{"id":1078,"date":"2010-05-13T16:36:04","date_gmt":"2010-05-13T16:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/production.ou.org\/jewish_action\/2010\/meet_michael_borkow_a_comedy_writer_who_takes_his_judaism_very_serious\/"},"modified":"2020-07-27T08:21:38","modified_gmt":"2020-07-27T08:21:38","slug":"meet_michael_borkow_a_comedy_writer_who_takes_his_judaism_very_serious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/jewish-world\/people\/meet_michael_borkow_a_comedy_writer_who_takes_his_judaism_very_serious\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Michael Borkow: A Comedy Writer Who Takes His Judaism Very Seriously"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Photo: Tim Sullens<\/em><\/p>\n

Smack dab in the middle of a prolific Hollywood career, writing and producing such monster-hit shows as Friends<\/em>, Roseanne<\/em> and Malcolm in the Middle<\/em>, Michael Borkow decided to create a brand new episode in his life\u2013one that featured Torah study, Shabbat and shul. He had long sensed the wisdom and beauty in Judaism, but wasn\u2019t yet sure he believed in God. Keeping his faith issues at bay, he chose to test the waters. He\u2019s glad he did.<\/p>\n

Borkow first began thinking about God when he was an undergraduate at Harvard. \u201cI was in an environment with a lot of bright young people examining all sorts of ideas about the world,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019d ask, \u2018What is true? Is there an absolute right and wrong?\u2019 I didn\u2019t have a religious yearning or focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his lack of spiritual focus, Borkow felt very Jewish. He reports that starting from childhood he kept \u201ckosherish.\u201d \u201cI would be at a Chinese restaurant with high school friends and when we\u2019d order food to share,\u201d he says, \u201cI\u2019d tell them, \u2018I can\u2019t have the pork or shrimp.\u2019\u201d Choosing to differentiate himself in that way paved the path for every \u201cJewish choice\u201d he\u2019s made since.<\/p>\n

Judaism, however, took a back seat while Borkow set out to find his place in the work world.Halfway through his final year at Columbia Law School in Manhattan, Borkow realized he had a problem; the prestigious corporate law firm where he had interned during the summer offered him a high-paying position. Why was that a problem?<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I wouldn\u2019t be happy in that job,\u201d says Borkow. \u201cAnd I knew that if I graduated, I would take it.\u201d He took a leave of absence to explore other career possibilities.Hearing that some of his friends from Harvard had landed TV writing jobs on shows like The Late Show with David Letterman and In Living Color, he thought he would \u201cgive that a shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Borkow\u2019s been hitting bulls-eyes ever since. His first network job was on Flying Blind, a short-lived sitcom about a Jewish young man from New York who graduated college and didn\u2019t know what he wanted to do with his life. Borkow says he had a \u201cgreat experience\u201d writing for the show and, unlike the show\u2019s protagonist, he felt he had found a viable career option. But his two-year leave of absence from Columbia was about to expire. It was time to make a decision. Should he continue writing or complete his law studies?<\/p>\n

His show\u2019s executive producer suggested that he enroll in a law school in Los Angeles as a visiting student for his last semester, and continue writing for the series. Borkow informed him that it wouldn\u2019t be possible; the application deadline had passed. \u201cThis is Hollywood,\u201d declared his executive producer. \u201cAnything is possible.\u201d Borkow called his agent at William Morris who found out that one of the assistants there knew somebody who knew somebody who knew the assistant dean to admissions at USC Law School. Borkow was staying in LA.<\/p>\n

He finished an intense semester juggling law school assignments and script writing, picked up his degree in New York and flew west again. \u201cMy parents wanted to know when I was going to take the bar,\u201d he says. \u201cA lot of people were asking me that question.\u201d Truth was he was very busy with the bar\u2013Roseanne Barr, that is. His first breakthrough TV job had arrived in the form of executive story editor for Roseanne, a top-ten show at the time. By the time he started working for Friends, as a supervising producer and ultimately executive producer, even his grandmother stopped asking him about the bar.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal was to have a job that was fun, that I could do well,\u201d he says. \u201cI sat in what they call the \u2018writers\u2019 room,\u2019 where I spent the day with a bunch of smart, funny people working on something creative. I was very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t kept Shabbat fully before and I thought, \u2018What if in six months I don\u2019t like it? What if I want to go out to a movie or to a restaurant Friday night? If I\u2019m going home from work because I keep Shabbat, obviously I can\u2019t do those things.\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With his career flourishing, Borkow noticed that every once in a while a writer or agent friend would rave to him about a local course offered called \u201cIntroduction to Judaism,\u201d a kind of \u201cHebrew school for adults.\u201d He decided to go. He learned about Shabbat and immediately took to the idea. \u201cIt reminded me of my experience in Hawaii,\u201d he says. \u201cI remember lying on the beach; I felt incredibly relaxed and wondered why I had such a hard time creating that state of mind in my own home. I kept Shabbat one Friday night and there was that feeling.\u201d He was hooked.<\/p>\n

