AND HERE’S MODI
AND HERE’S MODI is an inside look at the man behind the microphone. Hosted by comedian, Modi (@modi_live), AHM features a raw and unfiltered side of the comedian rarely seen on stage. He always finds the funny as he navigates the worlds of comedy, trending topics, his personal life and spirituality. AHM is co-hosted by Periel Aschenbrand (@perielaschenbrand) and Leo Veiga (@leo_veiga_).
AND HERE’S MODI
Ari Shaffir
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Episode 84: Comedian Ari Shaffir joins the AH"M crew and covers a crisis of faith, laughing at taboos, and performing for the 'original comedy audience'.
Follow Ari on instagram @AriShaffir.
Watch Ari's special, 'JEW'.
For information about upcoming shows visit www.modilive.com.
Follow Modi on Instagram at @modi_live.
Comedy Special and Sponsorship Ads
Speaker 1COREY Yeti . Welcome to Andy's Modi . Hi everybody , we're back and here's Modi . We have a special guest today . Before we're going to , of course , thank our sponsors , a&h Provisions best hot dogs in the world . Even the Guaim have picked up that these are delicious . And and and Glotkosher and promo code MODI for your first 30% off your first order . 30% off your first order . You guys are now letting me get through this because you're stumbling and you're shying from the top . A&h . A&h Provisions best Glotkosher meets best hot dogs . The website is Leo wwwkosherdogsnet .
Speaker 1Yep , get it . And promo code MODI for your first order , 30% off . And Whites and Luxembourg the law firm you want to have behind you , if you ever , god forbid , have to have a law firm behind you . They are a sponsorship ad what what ?
Speaker 2did you say you ?
Speaker 3said it's the most Jewish sponsorship ad ever .
Speaker 2Yeah , but who do you want us to ? Khaas Vashalam , you need a lawyer .
Speaker 1Khaas Vashalam , you need a lawyer . This is who you need to have Whites and Luxembourg . You got to know the positive energy .
Speaker 2So , it's like , let's say , you want to sue somebody .
Speaker 1If your neighbor's a mom's , if your neighbor's a and you need to sue . That's who you call , anyway .
Speaker 3Whites and Luxembourg .
Speaker 1Could you let me finish it and you can do the Whites and Luxembourg , the tag we were using . They not only are doing well , they also do good . They're very philanthropic . And Arthur Luxembourg is a close friend and loves the podcast . He doesn't really , I don't think he listens to it , but he hears about it from his wife . So shout out to Randy as well . And we have a guest today . Wow , if this could . We are currently in the nine days before the Tisha Bub , If ever there's a guest to have on . You want to lift people's spirits , but not too much .
Speaker 4Yes .
Speaker 1Ari Shafir . Ari Shafir , welcome , thank you , and you're also doing the comedy festival , the chosen comedy festival .
Speaker 4I'm so excited for that Coney Island . Last time I was there I lost three grand at one of their parlor games .
Speaker 2They have gambling . I never did .
Speaker 4No , it's like I got to throw a ring toss kind of thing .
Speaker 3Oh , $3,000 at a ring toss . He got me in a hook .
Speaker 4It was like a game with different balls and he's like oh sorry , you got to double down a little more , you get a six and you win , you win , you win if you win . Oh my God . Oh , he got me open . Wow , you got to be good . So I can't play what I'm there .
Speaker 3Ari has a special .
Speaker 1Ari has a special that we have to talk about . I remember when it came out it was a few months before I was taping mine I said I'm not watching this . I am not watching this . It was on my thing . Ari Shafir is special . All the promos were coming on YouTube and wherever , and I'm just saying I'm dying to watch it . I watched it . Can I tell you what it is ? Yeah , to me in my head , okay , okay . His special is this I'm like the Bible and stories and and bringing the holidays First of all . He lectures like a Russia Shiva , like a head of a , a mortgage here , a mortgage here , the guy who gives the lesson , the stance you have with the arm and so you sheevish , it's the most .
Speaker 1It's literally . It's like okay , so if you're saying this is going to be how luckily correct , is it ? I'm at the rise . Some of the rebundant . He literally this is how his stance is . It's so incredible .
Speaker 4That's where I got my whole stance is for me .
Speaker 1She was like it's true .
Speaker 4No standing at a stender . It's exactly what it looks like .
Speaker 1And you barely move . But it's , it's , it's great we taped our special . I'm running back and forth on the spot . But do you know what it's like when I was watching your special when you're in synagogue and you're reading the Torah , the portion of the week and your friend has a sense of humor and he and he turns and goes okay , okay , and the Jews built all these pyramids like they , that's who they chose to build the pyramid and you get back into it . It was very that , no .
Speaker 4Yeah , yeah , just a little messing around .
Speaker 1It's a mess around .
Speaker 4It's like my bar mitzvah was Yitro , yeah , and . And even the story is like one of the guys is like an Arab , israeli pretty much , and he can't . He comes with the Jews out . Right , he's not Jewish . Yeah , they're like , hey , you guys can join up if you want . Right , it's up to you . I'm like , let me research some other religions first . Let me make sure , right , the only one I know . Thanks for freeing me , but I don't know if there's a right one and he's . The story is he goes to , sees all the other religions of the world and comes back . He's like it's Judaism . I'm back .
Speaker 1Right , and he was also . He's not . He's not Jewish , but his , his son-in-law was he was in , I don't remember . It was Moses .
Speaker 4No , really .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 4That was his father . That was Moses's father .
Speaker 1The big joke was also it's like it was , it was literally so he was the high priest . Whatever it was , it was Donald Trump and Jared Kushner .
Speaker 3Oh my God .
Speaker 1That's the type of humor that you made .
Speaker 4My friends were like how would you get all over the world back ? That was camels taking you all over that fast , so you get back .
Speaker 2JetBlue had a great 180 years .
Speaker 1Exactly so . That's the type of humor that this special was . It's like when , when you're like sitting in center and you turn to your friend like this really okay , you're having fun with in . It was really good . It was so long . Oh my God . An hour and 26 minutes .
Speaker 4It was long . I couldn't . I had two and a half hours on the road . I couldn't narrow it down anymore . I kept chopping out stuff . I'm like maybe I don't need this , but like that's hard .
Speaker 1We're in the middle of editing ours now and it's an hour and 10 and hour 15 , no hour , 10 hour and I there's a little good chop down , I'm not sure after I saw , you know , I saw his and then like I watched it again before he came on and I was like maybe not because the laughter was constant . Yeah , you didn't lose them .
Speaker 4You didn't lose . Yeah , I was like I can't go this long if I don't have them , so I can't even like do it set in a certain time together because I'm at home audience , won't ? They'll lose their but .
Speaker 1If .
Speaker 4I'm like I got their attention there the whole night . Yeah , I'm like okay , who , who , who ? Who opened for you Adrian Apollucci
Religion, Identity, and Oneness
Speaker 4one night . Big J Okrsen Wow .
Speaker 1One night Wow , that's no , jew , that's not . I said that's not , that's no joke .
Speaker 4And what's this ?
Speaker 3special called .
Speaker 4Oh , specials called Jew Jew .
Speaker 2Period , period so you should feel colon Jew . Is that the ? Search term or Jew A Jew .
Speaker 3Not a Jew . It's not a Jew , just Jew .
Speaker 1Perfect , with the font of like the letters , and it's , it's , it's , it's . It gives it to you . It's really .
Speaker 4I was looking for a name . I did at the Melbourne festival like the first , like bringing out of it . You know , before I did the Edinburgh and I was like first name was Heretic . But then the more I thought about it I was like it's not really heresy .
