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
Eli Lebowicz
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Episode 167: Modi sits down with Eli Lebowicz to talk heart valves, kosher restaurant trauma, and why Jews love giving unsolicited feedback more than laughing.
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Meet Ellie Liebowitz
SPEAKER_00We're back in the studio. We have a very, very special guest here today. Ellie Liebewitz. Wow, what a Jewish name. It's even more Jewish than mine. Ellie Lieberwitz here on And Here's Modi. Uh Ellie is a part of this. I don't say new, but like this, like the up and coming comedians in the like super niche Jewish world. No? Yeah. Oh, very much so. Like is that describe it well?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. No, that's totally people like sometimes I'll do like corporate shows, and people are like, oh, do you perform for like non-Jews? And I'm like, yeah, I'll do like like corporate show is tough because it's like two owners of a like two clacidish owners of a nursing home. Right. And then like they're 10 non-Jewish employees, and you gotta make everybody laugh. And I'm like, You guys don't go to school enough, do you?
SPEAKER_00No, no, I I've I've been to those types of shows. Yeah. But you're you're a part of this whole like whole um breed of new comedians or just I just just the younger, I guess the the younger of the Jewish comedians, no? Yeah. Because you consider yourself a Jewish comedian, right? Absolutely. Yes. You don't, it's not like I'm a comedian who happens to be Jewish. You are a Jewish comedian. I very much lean into a yarmulk on your head.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because if I did this, you would be like, oh, he doesn't look Jewish at all. Like I know it. Like, like if I did just change everything about myself, my name, my face, my nose, like my my hairline, my my height.
SPEAKER_00Like, but but but but like you're also also in this crew of young Jewish comedians that are coming up now. They all have such great hair. It's insane between Dovey and Mickey, uh Mikey, yeah. Mikey Greenblad, right?
SPEAKER_01Mami, Kozak.
SPEAKER_00Everybody has this amazing, full, thick head of hair. And then and you. And that's why, that's why I'm the I'm the obvious. So it's a bald one. You're you're you're you're you're representing you're representing the Jews that I run into the airport in the airport, and they go, hey, I'm a big fan. I'm like, oh, where are you going? I'm going to Cincinnati. You go, for what? Uh I take care of all the nursing homes there. Yeah. Like you're you're you're you're representing that crew of people, which is a good crew.
SPEAKER_01I I no, I say sometimes on stage, I'm like, I know what I look like. I look like the guy who tells you what page David is on. You know, I said you I
Carving A Niche In Jewish Comedy
SPEAKER_01I look like a poster chop for IBS. I get it. Like it's it's fine. Like I but I leaned into it. Like that's that's my stuff.
SPEAKER_00It's very self-free. 100%. 100% lean into it and be and it's great. And no, I I and you're you're hysterical. And I've known you for how like a a bunch of years.
SPEAKER_01I think I I I think that we did one gig of a paysach many years ago in Orlando. I opened for you at like a super Hasidish, Yeshivish place, like Passover getaway in Orlando. I think it was the first time. And I saw you, I I was working working as a camp counselor on Last, uh, not Laszco, Biltmore, uh in uh Arizona back in the day. And I saw you okay. I was where I think I was like seeing, I'm like, oh my gosh. Like I was just like impressed by the just like the performance element of it.
SPEAKER_00Oh, thank you. So I was amazed. And you're always a good comic that like because what whatever whenever I'm on stage and I get off, you oh you always come over. Here's a few taglines you might want to work into the joke. And you and you and you and and sometimes they're they're really good. And I've used a few of them and they're great. Thank you. Um, and uh and so you're you're funny, you're you know how to you you you have good comedic timing, and you give a good show. Thank you. You give a good show. I really want to plug you and let people know that you are if you cannot afford me, ladies and gentlemen, Ellie Liebewitz, Walding comedian. Uh if you can't afford me and you want to have four comedians, get Ellie, get Dovey, get Mickey. I why'd I call him Mickey? I don't know why. He's a Mickey to me. Mikey. Mikey, he's doing great too, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I'm and yeah, there's a whole I mean listen, I I mean we've uh I mean you and Ewan pave the way for like you know, in terms of you know, the you guys have been doing this, and we're like, oh my gosh, I just remember seeing you perform. I'm like, oh my gosh, like there's a way to do it, Jewish comedy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, there's an there's a need for it. Yes, because absolutely every event that's Jewish has a comedian in it. There's not anybody, any tragedy, any any happiness, tragedy, a wedding or uh uh a disease, uh they're raising money, not there's always do Jewish love to bring bring a comedian, bring a just whatever, it'll be fine, it'll be good, it'll be yeah.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I've started saying on stage, I said, you know, it's but been a rough couple of years for the Jewish people, which is something that we could have said for the last 2,000 years.
