Orthodox Apprentice
Episode 3. Lee Did Not Participate in task, but was still in the show. Read Below.
The episode starts with Brent returning to the suite with greetings of "Happy New Year! Shana Tova!" Interesting that the show's first reference to the Jewish holiday is from someone who does not (overtly) observe the Jewish New Year. It's also Brent's only reference to the holiday (shown in this episode). An earlier post has some information on Brent's background in Judaism.
Lee and Dan call a team meeting to inform their Gold Rush teammates that they will be observing the Jewish holiday over the next two days and will not be available to contribute to a task.
Lenny raises objections. To Bryce's surprise, Lenny announces that he is Jewish (as reported here last week), but will not use his religion as an excuse to not contribute to the team. If the team loses, Lenny says, Dan and Lee will take the blame.
Dan tells Lenny that he will observe the holiday as he chooses to, without room for negotiation. This is just the way it's going to be.
In a private interview, Lenny comments that the Israeli army does not shut down on holidays. (As if The Apprentice was as important as saving lives.)
We watch Dan and Lee walk together to shul (synagogue). With matching yellow ties. (You heard it here first.)
The teams meet with Mr. Trump to learn about the next task. Trump first points out that Gold Rush is down two people since Dan and Lee are observing the holiday. Lenny is not happy when Mr. Trump explains that George is also observing the holiday and that he respects their decisions. "That's life," he remarks.
Lee and Dan are absent for the entire task - running a retreat event to introduce the 2007 Chevy Tahoe to Chevrolet dealers.
Gold Rush loses. Someone will be fired.
Theresa, the project manager, first places the blame on Lenny. Then she shifts the blame to Tarek. Lenny blames Dan and Lee for their absence. Then he blames Tarek and Bryce. Anyone but himself. Tarek puts the blame on Andrea.
Lenny asks if Mr. Trump knows that he is Jewish too. Mr. Trump is aware of that. Lenny says that he could have skipped the task, but he chose not to let the team down. Since Trump expresses his respect for Dan's and Lee's decisions, Lenny says that he'll take off the next holiday. Interestingly, no one but Lenny blames Dan or Lee. Some other dialogue could have been edited out, but we'll never know.
In the boardroom, Trump first asks the Orthodox candidates how their holiday went. Dan and Lee both respond that it was very nice.
Trump thinks that Lenny is very funny and is not at fault for losing the task. Mr. Trump places the blame on Charmaine, but since she wasn't brought back to the boardroom, Theresa is fired.Some thoughts:
Kudos to Dan and Lee for having the foresight to prepare the team by openly discussing the issue in a meeting, rather than surprising their teammates when the two leave for shul.
Kudos to Dan and Lee for firmly stating what they will be doing and not leaving the issue open to negotiation.
Shame on Lenny for comparing The Apprentice competition to defending a country at war. (Lenny fought in the Soviet army against Afghanistan so he understands the signifcance of war.)
Brent announced Shana Tova, but did he observe the holiday at all? We don't know.
Donald Trump showed a tremendous amount of respect for the Jewish holiday. At that one moment, any Orthodox Jew would have wanted to have him for a boss.
This episode was truly the kiddush hashem that we were hoping for. Some people will surely agree with Lenny and say that Dan and Lee should not have sacrificed the team for their religion, but the popular reaction from the general public should be that they did the right thing and went about it in a very respectful manner.
The show handled the issue very well. Both sides were shown - Lee and Dan on one side with Lenny on the other. The rest of the team was in the middle, but appeared to be very understanding. The Orthodox Apprentice candidates were not portrayed negatively in any way. It helped that George was off for the holiday too.
Four candidates have been fired, but the five Jewish candidates are still in the game.
The episode starts with Brent returning to the suite with greetings of "Happy New Year! Shana Tova!" Interesting that the show's first reference to the Jewish holiday is from someone who does not (overtly) observe the Jewish New Year. It's also Brent's only reference to the holiday (shown in this episode). An earlier post has some information on Brent's background in Judaism.
Lee and Dan call a team meeting to inform their Gold Rush teammates that they will be observing the Jewish holiday over the next two days and will not be available to contribute to a task.
Lenny raises objections. To Bryce's surprise, Lenny announces that he is Jewish (as reported here last week), but will not use his religion as an excuse to not contribute to the team. If the team loses, Lenny says, Dan and Lee will take the blame.
Dan tells Lenny that he will observe the holiday as he chooses to, without room for negotiation. This is just the way it's going to be.
In a private interview, Lenny comments that the Israeli army does not shut down on holidays. (As if The Apprentice was as important as saving lives.)
We watch Dan and Lee walk together to shul (synagogue). With matching yellow ties. (You heard it here first.)
The teams meet with Mr. Trump to learn about the next task. Trump first points out that Gold Rush is down two people since Dan and Lee are observing the holiday. Lenny is not happy when Mr. Trump explains that George is also observing the holiday and that he respects their decisions. "That's life," he remarks.
Lee and Dan are absent for the entire task - running a retreat event to introduce the 2007 Chevy Tahoe to Chevrolet dealers.
Gold Rush loses. Someone will be fired.
Theresa, the project manager, first places the blame on Lenny. Then she shifts the blame to Tarek. Lenny blames Dan and Lee for their absence. Then he blames Tarek and Bryce. Anyone but himself. Tarek puts the blame on Andrea.
Lenny asks if Mr. Trump knows that he is Jewish too. Mr. Trump is aware of that. Lenny says that he could have skipped the task, but he chose not to let the team down. Since Trump expresses his respect for Dan's and Lee's decisions, Lenny says that he'll take off the next holiday. Interestingly, no one but Lenny blames Dan or Lee. Some other dialogue could have been edited out, but we'll never know.
In the boardroom, Trump first asks the Orthodox candidates how their holiday went. Dan and Lee both respond that it was very nice.
Trump thinks that Lenny is very funny and is not at fault for losing the task. Mr. Trump places the blame on Charmaine, but since she wasn't brought back to the boardroom, Theresa is fired.Some thoughts:
Kudos to Dan and Lee for having the foresight to prepare the team by openly discussing the issue in a meeting, rather than surprising their teammates when the two leave for shul.
Kudos to Dan and Lee for firmly stating what they will be doing and not leaving the issue open to negotiation.
Shame on Lenny for comparing The Apprentice competition to defending a country at war. (Lenny fought in the Soviet army against Afghanistan so he understands the signifcance of war.)
Brent announced Shana Tova, but did he observe the holiday at all? We don't know.
Donald Trump showed a tremendous amount of respect for the Jewish holiday. At that one moment, any Orthodox Jew would have wanted to have him for a boss.
This episode was truly the kiddush hashem that we were hoping for. Some people will surely agree with Lenny and say that Dan and Lee should not have sacrificed the team for their religion, but the popular reaction from the general public should be that they did the right thing and went about it in a very respectful manner.
The show handled the issue very well. Both sides were shown - Lee and Dan on one side with Lenny on the other. The rest of the team was in the middle, but appeared to be very understanding. The Orthodox Apprentice candidates were not portrayed negatively in any way. It helped that George was off for the holiday too.
Four candidates have been fired, but the five Jewish candidates are still in the game.
posted by Dedicated Cornell Fans at 10:57 PM
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