Speaker 1No .
Speaker 4Not really going like . This is all bullshit , it's none of that .
Speaker 1Sorry , sorry , she's filthy , dirty . I'm sorry we had that conversation . She's not filthy , she's dirty . She's dirty , you said .
Speaker 2Melbourne , in Australia . Yeah , how was that ? Because we've . We haven't .
Speaker 1I haven't not been to Australia , neither has Modi , but we've gotten a lot of messages from the Jews yeah , the Jews community . Did you go there on your own at a theater , or did you do it with an organization ? What ?
Speaker 2do you mean Festival ?
Speaker 4he said , oh , the festival they set it up for , but I did a tour of all over . It's funny too , because I did this in Melbourne with tons of Jews . We did Perth , where there's probably four Jews Right , and that's what I want . I want to make sure it worked for places like where they're like , I don't even know what a Jew is . Okay , iceland .
Speaker 1No , it's very . You do cheap jokes . I don't know what you . No , you set it all up . You set it all up . Everything was . I always think when you and he's dropping much more than me in Hebrew , he's dropping mikvah without explaining it .
Speaker 4I tried , I actually tried to do that . I had to try to put in like Hebrew words so that they trust me that I know what I'm talking about , right ? So when I would say like this I go , I take enough time to go I think it's from Baba Kama , or I would say that , so you could , I'm an expert , I researched this .
Speaker 1Right , you were dropping much when you explained Kaparoist , the swing that you're kicking around . I have a bit about that , but it's more like it's Mik explaining it to a Gentile . You're just like popping it . This is what I did with my father . Yeah , it was just , it was great , it was great . And Thanks , bodhi . And let's say you're killing it and you're like the podcast guy . You know , I just retired . What do you mean ? Stop my podcast , but you're on everybody else's , oh sure , yeah , you're here today and this is one .
Speaker 3This is easier .
Speaker 4This is on top of the mountain . This is it .
Speaker 1This is it yeah .
Speaker 4This Bodhi is the final . You guys are my two tablets .
Speaker 1And I watched them because I watched them from other people I don't know who's who you were on . I was laughing so hard . We were in bed and you were sleeping and I was watching it and maybe it was Robert Kelly's something but you said that you would look exactly like every Jew that came out of the camps and you took your shirt off . It sucked my belly in . And you literally started cracking up . I had to leave the room .
Speaker 4That's how hard I was laughing , because it's so Well , dude , it's like when you start comedy you know like some of the jokes are in like this is wrong . Yeah , that's a fun thing to say . Like , oh , I can't believe you said that . Taboo , I got a joke for you . But like , but my dad's a survivor . So like , that was like the ultimate wrong for us growing up . Your dad's a survivor , uh-huh , oh , I didn't know that . Yeah , he was in a work camp . His dad was in a death camp , I guess , but he's liberated .
Speaker 1Wow , you don't look that , how old are you . I wasn't there . I know you were there , but like to have a father , To have a father that was he's like late 80s .
Speaker 4I think he was 12 or something when he was there . Wow yeah .
Speaker 3Where did you grow up ?
Speaker 4I grew up in Auschwitz but we just didn't feel like getting into any place . It was a greater Auschwitz , you know , like not the old city , but Like the suburbs .
Speaker 1Yeah , the suburbs Auschwitz , auschwitz .
Speaker 3Manor .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 3Auschwitz Park .
Speaker 1I grew up in Maryland . I grew up in a Academy guy .
Speaker 4Okay , and you went to Yeshiva . I went to Yeshiva BMT no longer there , but now it's where Gruskola lives .
Speaker 1Okay , but how religious was your family ?
Speaker 4It's like where YU sends their Gaze .
Speaker 1Oh , the Bay Area .
Speaker 2Yeah , I probably do .
Speaker 3YU sends their gaze . It's amazing .
Speaker 4That's to be on the title .
Speaker 3That's it when YU sends their gaze . There's probably a real market for that .
Speaker 1It wasn't a Kharadi Yeshiva , it was a regular Orthodox . Yeah .
Speaker 4But that wants to get there and where it goes up a level .
Speaker 1Right , especially if they go to Israel . Yeah , yeah , they do that here in Israel . I feel so spiritual , boom , the Ruach , the Ruach , the spiritual of Israel . I want to be booky and I want to learn Talmud .
Speaker 2So that was your journey . You went there and you got more . Everybody gets more .
Speaker 4Kosovo . It's like you can't find non-Kosher food . You have to search for non-Kosher food , so why wouldn't you just keep full kosher , right ? Yeah , it's like the five towns . Yeah , sure . And then also it's like it's all around you . It's like breathing , breathing religion . As soon as you get over that hill . It's like it's a costume party . First of all , it takes you back 180 years . It's like Tel Aviv is like modern . Everyone's just like this . You know , you know , sheks us with her shorts on and he points to you . And then you get over that as soon as you come over that hill . It's like it's like 1800 .
Speaker 3Yeah .
Speaker 4Yeah , everybody's in their outfits .
Speaker 3Okay , so what happened ? How did you turn into this ?
Speaker 4I got out and then I just had a crisis of faith . I realized I didn't believe in God and then I was like I'm done .
Speaker 1So you , you mommers , don't believe in God ? Yeah .
Speaker 4Okay , but I don't really think about it anymore , you don't I ? Yeah , I know it's like it struggled with it for a while , but now it's like Right , I , I've , I've .
Speaker 1To me , god is just , it's oneness . I always say it's Shemaistra , el-dona'elahinodonai'achad , hero , israel , the Lord , our God , the Lord is one , it's oneness .
Speaker 4So this is God right here . That's really like a case for , like the mushroom spirituality , it's completely . Even though I'm not a mushroom , we're all connected .
Speaker 1But we're all together here , you , you , me , leo , periel , joey the engineer . This is , this is Godness , this is Godliness . Right here , we're one . Why Say it again ? Shemaistra , el-dona'elahinodonai'achad , hero , israel , the Lord , our God . The Lord is one , not that there's one God . God is one , it's oneness , it's oneness .
Speaker 4That's what it is , dude . That's mushrooms . Everybody who takes it was like we're all connected .
Speaker 1That's it . That's it , I never drew the line .
Speaker 4I gotta record this fucking special that's amazing ?
Speaker 1No , but it really is .
Speaker 4No , it's when things work out and also the idea that your mitzvah is all our mitzvahs . We're all getting a little closer . Those guys , the tallest guys yeah , it's filling guys . It's filling guys Like you . You put on a filling . If you get away from us while we're praying , we'll all get a little bit closer .
Speaker 1If you get away from us
Exploring Faith and Cultural Perspectives
Speaker 1while we're praying . Periel in her shorts , oh , in her shorts , oh .
Speaker 3I want to hear about your shorts .
Speaker 2We can't concentrate on what we're doing . It's showing me . No , they love putting filling on .
Speaker 3They were doing it at the festival . They love it . They don't love putting it on me . No , they don't yeah , what is it .
Speaker 1It's the shema , it's the prayer of the shema on your hand and on your head , and it reminds you to connect your head and your head and your heart together , to be working from both of them , and it's just and like you're a woman , and if some guys asking you to put on filling on the street if you don't believe in it , do you know how happy you're making him ?
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah yeah , you have a chance in the middle of the day to make somebody happy . Make them happy , just may as well , you may as well .
Speaker 4It's exciting when those things for Greenpeace .
Speaker 1Like I don't care , you got to know . You give it a sense .
Speaker 4Go ahead . Yeah , yeah . Or you know the new version of that . Oh , you're on a plane and they give out that credit card thing . Oh , they get a kickback if they hand that out . So just like , just give it to me and then throw it away .