SPEAKER_00I mean, like when has it ever not been a rough couple of years? Yeah, it's always been a rough couple of years, yeah. Yeah, but it's it's what it is. I I think it's been a great couple of years too, you know. It's also miracles have happened too in the past.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Oh, there's there's but there's such a catharsis that people, especially after October 7th, immediately there was such a need, there was such like this fear and tension and like being able to like help release that tension. I just remember doing one of those
Performing For Mixed Crowds
SPEAKER_01first shows, and it was just like you just felt like the room, like it's energy, yeah.
SPEAKER_00That that that that is my shirk energy. I I felt it during COVID. When COVID, when you just come in coming out of COVID, yes, and all of that, you know, and then we and the Jewish community came out of COVID a lot different than the other community. Yes, and so we were doing shows, you know, in backyards and in all kinds of well, I was yeah, I was I did like I think a hundred shows over Zoom during COVID, which was nuts, which was a hundred shows during on Zoom, but also do a live shows, which yeah, we came out of it a lot earlier than everybody else.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean I there's also a correlation with how the more religious you are about Judaism, the less firm you were about COVID and vice versa. So like people are like still wearing masks and they're having a Zoom Seder in in 2029, you know? There's there's like a whole element of it, like of the the COVID restrictions were much more like people took it more seriously because like we already have our Jews are like we already have our rules, you know? Right.
SPEAKER_00I I I think I don't I I I don't know. I I'm we uh all I know is that we were doing uh shows way before it was allowed to be doing shows. You were allowed to be doing shows.
SPEAKER_01I think technically, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yes, I I was that's it's not oh no no for sure. I am a statement. I was doing shows way before it was allowed to be doing shows, and and and by the way, it was okay, it worked out fine. No one got sick, no one, everybody, it it wasn't as crazy as they made it to be. And the relief you saw in people to all of a sudden they're together and they're laughing. It's not that they came together to to talk about how sick everybody is, they came together to have a laugh, and that's the uh that that's the amazing thing.
SPEAKER_01Just the well, even the being togetherness was such a difference. Like the first time people were together, like like like whatever more than a hundred people was like people are like, how do I do this again? Like there was a little bit of like getting used to it again.
SPEAKER_00Right, it was very weird. You know, we it's funny because I'm I'm going back now into theaters where um the Broward Center, the uh in Chicago, where I remember doing shows where they had people in in six and like uh the in in groups of six and then space in between and like masks, and all of a sudden now I'm I'm in this thing that's packed.
SPEAKER_01But I remember that it's it's it's it I can't believe it was our lifetime. It was five years ago, and that's it. It was like five years ago, and we forgot about it. I I said it, I I look at like again, doing zoom I again, I did mostly Zoom shows, but like doing the zoom shows and the whole COVID experience was like it's like looking at my self-up pictures like that. I had braces. I was like, oh my god, I was that was what it was.
SPEAKER_00That was what it was.
SPEAKER_01Like what and it was like semi-normal for most of us, but uh okay.
