JTA reports that Jamie Field, then a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College in New York City, watched "Squid Game: The Challenge" Season 1 in 2023 when an on-screen message prompted applications for the competition. Field, who had long been drawn to reality shows like "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race," discovered profound Jewish meaning in these programs. She told JTA that "the really beautiful thing about these shows is that when you're in such a pressure cooker, for me, it's not about the challenges, although those are fun to watch, but it's about watching people be people and make mistakes and grow and foster connections between one another, and I've found so much Torah in these moments."
Two years later, according to JTA, Field brings this perspective to Netflix's second season, which premiered Tuesday, having been selected as one of 456 contestants from around the world competing for a $4.56 million prize. While Jewish contestants have appeared on numerous reality shows, JTA notes, ordained rabbis remain rare. Field told JTA she carried significant responsibility: "I never expected to be the very best of the challenges. I've always said, I have a heart of gold, but I'm not very dexterous, and so for me, it was about trying my best and giving it my all, and also trying to be true to myself and bringing my values and wisdom and sense of community and representing the rabbinate as best I could into the show."
JTA reports that Field grew up in Los Angeles, where her family attended Temple Ahavat Shalom, a Reform congregation in the San Fernando Valley. After graduating from Boston University in 2017, she worked for the Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, DC, before enrolling at HUC in 2019, where she spent her first year in Jerusalem. Following her 2024 ordination, Field became director of education at Beth El Temple Center, a Reform synagogue in Belmont, Massachusetts.
Just four months into that position, JTA notes, she received a callback from "Squid Game: The Challenge" and soon traveled to London for filming. A year later, Field posted on Instagram announcing her appearance, writing that "I often share that the Torah is a sacred story of people being people — of being hurt, of making mistakes, of building connections, of adventure, and of finding the divine in it all. I felt this so deeply during my experience on Squid Game."
JTA reports that among Field's fellow competitors were an NFL cheerleader, a former bomb technician, and an Anglican priest. Field told JTA she had "a really good conversation about religion and what it means to sort of be a faith leader on the show with the priest." Field told JTA, "I actually found that I had conversations about faith with almost everyone I talked to because, you know, people bring things up when you tell them you're a rabbi."