Speaker 2Throw it away .
Speaker 1That's true , that's good Even if you don't fill it out . Yeah , make them feel happy . Make a flight of tenants day .
Speaker 2Yeah , happy flight of tenants day . Yeah , make a flight of tenants day .
Speaker 3I don't know , I don't like these things that only the men are allowed to do .
Speaker 4Look at it differently . I think it's a different way to look at it . Yeah , the men have to do it . You're off the hook .
Speaker 1Yeah . Like Marif you don't have to deal with it . Marif the evening , the evening . I love how he throws it and it doesn't even translate . Every time I say anything in Hebrew , they make me translate and give a reason for it .
Speaker 3He just throws it out . I make you translate Hebrew , I understand .
Speaker 1Marif , yeah , but in your special you talk about you didn't make an idol , so you're off the hook . You didn't make an idol .
Speaker 3I wouldn't care about your crisis of faith . No , hold on , but in his special .
Speaker 1He talks about how the women are like .
Speaker 2The men are in the service and the women .
Speaker 1It was the corner , those two tier theaters , because the women are up there , blocked away , trying to see what's happening and watching us participating and not doing anything .
Speaker 3Yeah , it's an easy way to get out of misogyny .
Speaker 1I don't know how to tell you . If you want it , you can do whatever you want .
Speaker 4There's always a second way of looking at things .
Speaker 3Always .
Speaker 4Yeah .
Speaker 3Sometimes a third .
Speaker 4There's one where it's like you can't , you can't , you know the interest , you know the interest , you can't charge interest with you . And so then the angry non-jews are like so they'll charge us interest , but they won't charge each other interest . That's how much they hate us . And they go no , no , no , no , no , no , it's a favor . Of course you charge interest . You're loaning money for a business You're supposed to charge interest , but to my brother I'm affording you this favor . That is a bad business move for me . Here's a no interest loan .
Speaker 1Right . So when I did my first mortgage at AIG it was a completely kosher , like everybody's Yamaka there . It's a mortgage company and they when you do a mortgage .
Speaker 2You have a guy who does the paperwork .
Speaker 1You have the closing lawyer and is you're signing . For a half hour You're sitting there signing your name and then all of a sudden , I see something with a bizata sham with the on top BH , with God's help . And I'm like whoa , whoa , whoa . What's this ? This is saying that , even though we are both Jews , it's a and it's a business not a . It's a business between friends and I signed it anyway .
Speaker 4But that's no . That's what they're talking about . The business is what they're talking about . Leo , not allowed .
Speaker 1When Leo first began to live with me and began to be to to live a Jewish life through me , kind of he goes the loopholes , the loopholes .
Speaker 4The loopholes are insane yeah .
Speaker 1What do you mean ? I can ? I can do this , because I did that , and the loopholes are great .
Speaker 4That's what makes us lawyers , so I'm surprised they would go straight . They would should get a non-Jew in an intermediary , kind of like Chumitz .
Speaker 2Yeah .
Speaker 1And one non-Jew will buy the whole town's Chumitz for a dollar Right , the , the , the , the unleavened bread for those . Everybody just knows Chumitz is on this podcast .
Speaker 3I , let's hope not .
Speaker 1Okay , okay , let's include the non's ?
Speaker 3Let's hope not . Yeah , the non's Stupid fucking goys .
Speaker 4Let's get you up . How dumb you are , fucking idiots . Do you even finish high school If you call non-Jews going in your show ? No , yeah , I really try to go derogatory on them . I try to flip it as much as I can I ?
Speaker 2I I'm struggling over here . Here I got you I see it .
Speaker 1Yeah , I see what's happening there . See , he's handy , he's . He's a handy Jew , no his fur .
Speaker 2Thank you .
Speaker 1That's a great , thank you , thank you . No , in my special I literally describe Guayim and and why we use the word Guayim and all that , and so we get , we get , we get into it on that . I love the word Guayim , it's nice word , it's such a good word .
Speaker 4I have no qualms with it .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 4You know what's I got told by my ? My Rebbe of Ryan said don't use the word I'm blanking on it right now Non-Jews , woman , shiksa . Yeah , you know why ? Why , it comes from the root word Shikas , which is like a maggot or a worm .
Speaker 1Oh my God , I realized that yeah .
Speaker 4And he's like don't , don't do that about a human , that's no oh wow , that's a good , that's a good takeaway , yeah .
Speaker 1I didn't know that .
Speaker 2I didn't know that either .
Speaker 1Obviously , thank God , we learned that today . Today I learned something , oh my God . So so so tell us I mean , I don't know you that I'm not in your like circle of comedians , where you guys do podcasts and pull your penises out and and no , it's not normal because I'm in that park .
Speaker 2I'm waiting , we could be pulling our penises out this whole time .
Speaker 3You're at it dude the next half hour .
Speaker 4If you subscribe to the Patreon . I'll get naked , the only page .
Speaker 1But . But when did you really have your crisis of faith In Yeshiva ?
Speaker 4In Yeshiva there was a . There was a I'm trying to think there was so in my dorms , you know . It was like two beds , one on each side , and they had these reading lights above your bed In case you want to get a little Kamara in before you before you go to sleep , you know .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 4So I left it on for Shabbos . I had that . Everyone has a sink too for washing your hands in the morning . How much of this do you know ?
Speaker 1He knows , he knows , he knows . Neckle Vosser Okay , yeah , no , no , he's there , he's there , he's there .
Speaker 4So I peed in that sink plenty of times . I don't pee in the cup , but if you don't want to go all the way to the dorm bathrooms , you know whatever .
Speaker 4So I was there by myself and I left the reading light on so I could read . But I take one of that , that cup , and put it on top . And the other time it was like a it's like a , you know , like a fixture , and you can put it on and drown out the light . The thing kept falling off . The thing kept falling off and it was like this light was in my eye and I was just like I'm just going to turn the light off , like this is so frustrating .
Speaker 4You know , when you're tired and you can like justify anything , you're like the professor said no , lates , if you're not there , you know the paper's done and you're like I'm sure it'll be fine , I'm just going to sleep a little more . Right , maybe my flight will be delayed . I'll just sleep a little more . You know , you just justify anything . So I was like I just want to sleep and so then I was . I got up to turn it off . I didn't turn it off , but I saw people pass by my my window was right by the entrances and I'm like fuck , somebody's going to see this light go off in a yeshiva , like you can't on Friday night .
Speaker 2Can you just be like oh , the light blue .
Speaker 4Good , oh , oh .
Speaker 2Or could go .
Speaker 3I did it by accident . I didn't think .
Speaker 4Yeah .
Speaker 1Ah , which happens sometimes .
Speaker 4That's why you put the piece of paper over the light , you know , to block you . But so I was like now I'll get in trouble , I'll get caught . But that stuck with me and that was where the idea that I was worried about humans and not God judging people judging you that you did , but I'm like it's not their law , it's God's law . I don't know why .
Speaker 1I was worried about it . It's not God's law either . It's not God's law either when , when the Torah came out , there were no lamps . There were no electrical lamps .
Speaker 4Yeah .
Speaker 1There were no electrical lamps and Torah came out it was just bring mushir energy , and God is on this that was all I ever came out . I saw , I'm just now .
Discussion on Jewish Laws and Beliefs
Speaker 1They have these little , those crazy lamps to turn . Have you seen those ?
Speaker 3This is the stuff that makes me crazy .
Speaker 1So you can dim it and not know . So it's like it's a lamp on your bed and then you just have on top , you could just turn , so it blocks it out .