SPEAKER_00But your world now, your your your your comedy group of these comedians that are now doing comedy for Jewish audiences, you guys are in a different world than when I was beginning because you guys have social media, yeah. So you are produ so I only did shows, I did shows at the comedy cellar, the comic strip, all the comedy clubs, and then I got the cat skills, whatever's was left in the cat skills, and then I got the um all the synagogue shows, all the fundraiser shows, all of those, but they came looking for me. You guys are putting them together, yeah. You are um especially dovey and and putting together shows. I just did a show in the five towns with you. Yeah. The cheese store. We did a show in the five towns is this place called the cheese store. Yeah, and it was it used to be a cheese store when I was growing up in the five towns that no one ever went into, and now it's a it's a dairy kosher restaurant, and they just put up a stage, put seats. There was like 250 people or something in there, if not more.
SPEAKER_01Something like it was a very big, it was packed, it was great.
SPEAKER_00And I got there on the on a Sunday, and they had a show there on a Saturday night.
COVID, Catharsis, And Zoom Shows
SPEAKER_00All right, and everybody kept telling last night they were so great, last night they were so great, but tonight they're not that great, tonight they're not that great. It was a it was a great audience, but I guess the night before it popped much more.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it was a little difference. There was a big of a difference.
SPEAKER_00Also, you're comparing yourself to previous sets and yeah, but like it was just so funny how everybody's like, because then last time they were really good. Last night they were they were if no one would have told me anything, I'd mean this is just a great show, but you guys were telling me how different the show was the night before, and there was so much more because it was a it was a Saturday night show coming out of a holiday. That's what it was.
SPEAKER_01People had needed to get out of their parents' house for the for uh for a circus, right? And they just had to like escape. I can't handle the criticism and the judgment, so I gotta get out.
SPEAKER_00Right. And then and then they um and this show, but this show was fine, and um, and it was it was crazy. First of all, there's a there's a guy who's a doctor on the show.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, Maserick.
SPEAKER_00It talked into the mic.
SPEAKER_01Uh Jerry Jeremy Maserick, right?
SPEAKER_00Jerry Maserick, who comes over and he says to me, My brother is a huge fan of yours. He's a gastrologist that listens to your podcast while he's doing uh colonoscopies. He told me that he had to get approval to listen to Jewish to listen to my my podcast while they're doing colonoscopies. Um, and it was under Jewish music. They were able to play Jewish music in the in the room. And so he's while he's looking inside people's dochases, he's got the the podcast going. And his brother is a is a cardiologist who was funny, who's a they're funny and doing stand-up, and like, yeah, I'm like, wow.
SPEAKER_01I I was I'm shocked. I'm like, if you're a cardiologist and you're also doing stand-up, I was like, you didn't get fulfillment for being a cardiologist that you gotta do this extra hobby after all the all the medical uh you know qualifications you've done. Like I was amazed. He sent me his set.
SPEAKER_00I watched, and I it was funny. Yeah, he's funny, yeah. He's great, he's just funny. And so all these different shows that you you you you're you're pulling together. It's it we didn't have that. Like we didn't we couldn't pull together a Jewish show because we didn't have like social media and that we didn't have the followers we had now. And right.
SPEAKER_01It's I feel like it's like it's like the uh back in the day when like Seinfeld talks about like starting out with like Gary Shanling, how like in the 70s and 80s when they started out, they're like, this wasn't a thing before the comedy boom. Like, we didn't think this was a career that you could do.
SPEAKER_00Like it was just like, oh yeah, we enjoyed telling jokes, and like now it's in the 90s, yeah, completely not Jewish shows, but in the 90s, Amsterdam uh Holland was going through a comedy. Holland was in the 90s where America was in the 70s. They began doing comedy shows and they had a comedy club, and in different universities, they would do uh comedy nights and they would tape one show. They had the show called the Comedy Factory, and um and they didn't want to have comedians that were uh from Holland because the comics didn't want to do it because once they did their material, they couldn't do it anymore. Right, you're burning because the show aired. We taped it on Thursday, it aired Friday, and boom, we were like instant celebrities in Holland. Then we did a tour, then we went touring on a different like in The Hague and um Rotterdam and Amsterdam and all the other cities, and we were celebrities because the entire everybody already saw that show. It was so so the comedians that were Dutch didn't want to perform right because they ruined your material. You burned your you burned 10 minutes of like of your act, yeah. Um, and so so so I got to experience like a comedy boom in Holland.
