Outlook-equipped smartphones long enough to consult a wall calendar nowadays?

In any event, each month features several shots of a fully clothed gent, identified by his first name and a brief, minimally proofread, description. January’s Daniel, for example is a “buffed out hockey stud” who “likes to cook, take care of his dog and going to concerts.” March’s John is a “meatloaf-loving martial artist” who is “not a good whistler.” And Kristopher (no explanation for his goyish name) is a student who “claims his nose is his sexiest attribute.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.