The class also \u201creignited\u201d his interest in Israel. In the fall of 2001, while writing for Malcolm in the Middle, he found himself deeply upset over the news of the intifada in Israel, reading reports on the country\u2019s decline in tourism, and the damage done to its economy and morale. He had a week\u2019s vacation due him and wanted to use the time to volunteer in Israel. Unfortunately, he couldn\u2019t find an organization willing to train someone who was only going to stay a week. All was not lost. His friend and colleague David Sacks (whose writing and producing credits include The Simpsons, Third Rock from the Sun and Murphy Brown), recommended he spend the week studying Torah at Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah in the Old City.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a bit of a culture shock,\u201d says Borkow. \u201cI sat down with the managing director of the yeshivah, him with his beard and black hat and me in my shorts and polo shirt.\u201d The director told him all he had to do was keep an open mind and they would take care of the rest; they would set him up with teachers and a learning partner. Borkow responded that he didn\u2019t think he could keep an open mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy big concern about coming here was that I imagine you guys believe some stuff that I don\u2019t necessarily believe,\u201d he explained. \u201cAnd if you are going to try to convince me of that stuff, I know this is not going to go well.\u201d The director reassured him. \u201cHere\u2019s the deal,\u201d he said. \u201cWe believe the Torah is the word of God and that God gave the Torah to Moses at Mount Sinai. We believe every word of it. We don\u2019t care what you believe.\u201d Borkow liked the approach and decided to give it a try.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoyed every moment,\u201d he says. \u201cI learned how Judaism works\u2013the Torah, the Written and Oral Laws, halachah.\u201d He also got an unexpected, close-up look at Jewish faith in action.<\/p>\n

He happened to be at the yeshivah on September 11, 2001. \u201cIt was a very powerful experience,\u201d says Borkow. \u201cThe rosh yeshivah came in and said: \u2018If Hashem allowed this to happen, we must not be doing our job.\u2019 Everyone buckled down and became even more highly motivated and focused on their learning. I remember thinking: I don\u2019t know if I agree with a single premise he just asserted. I don\u2019t know if there is a God. If there is a God, I don\u2019t know if He had anything to do with 9\/11. And if He did, I don\u2019t know if He\u2019d make that decision based on whether people are learning Gemara in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

But everyone I knew in New York and Los Angeles spent the week watching CNN, staring at the same images over and over again, feeling despair, while these people were motivated and hard at work; it just seemed like a much healthier response. I thought\u2013true or not, there is clearly wisdom here.\u201d<\/p>\n

If It\u2019s Saturday, It Must Be Borkow\u2019s<\/strong>
\nWhen Borkow got back to LA, he shared his newfound excitement about Torah learning with his friends Adam Miller, president and CEO of Cornerstone OnDemand, an award-winning software company, and Jeff Astrof, a fellow TV comedy writer whose credits include Friends, Grounded for Life and The New Adventures of Old Christine. He told them he\u2019d discovered the world\u2019s longest-running book club\u2013Judaism. \u201cFor the last few thousand years, every week Jews all over the world have been reading the same pages of text,\u201d he said, \u201cand getting together on Saturday to talk about it.\u201d Miller suggested they start a club of their own. Borkow promptly offered his home for the following Saturday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It was an instant hit. Every week, they would study the parashat hashavuah and meet to discuss it. \u201cThere was no rabbi; no one pushing any agenda,\u201d says Borkow. \u201cIt was just a bunch of people sharing their thoughts and reactions.\u201d Word of the club spread, and by the following year, dozens of Jews from a variety of backgrounds joined in stimulating discussions while partaking of Borkow\u2019s multi-course Shabbat seudah. \u201cEven though none of us were religious, we formed something of a Jewish community,\u201d says Borkow.<\/p>\n

The book-club-turned-community strengthened many Jewish identities and impelled Borkow to start keeping Shabbat. In 2003, he moved from Brentwood to a home in Beverly Hills on the outskirts of the Torah-observant neighborhood of Pico-Robertson. Every Shabbat, he walked to Beth Jacob Congregation. Astrof also took the halachic leap; he gave up driving to the gatherings at Borkow\u2019s home and, instead, found an Orthodox synagogue in his own LA community of Hancock Park.<\/p>\n