SPEAKER_01That's so funny that like the like 20-year delay of like Europe, it's like Israel has the 30-year delay, like they're just getting the Simpsons now, and like no, I'm I'm kidding, but like the the culture, the culture different. No, there's certain things that are like they're culturally, they didn't get it yet. I mean, I think it's better. That used to be the case.
SPEAKER_00My used when I went when I was growing up in Israel, you were getting like everything was always like the movies came half of your life. Now they're getting it before, right? Whatever they got rigged up over there. I have uh Toby Ruby, and I and it and now I get everything from Netflix, all free. Everything's coming in free. Yeah, yeah. They they're they're way ahead of anything happening here. Yeah, they're getting it from the studio before it's edited. Yeah. Direct from the director. Okay. Speaking of cardiologists,
Social Media And DIY Jewish Shows
SPEAKER_00we have to talk about you had surgery. Yes.
SPEAKER_01You had a miracle happen in your life, no? I had I I think the miracle is that I was born in 20 in the in the 1989, and that I lived through the 21st century. That thank God medicine. Meaning if I was in the 1500s having a leaky like tricuspid valve in your heart, that's a really tough thing to live with. But thank God I was some uh, you know, I yeah, I had I had I had open heart surgery in the summer.
SPEAKER_00So for for me, it's like this. I'm on I a half hour a day am on social media. I just flip through whatever it is, and you popped up. And I was like, oh, he's gonna do a little sketch, he's gonna do something. What's what's he gonna do? And it's like, hi, I'm having open heart surgery. Was it open heart? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, hi. I'm having open heart surgery, and um, so you might not hear from me for a few days, and um, yeah, and so uh, you know, it's all good. And I'm like, hi, what's up? I love it. Okay, and I put you out of the way. I there's a list I have when I pray in the morning. I have a list of people who I pray for. For and and and what's good about my list, ladies and gentlemen, is once you're healed, I take you off the list. Okay, because in my synagogue back in the day, this used to drive me insane. My synagogue, Sixth Street Synagogue, amazing place. It used to be old school, like an old, old school where everybody when I began there like 30 years ago, everybody was super old. And they had that thing where they did the mishiberos for the old people, and people would come up with their names, Bachibas Refka, Khani Bas Getl, you know, and and then and then the people came up with lists, like full, full like and then I once took someone's life, I go, Do you know that half the people are dead? You you're doing a mashabair for somebody that's dead. It's like voting, it's like so so once somebody has their Rafu Shlema, their healing, and they're good, you're you're off the list, and I have another list of miracles I have seen. So now you're on that list. Oh, thank you. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01So yeah. No, thank you. Uh I by the way, when after the war started in Israel, you know, I would say this joke. I said, guys, I want to talk for a second. Like, when are you allowed to leave a Tahillum WhatsApp group? Like, what's the what's the protocol? Because like it you get this notification. It's like, oh, Ellie Lee Witz has left the Tahillum for IDF soldiers WhatsApp group, because you know, you probably joined the Nature Carta WhatsApp group. Like, it's like there's there's a there's a you know, it's a little dicey.
SPEAKER_00What a niche joke that is. That that you what the what the one you just did now that he joined the Nuturi Carta. Like no one's got I mean, whoever gets that is gonna be like, wow, I can't believe I got that joke. I'm just telling you, I pay a mortgage doing comedy. Oh, yeah, you are you are a working comedian. You are there's nothing, and I'm telling you, and people get him, he's funny. Um uh so neat.