Speaker 4So it just blocks the . It stays on , but you just moxa .
Speaker 1But it looks as just a fence . It's not moxa , because you're turning the . Obviously it's not mostly that they sell them in like the most kosher stores Interesting . It's like it's a way to do that . Um loophole , you , it's a loophole .
Speaker 4What's . But also it's not supposed to have light , it's just you're not supposed to use flames . And so , like somebody researched what a light bulb is like , oh , it's a little spark and they're like it's out . Sorry .
Speaker 3This is insane . It's not Are you ?
Speaker 4are you a what's this ? What's the sect of Jews that sings fucking six hour ?
Speaker 1Press love .
Speaker 4The , the Chai , no uh uh Karbach .
Speaker 1Karbach . Are you one of those ? I love Karbach music , but I'm not I . If I had to connect with something , it'd be Chabad . Okay , I would be . It would be Chabad and I , but I , I'm , I'm , I'm Modi , I don't know I . But Chabad is the closest to me because of the ruby Strikeby is a little Karbachy though .
Speaker 4I , oh yeah , what is musical ? I sing musical . Yeah yeah , I also just like the . It's the psychedelic part of it .
Speaker 3What psychedelic , I don't know , you have like a yeah , survive .
Speaker 1Yeah , but so I'm telling you you add jewel tones to life . We always talk about it here we always say you know , the Jewish people aren't the chosen people , we're the choosing people . If that light thing doesn't work for you , leave it . Yeah , I have a friend who's with me . He stopped putting on a phone . I go . Why he goes ? It's too much . It's 45 minutes every morning . I can't , I go . Who told you to do 45 minutes ?
Speaker 445 minutes .
Speaker 1Just do , just do the shmah , just to do the main prayer . Take it on 97 seconds .
Speaker 4It's what , 97 seconds ?
Speaker 1You wrap quick , no but but but he was doing with all of chakras yeah . So I said to him just do that , do what makes you happy , do what makes you be a better person . You can . It's not all or none .
Speaker 2So I have a question going back to when you're in your dorm and you're dealing with this light situation and I joked you could , that you could say it blew out and it went out , and that would be a lie . So that would also be a sin , I'm assuming .
Speaker 2But , it's not Okay , go ahead . I guess my question is because I grew up super , super , super Catholic , yeah , and there was always this thing of that was taught to us , that like , if you don't know that what you were doing was a sin , that it doesn't count , Okay .
Speaker 4Yeah , like ignorance , but you can't claim it because no , I know , Does that exist in Judaism ? 100% . I had a thing with my one of the writerbies where I was like once I got more religious , I realized my my friends who were not religious at home were just flipping switches and stuff . Well , they were not . They were doing sins , but they weren't aware of it . Yeah , or like they were having sex with non Jewish women . That's a sin . No , not a sin . Not a sin . As long as they went to a bath first , they're fine .
Speaker 3Okay .
Speaker 4There's no need a laws with non Jews . Okay , so as long as they're , as long as you don't pull out , you're fine . You're not wasting seed .
Speaker 3That's why they're allowed to wear a condom If you're married . As long as they're not , can't wear a condom .
Speaker 4can't , can't pull out , that's , that's only . The Beatles man is about as much as you'll get with a with a negative oh my Beatles man .
Speaker 1That is a wasting time . You're wasting time .
Speaker 4You could be learning Torah but you would have shipped stuff . It's about as bad as watching Black Mirror on Netflix .
Speaker 2But we pre marital sex , or extramarital sex is not covered .
Speaker 3Like what If it's not , if it's with somebody not Jewish ?
Speaker 4or or a prepubescent woman would also be okay .
Speaker 1No , it's not , I get it , but if you're having blood yet , then it's no need a law .
Speaker 3How's the prices of faith ?
Speaker 4Yeah , yeah , Um , anyway so yeah it's true . There's no need a laws with non Jews . That's why there's tons of like um um . I think there's a lot of non Jewish like relations in the Torah . Yes , there are , it's .
Speaker 2It's not like frowned upon Cause it just doesn't but laws that was one with the summary .
Speaker 4It's like uh it doesn't count . It doesn't count as needed , it's just the laws of like . She's on her period and if a , if a Jewish woman goes in bathes , then it's also sort of okay If you get the , the um interesting , yeah , but I don't focus so much on that .
Speaker 1And when you do you focus on it ?
Speaker 2And what's the lesson for the ?
Speaker 1what's the lesson for ?
Speaker 4like for other things , Well , you know , yeah , yeah . So I said like , if I tell my Jewish friends to stop having sex with non Jews and get more religious , they're going to start sinning and having sex with Jews because you're bringing attention , yeah . Or if I tell them , hey you , that this non-coachers is sin , if I get through to them where I'm like , oh , I guess it is . I didn't realize . Now they realize now they're sinning Because , before they know , so you say it's better that they would not .
Speaker 1Non Jewish girls .
Speaker 4So , yeah , the Rebbe had to be like , Ooh , it's better just give me a minute on that one . That's a tough question .
Speaker 2If you don't tell someone they're sinning , then let them just like you know that's kind of the opposite of , like you know , Christian evangelicals , because they like want to go out and let people know they're sitting and like what .
Speaker 4I will go to hell if I don't know about Jesus .
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah , I don't think that the people know what they're doing . Good , and let them .
Speaker 2Focus on that . That's your . You have a very specific like niche view of these things . We're trying to zoom out a little bit .
Speaker 1I want Mashiach , I want Mashiach , I believe , I believe Mashiach is already here . I really believe Mashiach is already here and now it's just about revealing it .
Speaker 4When you , when you take this question , these fucking boys get slaughtered by the hundreds .
Speaker 1They're not going to get started by the hundred days . That's not what happens .
Speaker 4Oh , so fuck on your head A point your days come in .
Speaker 2I think I'm a righteous guy .
Speaker 1for the record and I think I'll be fine . You'll be fine and it's not going being slaughtered and actually everybody works together the going work with the non-Jews and help them . It's a very . It's just a Mashiach energy .
Speaker 2Don't you want people to go ? I don't know I got to listen to more of this .
Speaker 1You're more on this Like the rapture over there . That's it . You can start to date Leo now Okay .
Speaker 4I mean , it's kosher , it's not Jewish . So you're good .
Speaker 1No need to lose , no , but I really believe that , like , like when you tape a special , when you do a comedy show , you kill for an hour and 10 minutes people are all laughing you had a better time than them . When you're on stage and you kill , it's kind of jazz , it's so much . I believe like that is Mashiach energy , do you ?
Speaker 4I never thought about it that way , but it is oneness . When you get a crowd all together , 100% , you ever get a room where it's like I picture a night at the comedy store which we go up and down . Before like it got famous , you know , before it got like really big again , it was like a dark hole , but there were some nights it was still kind of full just once in a while . And then these four kind of fat black women in the front middle and they're so jovial and having a black and it just fed out from there and we all went through them to the comic and it was just like the whole place is one energy , it's having a blast and it's like we're all together there for like an hour or two .
Speaker 1We . I brought a friend of mine to my special taping who has this addictive laugh . You put him in the laugh around it . It's so good , it's laughter is addictive . It begins , it brings . Laughter is Mashiach , energy , it's , it's it's coming out When's ? Your special coming out . We're on version three now of the editing . Yeah , we're going . It's not , it's not easy . That's the hardest part . I can't even I fold ATD in dyslexia . He with spreadsheets and numbers and you gotta do it .
Speaker 4Everybody hates the comics . Hate that part because it's back to paperwork .