Shabbat may have changed Borkow\u2019s Saturday schedule, but in a TV writer\u2019s world, Friday night was still a work night. He felt increasingly uneasy about working into Shabbat, but didn\u2019t feel ready to make an outright commitment. \u201cTo come out and say I don\u2019t work on Friday night anymore felt like a public declaration of something I wasn\u2019t particularly comfortable being public about,\u201d he says. \u201cI hadn\u2019t kept Shabbat fully before and I thought, \u2018What if in six months I don\u2019t like it? What if I want to go out to a movie or to a restaurant Friday night? If I\u2019m going home from work because I keep Shabbat, obviously I can\u2019t do those things.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his qualms, he took the plunge, and met surprisingly calm waters. \u201cYou want to keep Shabbat?\u201d asked the show-runner, the TV series supervisor. \u201cMore power to you. I envy your faith.\u201d Relieved, Borkow thought it wise not to bring up the fact that he wasn\u2019t sure how one can truly know there is a God.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was an extreme act of mesirut nefesh,\u201d says Rabbi Steven Weil, Senior Managing Director of the Orthodox Union, then rabbi of Beth Jacob Congregation. \u201cThe decision didn\u2019t just affect him; it affected the whole writing team on the show. When he took that on, it was pretty significant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Borkow\u2019s move to his new community led to some unanticipated frustration. While attending Rosh Hashanah services that first year, he found himself totally unfamiliar with the Hebrew liturgy and hightailed out of the shul after fifteen maddening minutes. Borkow applied his creativity to finding a solution. The following year, with Rabbi Weil\u2019s support, he launched \u201cThe \u2018I Wish I Got More out of Services\u2019 Services,\u201d sponsored by Beth Jacob and held across the street from the shul. He sent an e-mail out announcing the new \u201cexplanatory\u201d High Holiday services to all the Torah book club members and enlisted two friends to serve as rabbi and chazzan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first day of Rosh Hashanah services went well, with one complaint,\u201d says Borkow. \u201cA lot of people expected that I would be involved in leading the service. I didn\u2019t tell them that the whole point of the service was that I didn\u2019t know what was going on either.\u201dHe spent the next twenty-four hours cramming all he could find on the topic of Rosh Hashanah so that he could properly colead the next day\u2019s service. \u201cIt went pretty well,\u201d says Borkow. Apparently so. When Yom Kippur rolled around, close to one hundred participants filled the room. The service was so popular, he is in the process of establishing a Shabbat version of the minyan.<\/p>\n

Finding God in the Mitzvah-Gym<\/strong>
\nBy 2006, Borkow found himself at yet another crossroads. He had been working on Joey (a spinoff of Friends) and when the show finished its run, Borkow knew that the obvious next step would be to pitch a new TV pilot idea. On the other hand, he had been actively keeping up with his learning, flying to Israel to attend Bircas HaTorah during his breaks from writing\/ producing and continuing to learn Torah over the phone. At this point he felt the need to fill in the gaps in his Torah knowledge. \u201cBeing so dependent on others to tell me what was in the Talmud was frustrating,\u201d he says. \u201cI didn\u2019t have the skills to access it myself and knew it would take a lot of effort to develop them. It occurred to me that I could take time off and work on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He told his agent he was considering taking off six months to a year to travel and study. To his surprise, his agent urged him to make it two years. \u201cHe told me: \u2018That\u2019s life; this is just work; two years from now you should be able to slide back in without a problem,\u2019 tells Borkow. \u201cI went for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He focused on mastering Talmud study. \u201cThe yeshivah is a unique place; if you\u2019re coming for just a week, they do a great job of holding your hand,\u201d he says. \u201cBeing there full time, they did a great job of not holding my hand. I often would spend night sedarim trying to figure out what had been going on during the day.\u201d While immersed in deciphering God\u2019s laws, he came face to face with a dilemma he had been avoiding his entire life up to that point. \u201cI never understood how anyone could be certain there was a God,\u201d he says. \u201cWe can\u2019t see Him, feel Him; there is no logical proof. The only position that made any sense to me was agnosticism. It\u2019s hard to be comfortably agnostic in yeshivah.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the hardest things for me and a lot of people raised in a secular environment is that you are taught that truth is relative,\u201d says Borkow. \u201cI have my truth and you have yours. I found this to be very much at odds with Jewish thought, which asserts there is a God and the Torah is true. But I felt, if you can\u2019t prove these things, how can you \u2018believe\u2019 in them? Through my study of Chazal on this topic I learned a believer isn\u2019t necessarily someone who is 100 percent certain there is a God. He can be someone who strives for the courage to act and think faithfully despite living in a world that doesn\u2019t offer absolute scientific proof.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe the Torah is the word of God and that God gave the Torah to Moses at Mount Sinai. We believe every word of it. We don\u2019t care what you believe.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You might say that while in yeshivah, Borkow discovered an antidote to agnosticism. \u201cThe impossibility of scientific certainty about God isn\u2019t a glitch in God\u2019s plan. It isn\u2019t a challenge to faith; it\u2019s the essential starting point for faith,\u201d he says. \u201cIf one is having doubts, that can, in fact, be a reason to practice. It doesn\u2019t make sense to say \u2018I\u2019m not going to pray because I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s a God,\u2019 just as it wouldn\u2019t make sense to say \u2018I\u2019m not going to the gym because I\u2019m out of shape.\u2019 The same way the gym is designed to get you into shape\u2013prayer and mitzvot are the tools for strengthening one\u2019s belief.\u201d In 2009, Borkow returned to LA a \u201cbeliever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proving his agent right, soon after Borkow\u2019s re-entry into \u201cthe industry,\u201d he sold a new TV pilot. His community also gladly welcomed their \u201cShabbat show-runner\u201d back. \u201cThere was a definite void when he left,\u201d says Miller. \u201cPeople would say, \u2018I miss Borkow\u2019s.\u2019 As his commitment to lead a Torah life grew stronger, those around him couldn\u2019t help but be affected by his understated ability to inspire. \u201cWhen Michael came back from Israel, people referred to him as \u2018refined,\u2019\u201d says Astrof. \u201cIn Hollywood, they look at those who become religious as fringe people who need a crutch or who\u2019ve burned out. Here\u2019s a normal guy who is extremely smart and extremely successful and deeply into Orthodox Judaism; he\u2019s saying that he can be part of this world and have a higher purpose. By virtue of the fact that he is able to do both, [he is making] a big kiddush Hashem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Traversing the starkly different worlds of Hollywood and Torah can pose some hefty challenges. \u201cThere\u2019s a small community of frum writers here; it\u2019s good to have people to turn to,\u201d says Astrof. \u201cMichael asked me how I handle being in the writers\u2019 room, where a lot of gossip goes on and the language can get salacious. The line I have to walk has become much narrower. Despite that, I believe I can bring kedushah to my work by keeping Shabbat and keeping kosher in a room full of Jews who don\u2019t. I think Michael would agree that it\u2019s a huge opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some say Borkow has become more thoughtful about the content of his writing. \u201cIn any job, a Jew has to conduct himself within the bounds of halachah,\u201d says Borkow. \u201cThen the question is: Is my work consistent with my values? Is it strengthening my values, or undermining and challenging them? As I became more observant, I refined my understanding of right and wrong. My writing has always been, to some extent, values driven. I\u2019ve always wanted it to be meaningful. In TV comedy, sometimes that happens, a lot of times it doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