SPEAKER_01The message, well, the messages I got from heart surgery, like, thank God. I posted it also just because, like, hey, I usually post pretty frequently and whatever. And also just like, I don't know, extra tefelo would probably help, you know. And uh I just get all these messages, and a lot of people were like, oh, we're fish lamo and all these things. I get one message from one guy, I didn't even know him on Instagram. He messaged me, he says, Hey, um, I also had a leaky valve in my heart because I'm also a little fat. Um, and I said, I was born with it, but thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00Oh my people, they don't know where to stop. Oh, Jews tacked. They don't know where to just hey, great job, but I could have lived without that joke. No, you you know, instead of just do a great job.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, no, uh, after the war, one of the when comedy wasn't really happening at the beginning, I started like encouraging people to put on tefillin every day, got people pairs of tefillin, it became a nice little campaign, and I got a message like on Twitter or X, whatever, and somebody messaged me and said, Hey, I'm not a fan of your comedy, but this fillin' your thing you're doing is beautiful. And I said, I didn't need the first part, you could have just given me a nice compliment. Exactly. It's so true, it's so true. Just give the compliment. It's a Jew, it's a Jew, it's a Jewish way of I have to tell. Like, I did a show for you know in the five towns and like Woodmirror last week, and like for older people during the day, and after the show, I'm I must have gotten six people said, Can I give you some feedback? And I'm
Doctors, Fans, And Wild Gigs
SPEAKER_01like, Why this is gonna be which is why I said the Torah ends with it says that there would never be a prophet like Moshe Rabinu Moses, and there never will be there never was one, there never will be another one. And the subtext is, and even he had a hard time with the Jewish people. Yes, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um it's uh it's it it I've done shows like that where where it's in the afternoon for an old age home. This is a thousand years ago. I did a show it's some it's like a there's a nursing home on 108th Street or something, all the way uptown, or maybe 180th Street, I forgot where it was.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, probably Washington Heights, probably the Portryon-ish area that probably makes sense.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, anyway, I got there and the room was empty. There was there wasn't anything there because they were all in wheelchairs. Yeah. So they brought them all in wheelchairs, and um Joey Adams was in the audience. He was this old cat skilled comedian that was uh at the it was at his at the end of his life. His wife was Cindy Adams. She had a column in the post, I think. Maybe I got the name wrong, but sounds familiar, but all of a sudden you're you're you're working the back of the room and people are being wheeled in, and there's like uh their their wheelchairs have the IVs and and and it was an amazing show. And it was an amazing show, and you focus on the people who are laughing, yes, because they can. The other ones might not have the energy to laugh, but they're having a great time. And I did the show, and I remember one lady asked uh she was blind, she asked to feel my face just so I could uh I um I I just so she could like kind of put together what I I look like a little a little bit. Wow, you know, and it was those are the shows you do so that God can reward you like 100% for for all the all the lots and all the yeah.
SPEAKER_01This is like okay, let's get the scales a little bit.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, this is exactly what God put you on earth to do, is is that show. That that's why you're here to do that show. Everything else comes as a gift afterwards.
SPEAKER_01I'm saying this past Saturday night. I literally did a show for a family in their living room because the father for the father's birthday, who has like Parkinson's and like really he can't speak anymore, but he's his mind is all there and like they loved it. And like you're like, wow, this this thing that got me kicked out of class in second grade is actually helping people is like an amazing thing. I've I've done those private shows too in a house.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and um crazy ones. Oh, they can yeah, it's insane. I it's it's so hard to even explain this to other comedians like that aren't Jewish. Yes. Um, I I I did once one show on Park Avenue. No, on on Fifth Avenue, overlook the apartment was the apartment was half a block long. It was two floors, there was a service entrance. They you just and still at the end they're haggling at a price. They haggling. No, no, no, no. She paid, she was very sweet. Um they see no, I never had a price. Um they uh they they and um and the the it was an 80th birthday party for the grandmother. It was at a Shabbat dinner. They had about uh 20 adults and maybe 11 kids, and it was for the grandmother. Yeah, and the adults were like, Uh, why is this happening? Why are we here? But the kids were having a great time. And the grandmother was looking at the kids, and she was she was her enjoyment was watching the kids laugh. So I focused on the kids, I made the kids laugh, whatever it was, got the money, and that was it. This was years, years, years ago.