Speaker 3So my I can't .
Speaker 4we've always avoided it and you're like , can you just do it one day every three years ?
Speaker 1Like I wish I was Jim Gaff again standing one spot it's called Park and Bark . You park and you bark out the jokes . Way easier to edit that .
Speaker 2Yeah , monty's running around the stage like he's in Cirque du .
Speaker 1Soleil . I'm running around everything , I'm talking with my hands , completely . I'm not doing your , your , your , your , your , shiva rabbi thing is that , but on my hands I like I'm a three , two and then you're four again . They sold one and and can I give you a tip to help ? Yes , yes , yes .
Speaker 4Yes , yes , there's just one thing that it's mirror here , here or there , cause you know , sometimes like , ah , the mic's in this hand , then it's this hand . If you do a little flip , if you're not saying anything in a moment , then suddenly the mirror it's in the other hand .
Speaker 2Oh , just reverse the image Reverse .
Speaker 4Yeah , that works as long as the stage is not like has words on it . I don't know what your backdrop is , but if it backdrops like this , we do have words on it , but not on every shot , if it's a close . Yeah , if it's a close , that's a , it's a possible fix sometimes .
Speaker 2Interesting , that's a good take .
Speaker 1Wow , thank you , thank you , um , that's see , that's all folks .
Speaker 3That's a thanks for molylifecom for all shows .
Speaker 4Inside baseball with the cofax brothers .
Speaker 2I think people like the inside baseball stuff .
Speaker 1They do People , do love to people people love to watch specials and see like , even though they they keep continuity together , they want to see where , like different crowd members .
Speaker 4that guy wasn't sitting there before . That's Leo catches it .
Speaker 2Leo catches it really Well that's only because now I'm looking through yours and I'm like , yeah , you know splicing out those little moments .
Speaker 1But yeah , like a Jim Gaffigan stands there in one spot and that and he's the same distance from the stool and every . It's so big .
Speaker 4J with his and he sits on the stool .
Speaker 1He sits in the stool .
Speaker 4Yeah , he doesn't , and I was still . It's still annoying to edit , really , it's still annoying , yeah , but at least you're not switching hands and like move and like a different place on the stage .
Speaker 2It was way easier , but still we just watched Sarah Silverman's and she's really still . And so I was like , oh , that would be in my head . I'm thinking , oh , that'd be easy to edit . But then , like towards the end , she does this whole crowd work thing with this one specific woman , which then , like I guess , ties her to that whole show Right , I use in terms of like shots that show the crowd and stuff . So I thought
Jim Gaffigan, God, and Comedy Tour
Speaker 2that was interesting .
Speaker 1But what Jim Gaffigan says you don't see the audience at all . I love that there's no .
Speaker 2it's pitch black .
Speaker 1True , you don't see this , I in my mind what's that one called ? What Is that a new one ? Jim Gaffigan ? At Jim Gaffigan , any special he's ever done is what it's called .
Speaker 4And then all his secret the most prolific comic , he is .
Speaker 2It's like every time I log in there's a new special .
Speaker 1He's amazing , I love him . I love him .
Speaker 4He's sort of forget about it , but he's never stopped producing Amazing Special after special . Wow . One time I had like like remember when you went iTunes late on an album and you were like trying to get it to go number one and so it is for like an afternoon and you're like I did , I got the screenshot . It's so cool . And then it drops back down to somewhere for the week and then you realize one through seven are all Gaffigan .
Speaker 1Good luck with your number one for now , it's so easy , it's so parve hits , so everybody can relate to it .
Speaker 4Yeah , but he can relate to it . It doesn't offend anyone , right ? Not in a bad way . It's just like this is great I .
Speaker 1Really thought that at one point they brought him into a studio and you just told the jokes and just put the laughter and no , but obviously not .
Speaker 3I like that because it should be right there .
Speaker 1Yeah , you know really is okay .
Speaker 3Yeah , yeah , no . Then you had the crisis of face with a lamp . Yeah , and I waited .
Speaker 4I sat on it for a while , for about a year . It was just shana , bet , my second year of your Shiva . And then I sat on it for , but it just bothered me . I kept ruminating out in my head good word , all right . And then , and then , the more , the more I thought about , the more it kept like I think it means I don't believe in God and I didn't want to like Do anything wrong until I was sure . You know , be methodical about it , don't just like fuck it , I'll fuck a hooker now . But the more I thought I talked to my friends it was in the Shiva University at the time I talked to my friends about it and then I was just like I just like they kept trying to prove no , here's why there's God . I'm like , yeah , these proofs don't work because you can't prove God . If you could prove God , he would just make himself like accessible , he just make himself known . Right ? You know it's a sleep of faith . I don't know .
Speaker 1I don't understand why so , yeah , so God proves himself to me every day .
Speaker 4But then why not prove himself to everybody ?
Speaker 1That's not God .
Speaker 4that's not God , yeah well , he's got to leave a message in some leaves .
Speaker 1It's there is a message in some leaves . Sometimes it says by Apple is all by Apple stock is written out in the leaves and my sign . I really believe it's it's . I really see him every day . I wake up and I wake up , I , I wake up . Moderna , here I am . I'm back up again . Even better if I had a night's sleep , if the pills kicked in , I got my sleep in . That's even better . I have , I have a husband , I have a home , I have a . That's God to me . That's God to me . It's not . It's not the , the guy up up in heaven screaming you did good , you did bad . So God proves himself to me every day .
Speaker 2Yeah , every day . That's how you choose to view it , because what about people who don't have a home or a husband , or all those things ?
Speaker 1I don't know . Yeah , they have different ways to hate them .
Speaker 3Doesn't like the big picture . I just kind of hate some .
Speaker 4It just wants to show them . God hates people . To we're made in his image . I hate . He must hate .
Speaker 1No , I'm just , I believe me .
Speaker 4I'm not saying that I get it , but you know it was just like it wasn't in me okay and it was like I either have the belief or you don't okay , but it's obviously in you because it's .
Speaker 3it's not like I was just doing it on autopilot , I was just there autopilot .
Speaker 4You know about that some people have a deep love for America , real like patriots of people like I . Could take it to leave it . I was in them or it's not . It's taught also , but that belief is either in your , it's not okay you know , and it just wasn't . I was just doing it because I was raised in it right , and so they're your parents , religious . They still are . Still siblings are Wow .
Speaker 3Wow .
Speaker 4Yeah .
Speaker 2I had a similar moment . I mean I mentioned earlier , I grew up super , super Catholic and one of my Super early memories is standing outside of an abortion clinic in Florida and what , in the heat , trying to pick up with a giant poster Saying abortion is wrong or whatever it is , and on the back of the poster they had printed out prayers To just read , while people were like in your face screaming or honking their horns at you or like so you would just hold the poster like this in the Sun . And I was a child . Wow , I was like a young person . I I had no business being there , but I was old enough to be like this isn't , like . I don't feel this like conviction , everyone , yeah , it seems to be like tapping into that , like religious rage that comes from , like a belief . I was like if you are start to unpack all this stuff , I'm like I'm not there with you , yeah , but like luckily you you were able to figure that out .
Speaker 4Most people are doing would do that Just so they can connect to their parents more and they go , they become an adult and stay with it , right , never really think like , do I actually care ? All right , see a lot of older people like we relax a little on judging others yeah , you can . Catholics and Judaism , yeah , they're like that's not the ways . And then eventually like I'm just trying to , I just want to see my grandkids .
Speaker 2Yeah , you know they become like relaxed .
Speaker 4Yes , we never see those kids . The ever see those videos with a kid like five year olds are crying when Trump got elected .