His friends and admirers will attest that in \u201creal life,\u201d Borkow exemplifies the highest values\u2013and the meaningful parts happen more frequently than not. \u201cIn a town where it\u2019s what can you do for me, he asks what can I do for you,\u201d says Astrof. \u201cPeople become very jealous of others having contacts. Michael won\u2019t hesitate to introduce me to people he thinks could benefit me. He\u2019s truly out to make the world a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Known for his many acts of quiet generosity, Borkow lends his leadership talents to many organizations including AIPAC and the Ma\u2019aleh School of Television, Film and the Arts in Jerusalem. A Wexner Heritage Foundation Fellow, he initiated the Israel Volunteer Corps and he lectures to students in the States and in Israel about his unique Jewish journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a guy who was at the cutting edge of his industry and has become a serious ben Torah,\u201d says Rabbi Weil. \u201cThere\u2019s a tolerance for being one\u2019s own person in Hollywood, being distinct, expressing oneself differently; that\u2019s how these writers can survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Astrof concurs. \u201cPeople do terrible things here and they\u2019re forgiven,\u201d he says. \u201cI was very happy when Michael got back from Israel and was able to sell a pilot. He\u2019s treated with respect; I imagine since people have a good experience with him they\u2019re willing to overlook the fact that he left to do something crazy like become closer to God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Borkow asserts that what God wants of him is what He wants from every Jew, \u201cto live according to Torah, to do it well and commit to it fully.\u201d It\u2019s an ongoing script he relishes and intends to follow for a rewarding, mitzvah-filled 120\u2013year run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Photo: Tim Sullens Smack dab in the middle of a prolific Hollywood career, writing and producing such monster-hit shows as Friends, Roseanne and Malcolm in the Middle, Michael Borkow decided to create a brand new episode in his life\u2013one that featured Torah study, Shabbat and shul. He had long sensed the wisdom and beauty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":161,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[138],"class_list":["post-1078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-people","tag-30th-archive","issues-summer-20105770"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet Michael Borkow: A Comedy Writer Who Takes His Judaism Very Seriously - Jewish Action<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Photo: Tim Sullens Smack dab in the middle of a prolific Hollywood career, writing and producing such monster-hit shows as Friends, Roseanne and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/jewish-world\/people\/meet_michael_borkow_a_comedy_writer_who_takes_his_judaism_very_serious\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet Michael Borkow: A Comedy Writer Who Takes His Judaism Very Seriously - 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