SPEAKER_01But it's those little gigs that like really But it's part of the training reps, also, because like you're doing those types of gigs and they don't always go well because how can they necessarily like you're it's not the right setting, it's not you know a nightclub, whatever. And like those will be like, okay, fine, I'm doing this other show in the future that's not as bad as that one sometimes, you know what I mean? Like I performed for like an IMAX theater of Chasidim over Pesach one year, and like just horrible situation. But I'm like, you know what? I have a story now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I think I can actually say, you know, you know, when you when you come up when you come up in in your career, there's like highlights where you one of my highlights in my career was that I was able to say to my agent, I am no longer doing commercials, do not send me out on commercial auditions. I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm good. I am good. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. If they want me and directly, I will go, but I am not auditioning for a commercial. This is like in the early 2000s, and um and this year I think I'm not doing any pay-soft programs.
SPEAKER_01That's here, that's yeah.
SPEAKER_00After maybe I want to say 25 years of like flying all around doing Passover doing programs, and don't get me wrong, I love those programs, they're amazing. Yeah, but they're like it's it's it's uh It's a mixed bag.
SPEAKER_01They could mix it because also listen, they have to. I I kind of say that sometimes the programs they get entertainment the same way that you entertain your kids in Holomoid. They're like, What what are you? Uh your Crayola factory? Okay, just two hours of them not eating. Like, just it's something to fill the schedule sometimes where it's like, um I mean like sometimes people go because also the way people walk in. Like when people go to a paid show, and you know this obviously, like people opt in to come to the show, it's so much different than them just like, I guess we'll walk into the room and see what's happening. Like somebody was asking me about a casino night. Why are casino or casino
The Anatomy Of A Tough Room
SPEAKER_01shows? Why are casino shows so bad? I said, because they're gambling, and they're if you walk have people be like, I guess I'll see this, that's not people that are like fans of yours necessarily. And it's like a very different challenge.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so a casino show you're performing for people who are literally taking a break from losing money. Correct. So their mind is completely not there. Um at the Passover shows, they did not, they came a lot of people told me that we we came because you were on the program. We were choosing between this and that, and we chose you because we at least we knew we'd see you. Right. And so, so it wasn't like that. Right.
SPEAKER_01I I just I just mean that in terms of like they're also there, like their kids are there, and it's like there's no big that this is their babysitter.
SPEAKER_00No, I it's there is come on, there is not do you know how lucky we are that when we perform, there is four generations in front of us sometimes. There's the great-grandmother, the grandmother, the daughter, the kids. It is it's that's Mashir energy. Are you crazy? No, I know, but it doesn't, it's it's still challenging. So do you know what's funny? So my my really close friend, uh, we have a close friend, Mateo Lane. Uh he's a comedian. He's a gay we're Jewish comedians, he's a gay comedian. There's no he's he's that's what he is. He's hysterical. He could work anywhere, he could do a Jewish room, he's hysterical, just but his being is just hysterical. So he I even though I'm older than him, I'm like the younger sister. So like when he did Radio City Meet Music Hall, we went kind of to see the wedding hall. It was like we're gonna work with a deposit. Yeah, he so uh we're the same age, and so he goes, Come, I want you to see radio music hall. This is where you have this, this is where the bedecken is, and this is where the you know and we we got the run to get the like to get the vibe of what energy uh what radio city music hall is. And one thing that we were blown away was every one of his every one of his fans, it was the most three deep. It was one or two people. Many people bought tickets on their own, like, oh I'm a I'm a Taylor Lane fan, I'm gonna buy a ticket and just go. And then they were like, you know, couples, and look, three people. But it wasn't like the biggest challenge challenge we have is everyone's I need 16 tickets, I need eight tickets. It's Jews. I'm bringing it Jews reserving a seat at the movie theater just with the coat. Yeah, with the coat down. No, I need 12 tickets because I'm also this is also my Chevrolet.
SPEAKER_01It should change your motto to bring the friend that brings the whole Chevrolet.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, it it it's what a gift that is. What an amazing no, it's amazing.
