Mila Kunis is celebrating Hanukkah with a frank dialogue of her Jewish heritage.
In a video interview with actor and activist Noa Tishby this week, Kunis recalled being advised to maintain quiet about her background throughout her early childhood in Ukraine. As an grownup, nonetheless, she’s been capable of expertise new elements of Judaism by means of her daughter Wyatt, 10, and son Dimitri, 8.
“I never lit Hanukkah candles until I had kids,” the “Black Swan” actor, who immigrated to the U.S. along with her household when she was 8, defined. “I grew up doing nothing. I always knew I was Jewish, but I was told to never talk about it. I think because I was in a country that didn’t allow for religion.”
Watch Mila Kunis’ chat with Noa Tishby under.
Elsewhere within the chat, Kunis credited her husband of 9 years, actor Ashton Kutcher, with encouraging her to take delight in her religion.
“I fell in love with my religion because he explained it to me,” Kunis stated. “The thing about being Jewish is it’s like a ‘choose your own 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.”
Kutcher, who was raised Catholic, isn’t publicly identified to have formally transformed to Judaism. Nevertheless, he has for years been learning Kabbalah, a type of Jewish mysticism that additionally counts his ex-wife, Demi Moore, and pop famous person Madonna amongst its well-known followers.
Gregg DeGuire through Getty Photos
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“Every time we come up against a challenge, we turn to the tools we have learned and a solution follows,” Kutcher advised Harper’s Bazaar when requested about his Kabbalah research in 2008. “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.”
Although Kunis’ understanding of Judaism as a faith is comparatively new, she believes she positively inherited some notable elements of Jewish tradition.
“I was raised with a lot of guilt, all the time. Superstition and guilt,” she quipped. “I think I have a fear of not having enough food… the worst thing my kids can say to me is, ‘I’m hungry.’ Food fixes everything. You’re tired? Eat some food. You’re cranky? Eat some food.”