Speaker 2Yeah , you know , like that's equally creepy . Yeah , it's like this kid doesn't know anything about the .
Speaker 4These are . They affect them so that's just your parents making you cry but the kid wants to make his parents happy . Yeah , like .
Speaker 1Lakers .
Speaker 2I don't know what ?
Speaker 1Lakers , yeah , kidding me . You're five years old , you don't know who's playing , but they bought you the shirt , they bought you the hat . Your dad's going nuts . You want to connect with your dad , and so , lakers , yeah , trump , america .
Speaker 3I think it's really Doctrinated children .
Speaker 4Yeah , into politics and they don't really care . Yeah , they're probably gonna grow up and not vote .
Speaker 2Hopefully , hopefully those people don't .
Speaker 1Just kidding . That's a joke . What are you up to ? What are you ? Do you tour ? What's talk to me ?
Speaker 4I'm going back on tour in October November .
Speaker 3Where are we starting ? Where are ?
Speaker 4you going , starting in Filled up as parks casino and then just doing the Midwest ? Chicago and Iowa City have never been to oh well , I was sitting in the city and I don't know st Louis , all those Midwest places , but this will be like not the Jewish hour .
Speaker 1Really , I can't imagine coming out of your mouth . That's not gonna be something . I mean it'll be the Jewish . It'll be a Jew doing an hour .
Speaker 4I lean so far in this one , this hour . So , and we call just inside base , we call it ours . It might be 45 minutes , might be a 90 , but we call it yeah hour . But like , yeah , I lean so far into that , I want to do something . It's like I'm going the other way . Okay , just like there'll still be something like I think this one's kind of shaping together as like like where we put our thoughts and you're a good example of this on like looking at positivity versus like focusing on the negatives , right , you know , there's always some positives you can look
Comedy and Performing Arts Discussions
Speaker 4at . I yeah , and if you focus on that kind of mentally , your life is better . Like what we were talking about Judaism , and you always like no , it's great .
Speaker 2Like you're focusing on a positive Right Instead of so when you finish a special like the one you did , and then now you're on the road with this new hour , is that like a feeling of relief for you , like you're in , you've turned into a term paper or a project in school and you're like that's done , now I'm working on the next thing , or do you like ? Is it hard ? And this ?
Speaker 1So he manages me Okay and he runs the agent and the publicist and everything he runs it all it's Mashiach energy 100% and he always compared . It is what it's paperwork Until he sees the show sold out , he feels like he has like a term paper to hand in . We have to press this and get more and this and that and so like , so he just sold out done . I have to think about that . We hand it in the term paper . When he gets it he'll do the show .
Speaker 2So that's kind of I don't even care about the grade , I just want to turn it in .
Speaker 4Yeah , yeah , this really is each one of these specials like a term paper , more like a , like a senior research paper .
Speaker 3Yeah , like a thesis paper .
Speaker 4Where it's not just a paper , it's our like thesis .
Speaker 1Yeah , we did a show in some place in New Jersey and I have a joke that I do for the non-Jews right away to make them like to bring them in . And there's joke we did and he clipped it and put it up just to feed , just to feed Instagram or something . The thing went nuts 5.4 million in a week and I want to but people are arguing theology .
Speaker 2It's like a joke joke it's like a joke joke .
Speaker 1It's like an old cat skill joke , you know , and they're arguing about something that's nothing to do with and I'm thinking to myself I have two hours of these jokes I'm dying to do like just it's the old school priests and the rabbi walk into a bar .
Speaker 2Those Like jokes that are just like in the creative problems Joke jokes , joke jokes .
Speaker 4Joke jokes . Yeah , they're always thinking like who wrote ?
Speaker 2Yeah .
Speaker 4You know priests and rabbi and an Irishman walked into a bar who wrote Somebody wrote that originally . It's amazing . It's amazing in the ether and then .
Speaker 1But then you take those jokes that people , whenever I do a show , someone always comes over to me afterwards and gives me one of these jokes . They tell them horribly . But then I go and fix them and bring this and take one of the characters out and bring that in there , and then I'll do it at a table comic .
Speaker 4As a table . You should do once a set at the cellar , do one of those jokes and then just get them . Now you've got them , Instead of doing an hour somewhere with just that joke after the but just once . And if it doesn't work , then , like , I'll do that one again tomorrow .
Speaker 2Well , you also had the idea of doing that for the Florida crowd of where you walk in . It's all like white hair , like older people , Like cause they love , like doing a special just for them at like a retirement center or something .
Speaker 1One of my demographics is over 80 Florida Jews and I mean , the shows are amazing . It's 2000 seats in these places . It's amazing they get there , they bring a singer so they can get just their hearing aids and open their candy , and then I do my material , I my genius .
Speaker 3No , they open their , open their candies sit down .
Speaker 1They bring all their walkers to the front of the stage . The front of the stage looks like a surgical supply location , and then I see my material and there's walkers in this and IV pump .
Speaker 4And nurses , and nurses . You should sell autographed like split open tennis balls .
Speaker 1The tennis ball , the Modi tennis ball .
Speaker 4Already free split . That is so funny .
Speaker 1But I do my , I do about , I do about 40 minutes of my material and then I just go into Priest and Rabbi and this and two guys , two , two and they hunched over , hunched over , laughing , can't breathe , crying , wiping tears .
Speaker 4They're the original comedy audience .
Speaker 2Yeah , there's a direct lineage .
Speaker 4These people went to zeroes in in 1971 and watched . It's them .
Speaker 1I say it to them I go , I'm performing in front of you . You've seen , you've seen Henny Youngman , you've seen Milton Burl , you've seen Alan King , you've seen the biggest of the best comedians , and and now , Modi .
Speaker 4Yeah , I just hosted a show with Jay London and and Shelly Berman and and a long time ago at like a Jewish student union and wherever in LA , I was new and he was performing . I didn't know him , I didn't know he was legendary cat skilly comic and he was doing his act and then and then somebody goes the radio . I don't know something about the radio , but he goes the row and then that went like 40 years .
Speaker 4All right hold on a second . And then he did it . Wow , but it was like how do you ? You haven't done it 40 years .
Speaker 1How long have you been around , bro ? So so so it's funny , cause during the pandemic , when I had like so much time , I would YouTube old , old , old comedians and you see , they always say , they always say . Someone in the audience asked me to do this joke and they do like a one of their old bits .
Speaker 4That's a way of not being like like it's , it's , it's a way of being like I wasn't going to do this .
Speaker 1It's such an old joke of mine , but I'll bring it back because someone in the audience asked me to do it .
Speaker 2It's a loophole . We love a loophole . It's a loophole .
Speaker 1It is a loophole and with Jewish audience , by the way , if I , if I'm doing like I'm doing a Sony haul again I did it last Christmas , I'm doing it mid year and I'm trying to think , do I do the same stuff I did ? You can't , you can't win with a Jewish audience . I heard that last time . Or I brought my friend to see you do that bit and you didn't do it .
Speaker 4Yeah , yeah yeah , you can't you can't there's like a percentage difference .
Speaker 4I saw a Gaffigan actually in Austin , I think at South by our moon tower at some theater . I'd never seen him live before doing a long set and he did , you know , 55 minutes or whatever . All new , you know , whatever the hour he's working on , crush it . And then he was like , all right , guys , that's it . You know , it was a fun time . I guess I'm just gonna go back to the hotel and warm up the hot pocket and then everybody's like , yeah , and then he did 15 hot pocket minutes and then gave him what they wanted , and then and then see you later Standing out .
Speaker 4Goodbye .