SPEAKER_01Our net I don't think people understand the network, the Jewish network inherently is like crazy that you could just go into any city and just be like, hey, is there a chabad here and whatever? And you're just like greeted warmly. It's like it's it's amazing. And the and the connectivity of like people don't understand, like what non-Jewish weddings probably have a what, 200 people, maybe, right? Like, I don't know. I I would imagine I was like, Yeah, that's a very small Jewish Orthodox wedding. Like there's no way.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but um okay, but what wedding is okay, they can go either way. I'm saying, I'm saying the amount of the amount of people that are how who we're connected to is I'm I'm not saying I'm not saying I'm not I'm not saying that there's just Jewish people who just want to buy a ticket and go on their own, but I'm just saying I'm for me, I'm talking personally, I just think it's amazing that they it's a family event. They come to it. It's like you know, it really, it really, really is amazing.
SPEAKER_01Well when you when you watch, yeah, it's like when you watch a show, you're like turning to the person with you or you ask you get do you get involved in politics political stuff? No. I Israel-wise, which I guess is I I tweet a lot on is about Israel and stuff. And yeah, and and I just because also like on Twitter and X, it's like a obsessed pool out there, like anti-Semites are crazy. And like whether or not you're making a difference and you're just per talking to other people who are pro-Israel like you, there is a very big thing of like the same way like
Open Heart Surgery And Support
SPEAKER_01you're performing for a show and you don't know if if they're not laughing, you don't know if they're enjoying it. There are people who are recognizing this and appreciating what you're doing, even if they can't say, Hey, I like what you're doing. Like, people say it's good for you to be in the trenches and like fight this uh you know anti-Semitic thing going on. So there's that. I mean, from a politics standpoint though, like, and I posted something about you know the mum before the thing about Mamdani, before you know the the election, but like you're also you're risking alienating a bunch of your potential fans too, because like absolutely that's not your b I I don't I feel as it's not um it's not uh it's that's not what I'm here to do to give you political opinions.
SPEAKER_00I'm just I obviously support Israel and support Jews and and just but but but I do it through comedy, yeah, not through my political opinions. Um but so but that's something you have to navigate as well in into in today's yeah to in today's world. But we we were talking before about how even though it's the same place, the shows are completely different. Yeah, right. So I I I I think I spoke about about this before. When I had the three shows at the beacon, my my my mom came to all three. And so she, whenever she would come to like a like a show where there were two in the same night, she'd see one, she goes, Why am I gonna stay for the second? I just saw it. And she began to understand like the the every show is different, the vibe is different, the people are on or off, or or what whatever it was. Especially, you know, I just did two shows. I just came off the road and I did um two two nights of two two shows, and the late show, they just they had no energy. They were laughing, having a great time. But to laugh anti-Moshiach energy. No, I'm kidding. To laugh, you need energy. You need to be able to ha ha ha ha. You're engaging your core, you're laughing. You see people who aren't la when they're tired, they just go like this. Yeah, it's good. That's very good. Is this a nine o'clock?
SPEAKER_01Is this a nine o'clock show?
SPEAKER_00It was that it was a 9 30 show. So by the time I hit the stages, or it was almost 10, and then blah, blah, blah, and it's 11:30, and they are exhausted.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, exhausted, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's every yeah, every every show is a different thing. It's it's amazing how it it changes so much from show to show. Yeah. And like, and even if uh, you know, even if somebody has seen you, they're like, No, no, no, there's something different that you'll do. Like, I'm going back to communities that I've done before. And I'm like, oh no, I'm adding to my material. Somebody said to me, I'm not posting, I'm not checking what you're posting the last like next two months because I want to see you and like be fresh and whatever. But you have a lot of skits you do. Yeah, yeah. So uh one of the things that the last two years, me, Ami Kozak, and Mikey Greenbelt, we did this this thing called J Sketch. We start doing these like little videos as I was. On Instagram and YouTube, everywhere. Um, and uh they're like little, yeah, viral, like thank God it's gone pretty viral. These like sketches about Judaism, pretty much.
SPEAKER_00And people people really uh one of them was about about uh prepared rubber for Shabbat. I mean, there are that there are things that everybody can relate to that in the Jewish world, but could someone non-Jewish watching this, are they gonna get anything hacking?
