Jewish Television

Shalom TV reaches Jewish audience

Monday, May 19, 2008
Last updated: Tuesday May 20, 2008, EDT 6:51 AM

BY EVELYN SHIH

STAFF WRITER

Centuries ago, rabbis held full-time jobs unrelated to their congregations. If they owned wineries, for instance, they worked the vines for most of the week, and their congregations paid them for the time they spent teaching and performing rabbinical duties, said Rabbi Mark Golub. Since then, most rabbis have become professional spiritual leaders, spending little time on tasks that do not concern the congregation. But Golub, whose congregation is in Stamford, Conn., may be a bit of a throwback.

For one, he spends most of his week in Fort Lee. For another, he’s a television executive. “I teach in my congregation from Friday to Sunday, and I teach on television the rest of the week,” he said.

Golub’s newest lesson plan involves Shalom TV, which claims to be America’s first national network devoted exclusively to Jewish programming.

The channel, which launched in February, is carried in North Jersey in the video-on-demand format on the Comcast and Time Warner cable systems.

“It’s one thing to be a Jew in North Jersey or Manhattan, where Jews feel everything around them is Jewish,” said Golub. “But you go to Nashville, Tenn., or even parts of New Jersey that are outside the greater New York area — and all of a sudden … there’s not the same opportunity to experience Jewish culture.”

Golub uses the network to spread educational material, such as Hebrew lessons, and the Jewish perspective on world and American politics.

The network’s programming model is a mix of C-SPAN and PBS, Golub said. For example, there’s a module of content from the 92nd Street Y in New York City, with visiting dignitaries like television’s Jason Alexander (“Seinfeld”) and author Elie Wiesel.

Golub also runs the Russian Television Network (RTN), which he founded in 1991 with a member of his congregation, Michael Pravin. Golub, who comes from a Russian-Jewish heritage, decided to tap a demographic that had no available media outlet at the time.

The infrastructure of RTN, which operates out of offices in Fort Lee, makes it possible for a small staff to produce Shalom TV, Golub said. Shalom TV is supported by donations and is in the process of applying for non-profit status. The network has no advertising.

“If you’re Pepsi Cola, you can reach the Jew without going to a Jewish network,” explained Golub. “But there are niche markets that want to reach the Jewish market. There are also people in the Jewish community who own major companies that would like to support a Jewish network. If this all comes to be, then Shalom TV will be here for a long, long time.”

Golub expects North Jersey to become a prime area for interest in the network. “What you have in Bergen County is an incredibly strong Jewish identity,” he said.

Golub, who hosts the news topics show “L’Chayim” and a Hebrew language program on the network, plans to continue teaching through television. He said his congregation is supportive.

“I believe that there is something wonderful in a rabbi not to be simply leading a congregation, but to face the problems that his own congregants face day in and day out,” he said. “Getting up, going to work, worried about business, worried about how to pay your mortgage, worried about how to pay your employees … you have problems that you don’t have if you are solely a congregational rabbi.”

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com