Speaker 1Oh , that's amazing . Oh , that's so funny . Oh my God , it's hilarious .
Speaker 2Sometimes you have to give the people what they want yeah . That's like sometimes you backstage will be like Leo , what am I giving ? I'm just like just play the hits . Oh , I'll tell you . I'll tell you . I've been thinking about it . Do you want to be ?
Speaker 1funny and dark . Want to be funny and dark For sure . Two summers ago , what was it ? Three summers ago ? What In the Catskills ? Oh , that was like almost it was two summers ago . Whatever it was ago .
Speaker 1I'm in the Catskills . I take this one place . It's , it's like a wood , it's like the well , they have like the homes , vacation homes , vacation homes like , kind of like , but they have like a . They could they call it a casino or the community room . They get 600 , sometimes people and it's an amazing show and they love comedy . They're coming from their bungalows or not , not . Like it's homes , it's nice homes . They come in and they do this show .
Speaker 1And backstage looked so gross . They had this television there . Like there was a size of this room from like 1980 with the you know the TV with the back that they never threw away . Yeah , yeah , yeah , cobwebs and this horrible , horrible and I and I'm and you had to and the stage is right there . The singer was on . I'm going on . I turned to Leo and I go . What am I opening with ? This is a few summers ago . He says , he says to me the condominiums in Miami of crashing down , but this place is still standing Miami condos . That's so funny and I was like , I was like I was whoa , I was right , then too I couldn't do it because it just happened , but you liked it , but I loved it .
Speaker 1Where ?
Speaker 4was this , this was in , yeah , catskill someplace . If that's that fine line , these are my favorite laughs and it's worth the risk of like you're never invited back here or or you're like you know , yes , yes , you love the years . And if you get a laugh off , if you get that crowd that night , let's just say it happened the day after , a week later , and there's that moment , and then , and then , if they just if , they don't laugh .
Speaker 4that sucks I went over the clip , but if they do laugh and you kind of laugh at that , it's the ultimate laugh .
Speaker 1Ultimate , it's the ultimate . I did a show for Parkies .
Speaker 1Or they're going like . Oh , you know right , it's just like I did a show for Parkies . I'll give you a perfect example of this , where you have to make that choice right on the spot . I did a show for Parkies Center . They're doing their fundraiser at the Waldorf Astoria when it was still open and they a thousand people in the audience in the back were like the younger that their kids were in the school and the front were like billionaires , billionaires . And the rabbi went on with the guy who they were honoring and his son . He's a Holocaust survivor and the rabbi's a survivor and they are in the Holocaust they're talking about .
Speaker 1I could have been a name on a wall If I wasn't on the Kindertransport and this one is this . And I survived Dachau just to build Jewish education and it was going too long . And the guy wearing the event goes M-Modi , just get up there . Get up there . Just this has to end . We need to get this moving . I already done my set . I get up there , there's a podium and they're all in the middle . Literally , you can almost see Schindler's trains coming by . Anyway , I get up and they all see me and the rabbi goes hello , modi , I go hello and they all just begin to walk off . Now the room is staring at me and I said , ladies and gentlemen , I am not a son of a survivor or a grandson of a survivor . In the mid to late 1930s in Eastern Europe , my grandparents looked around and said this doesn't look good , murray , grab your valise and let's go to Palestine and like and it could have gone either way , it could have been like be respectful If you had one heckler like .
Speaker 4That's not a line .
Speaker 1Right , but they died . That's great and there's a choice you had to make . It was like I'm following the Holocaust . It's insane , it was , but that's those are the jokes .
Speaker 4It's also it's such a cathartic laugh too . It's like allowing without and it's a lot audience based , whether they'll allow it or not but it's like allowing us to laugh at this pain . It helps us get through it . That's right , people . I was like how does your dad feel about Holocaust jokes ? Like , he understands , I'm not taking it lightly , I'm taking it seriously . Rape jokes , Holocaust jokes , AIDS jokes are based in . This is a horrible thing . So that's the joke , that I'm not taking it seriously . That is half of the joke right there . Because if you're like , if you're like , let's just say this podcast went bad and somebody's like how did it go ? I'm like it was worse than one of these big three , but if I go , it was worse than when I dropped my slice of pizza . I go , oh , it was slightly bad .
Speaker 4No the exaggeration is a thing it's all based in . That it's all based in yeah .
Speaker 3That's a good wheelhouse rape , holocaust and AIDS joke .
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah , yeah . Well , I always when you catch , always thing you always throw out there I'm gonna go to hell so I don't care . You always say that no , maybe .
Speaker 4I don't know you kind of do , but you're not . I'm not . I know there's no . No , if anything .
Speaker 1according to the Talmud , you're going to Olom Hababah , you're going to heaven , because it says in the Talmud it says it in the comedians , comedians go to , to the world to come . It's a big , it's a big Gamara . What ?
Speaker 3Anche bediche , anche bediche .
Speaker 1Anche bediche . It's an amazing Gamara and it's an and I've I've learned that you talk about that in your special . No , I didn't , I didn't .
Speaker 4But that was , that was special , it was a way to push it .
Speaker 1That's a good one .
Speaker 4Anyway , I You've got . You've got an interesting career , modi , Thank you , because everyone else is sort of reliant on clubs opening up to them . You've made your own business .
Comedy Special and Audience Expansion
Speaker 4Somebody my sister asked me just like we saw this , or maybe my . I saw this or heard about this comedian . He performed at this Bar Mitzvah or this wedding or whatever , and it was like do you know ? They didn't remember your name and I was like sounds like Modi , like yeah yeah , oh yes , I was like , yeah , yeah , that's his fucking world .
Speaker 1We've . So we , during the pandemic , we built out our audience . Leo took over everything and built out our audience , and now we're doing theaters . That's great , and it's the people that used to come and see me at the UJA or at the Benet-Breuth are now buying a ticket . It's lovely .
Speaker 4They're going out , they're going out .
Speaker 4My sister . She'll take a when a safari to Kenya with and they're like pretty high up Orthodox , like borderline more . And then I have people like are Jews allowed to do that , cause they never take vacation . I'm like they're allowed , they just don't Right and they're allowed to go out . You see them that sometimes the Hasidim coming out to clubs , coming out to the cellar His audience has changed a lot , but like they're allowed to go out 100% . I call them frontier Jews Because they're out there on the front lines like hey , I won't use this language that they see when you're not before and after you , but it's fun to hear it .
Speaker 1No , but frontier Jews , that's amazing . Well , I perform for some congregation or some Ushiv or some day school , which I'm not doing that often now , but you have to be , you have to know your audience for that , yeah , and , but when they're coming to see me , it's they're coming to see me .
Speaker 4I think that I want .
Speaker 1I still don't curse on all that , because it's just it's my thing . But it's a different vibe .
Speaker 4You know what I'm saying ? You're making these people go in town . Go into town , yep , and they never would .
Speaker 2For the record , we're making it very easy for them to come into town . We're picking places very close to them . You're not doing on Friday probably .
Speaker 4We're not doing any Friday night shows , yeah , but like they're going out , they're going out .
Speaker 1They never go out , it's true , frontier .
Speaker 4Jews .
Speaker 1And I always tell them . You know , I say be the friend who brings the friends to the comedy club . You see , I'm coming to town , buy a tickets . You'll find Fill it after , fill it after you know fill it after you know , and you made a night with your friends and everybody laughed . They had a great time . It's better than sitting in some kosher steak restaurant . I'm going to try that You're laughing with your friends instead . And that's Mashiach energy , and that's what it is .
Speaker 3Worst case they could .
