Keeping it kosher: Lipa stars at half-time

While not every observant Jew is a football fanatic, those who are will join one of America’s largest television audiences on Sunday, Feb. 7, to watch the Carolina Panthers face the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Even if the rough-and-tumble of the big game may be suitable viewing, much of the heavily-hyped and televised halftime show — this year featuring Coldplay and Beyonce — is not.

With that in mind, Nachum Segal, Jewish America’s leading broadcaster, three years ago began offering a kosher alternative during halftime.

For this year’s “Kosher Halftime Show,” Segal’s headliner will be Jewish musical superstar Lipa Schmeltzer.

Segal conceded that while some would argue that watching football is not an entirely appropriate activity, “the majority is excited about sports and appreciates a good football game.”

“I don’t want to sacrifice our participating in what American society is doing because a small part of it — the halftime show — is inappropriate, [so] we are continuing our tradition of offering a kosher alternative to what NFL provides in their halftime show,” Segal said.

He doesn’t expect to draw a massive audience during halftime — his broadcast will be carried on the Nachum Segal app and at NachumSegal.com — but “we’re making a statement, people can enjoy it at any time” by finding it in the Nachum Segal Network archives.

Segal’s halftime show will be taped the night before the game, starting at 9 pm motzei Shabbos, before a live audience at the Teaneck Dog House kosher sports restaurant.

After the Super Bowl, Segal said he and his team, including General Manager Miriam L. Wallach of Woodmere, will travel to Israel for a series of broadcasts “from places that have gotten attention for the wrong reasons … to show our solidarity and deliver the messsage that our brothers and sisters are not abandoned.”