Esther Kustanowitz discusses her love of Star Wars and how she finds similarities between Star Wars and Judaism. Growing up “Conservadox” and going to Jewish day school gave Esther an appreciation of Jewish tradition and text study, while at the same time allowing her to develop a deep love of pop-culture. She uses this perspective to conceive of Star Wars within a Jewish frame. An example she discusses is the story of Chanukah, and how a scrappy group of rebels fights an evil empire with “light” winning the day. She considers the Jewish idea of “kehillah” or community as found in both the Star Wars stories and in the groups that form through Star Wars fandom. She also talks about how her desire to explore stories of lesser known characters in the Star Wars galaxy finds a parallel in midrash. Interview by Tamar Libicki

You can check out Esther's writings and podcast “the Bagel Report” for the Jewish Journal at www.jewishjournal.com as well as her writings for J. the Jewish News of Northern California at www.jweekly.com. Follow her on twitter @EstherK