Speaker 1But yes , I did build an audience without the clubs . I did it with synagogues and I thanked them all . And then Leo popped it to the next level of bringing it to theaters .
Speaker 2It was mostly because I didn't want to go to anymore , because we also I always saw the Indian comics the Arab comics .
Speaker 4they always had it , where it's like every Arab , every Indian will come out to see their God and it's like damn , that's such a market .
Speaker 1But you still , jews , come to see . My rabbi is your biggest fan . Really , Gav loves Ari .
Speaker 4I'm seeing a little bit of now good and bad , where people like saw that and coming out to be like , oh , more of it's like no , I'm going to do a lot of fucking jokes . So some of them are like no , I just like you , and others are like all right , enjoy your joy , because you literally look like it's so funny Physically and on stage .
Speaker 1You look like every rabbi that has a podcast Behind the beamer . Every rabbi , every COVID , every rabbi began to have his own podcast . It's like the part show the week .
Speaker 4I'm the cool rabbi . I'm the cool rabbi , he really gets it . I play basketball . He really gets it . He really gets it .
Speaker 1He's the funny guy , he's a funny rabbi , he gets it , he gets it .
Speaker 4But that's when I released it . I was a little worried about how it was going to be received Because I did the work . I mean , I really did the work on how does this come off like enough mockinggoys without really shitting on them ? When I first did , I did my first . I would call it Jewish bit .
Speaker 4It was probably three years into comedy and I was not that far removed from living in Israel and it was about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and I didn't have the skill and I had too much anger in me still . So it would come out like the Jews want this and the Arabs , the Palestinians , they just like a fucking animal , that's all they are , is fucking animals , and they want it . And it was like this is not going well . And then it took 20 more years of development to be able to do this and figure out how to not be angry in certain moments , how to be worshipful about these things and pleasant . So I heard from my sister was like hey , they're all worried . They heard this is coming out , a comedy special called Jew from someone who's not religious anymore and they're all pretty fucking worried . She didn't say it like that Really and she goes in . Then it came out and they're all like oh , this is very respectful , this is very nice , that's good Pleasant .
Speaker 4It's mocking , but it's mocking in a fun way and I would do that when I would do it when I'd see women wearing the shatels in my show . It's the same thing when you have a black person in your audience and you're doing a racial joke , you kind of keep your eye on them , because if they're laughing then I know it's fine . And if .
Speaker 4I see one of those women wearing a wig and I'm like doing it . And I'm not doing it at her , I'm doing it this way . I remember the old stand , I saw them there . And then I'm like this and they're dying because they're like someone's speaking . To my experience , they're not like these dumb fucking bitches , they're doing it in a friendly way , they're making fun , but fun . And then I'm like cool , I got you and I would do that over five years of building this to make it respectful and also informative . And so then , when it came out , I was so glad they were like oh , we're all cool .
Speaker 1You're great Because it's smart , it's smart , it's smart . I can't explain to you how funny , so I'll tell you a story . One time I went to go see Jim Norton's taping and the guy that was producing it was a guy that used to work in a Passover program . That's how I knew him . What , choosing who ?
Speaker 4God passes over for the coming of . No , he used to work in the program for the hilarious . I leave this with all of these good .
Speaker 1Anyway . So he invited the woman who ran the program . Now she only hires clean Jewish comedians See the meat , elon Gold Gordon's , so all of that . But she came to see Jim Norton's and I'm sitting next to her and he's talking about all the stuff and trans and this and that , and she at the end . I'm just looking at her . I go how was it ? She goes he's so smart , it's so clever .
Speaker 3It wasn't just F and S . You can go away and .
Speaker 1I did that and I was in there .
Speaker 3That's great , you can see it .
Speaker 1She saw that this is clever . So when they watch your special , this is a clever man presenting this information in a , this information that we all know , but in a way that's smart and that's why the special is , I think , a success . Do you think it's a success ?
Speaker 4so far , yeah for sure 6.2 million 6.2 million , but also just the fact that I , if it got 1 million , if it got 100,000 , it's still like the point of doing something is to make it . Emily Dickinson no one read her poems so she just did , but each one of those was a success .
Speaker 3She just finished a great poem and just nailed it . That's a good one . It's ironic that it's 6 million .
Speaker 2Oh wow . Well on that note , where can everyone find it ? On the comments on it ?
Speaker 4I'm like eh , this is probably like 100,000 . I don't know if I believe these views . That is that , or ? Hey , man , thanks for the great weather today .
Speaker 2Oh , I love that .
Speaker 3Oh my god , it's no fun . We got a wrap .
Speaker 1We got a wrap . Where could they see ?
Speaker 4you and be in your life . Aarishaffearcom for my tour dates , but it's all over the Midwest . And then , like Boston in February , big shows at the Wilbur and Chicago and I don't know where else .
Speaker 1The comedy the Chosen Comedy Festival .
Speaker 4The Chosen Comedy Festival August 8th , August 8th and Coney Island .
Speaker 1Yeah , there you go For that ?
Speaker 4Yeah , I'm excited about that one .
Speaker 1It's fun , you're going to have a black .
Speaker 4You're going to have a black . Who's in the ?
Speaker 1audience Jews , everything , everything you've imagined . You're like Everything , from Reform to Orthodox , 18 to 80 . Frontier Jews , frontier Jews oh , I'm going to have fun . Old school Jews , everything is there . It's so much fun .
Speaker 4Dude at the store , when you would get 25 people in the audience and then , like eight of one thing would come in , black guys from like the hood or a bunch of Jews would come in . They'd be like , oh , I can do some jokes I can't ever do . And then the other non-Jews like what are you talking about ? It's like , hey , that's Nicky , don't touch her . And they'd be like what ? And then you'd have fun with it .
Speaker 1This is going to be fun . A specific audience Non-Jews love Jewish material because it's like a window into the world , like , oh my god , that's what they do , oh yeah .
Speaker 4Me and Steve Renderzies . We used to go into the black night at the comedy store that Tuesday and we'd watch some of it . We couldn't understand what they were saying . It was so fast and I'm like what the fuck ? But they'd crush . So hard Crush , we would just go in there and be like look , dj , run that back and we're like run what back ? I don't even know what the song is and everyone would be hooting and hollering . It's fun
Comic View's 10th Anniversary Conversation
Speaker 4to watch .
Speaker 1I did Comic View's 10th anniversary . This is so many years ago and it was at 60 black comedians me and Jason Anders . You know who he is . He's a Jewish kid that does only black rooms . Me and him were the only ones that were white on the show . Modi is a black name .
Speaker 4A one word title .
Speaker 1I didn't know what they were talking about . They had a whole world within the ghetto or wherever they were talking about . I had no idea what they were , but they were crushing and you're in that energy and that's Mashiach energy . Modilivecom for all my dates . There's shows in Brussels , frankfurt , amsterdam , paris , israel , all over Israel . It's on moriLivecom , the chosen comedy festival , august 8th . It's going to be with Ari Shafir , elon's going to be there . Elon Gold and I hosting it . Jeff Frost is coming . There's a surprise guest that no one knows about .
Speaker 4Mr Kiersten's coming . Sorry , sorry , I bleep that eye . I don't want to ruin the surprise .
Speaker 1Try the insult dog . It's going to be amazing . Periel Ashton Brown . At Periel Ashton Brand you can find me . Periel Ashton Brand , and again thank you to A&H Provisions and Whites and Luxembourg , and be the friend who brings the friends to the comedy show that's Mashiach energy . Thank you , Ari , so much for coming .
Speaker 4Thanks for being here , thanks for having me dude . Yeah , yeah .