SPEAKER_01Well, there's there is a bunch, so that's the thing that we have so many different topics. Well, again, it's like 25 or so that we've already done. Yeah. And uh really credit to Ami, who's really doing a lot most of the editing on a lot of these, and like it's really does a phenomenal job. It's like really a whole production for some of these. Um, yeah, there's one, I mean, one of the famous ones we have is uh we have like a job interview. I'm like starting like like about to start a job in September, and they're like, All right, so you'll start right after Labor Day, right? And they're like, um, I actually got a couple holidays coming up. And it's like, uh, okay, so you'll start the week after. I got a holiday then too. And like the entire thing, and people are like, oh my god, I'm sending this to all my not my my non-Jewish employees, uh, non-Jewish employees, and here's my schedule. And and like it what I think it really does is really helps Orthodox people feel seen because there's a lot of not great media out there in
Compliments, Critique, And Tact
SPEAKER_01in terms of representation and like helps Orthodox people be seen. Yeah. We are so seen and so seen in a positive way. Oh, that's sorry, seen in a no, because we're doing it from a we're not phoning it in. There's because a lot of, I think what there's an issue with a lot of Jewish content out there that's like pretty like it's like trying to be too broad and trying to hit every single, and there's so many different types of Jews, and they just miss the mark because if they're like, I don't know, it's just it's still very very vanilla, very bland. I call it milk toast Judaism, very like, you're not you're not really doing this, as opposed to like, no, let's talk about going to a kosher restaurant and the intricacies of a if you're or you're going to a kosher restaurant and like all the hubbub and and whatever goes on there, and like how it's a little embarrassing bringing somebody not Jewish to a kosher restaurant, you're like, uh, yeah, get ready for this. This is a whole experience. And people appreciate that, I think. There's a really big enough audience that I wouldn't have a career if like there were there those people are out there. And and also you also don't know people's religious level. Like, even if you're let's say not necessarily observant or whatever, and you're just like into you're into the idea of you you you grew up like this, like the Shabbat one, right? The getting ready for Shabbat. The amount of people are like, oh my god, how did you have a camera in my house? Like, as in like this is their lives growing up, and because whatever, there's certain things that just resonate with people. And we also kind of feel if you don't get it and you don't get it, it's fine. Sorry, yeah, Hamevin Yavin, you know? Yeah, yeah. And uh I'm I'm gonna do my my my insider baseball uh juice speak. Um yeah, so I think I think that these are they were so much fun to do. We really like resonate with like a lot of different topics. We did one about like the the she room, the the classes people go to on Shavuot night, right? They always have like a bunch of different like rabbis giving like different like lectures essentially, or people throughout the and they're always like the most clickbait of titles that don't make any sense that are not connected, you know. Like it's this we we we pretend pretended one, so we made one like Kanye, Corbunot, and uh and whatever, and Korak. The real issue with Shabbos elevators, like stuff that like has no connection. Answer but specific to people who but but I but again that's who we're talking to, and I think that that's okay because I think I was remember watching a John Mulaney special a couple years ago uh and I remember he was talking about Catholic Mass and he said, and I went to this Catholic Mass for the first time and they changed a bunch of stuff, and he's like, You guys know, and I'm like, How lucky is he that a billion people are Catholic?
SPEAKER_00No, but so so the brilliance there is the brilliance there, he it's a very brilliant thing that comedians can do when they can bring you and explain to you what is happening, right? So he's bringing you into Catholic Mass. If you've never been to a Catholic Mass, he's teaching you, he showed you that right again. My friend Mateo Lane has a whole bit, he's a gamer, he plays those games, which I've never in my life once touched or done. But he has a whole bit about it, but he brings you in to his show and he explains it to you as you go along. In my comedy special, my my first special, I I I I explained everything to the person who's not Jewish in the audience so that nobody would be lost. And it's an extra good joke because then you have the it's an extra pop on the joke. Yeah. So so it's um it's yeah, but you you being able to yes, you can't speak in. But you cannot explain Korach. You can't. This yeah, I don't know. I think you just explain explain Korach to me right now.
SPEAKER_01Korach? Korach. Korach, the person on the Torah? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, okay. In one of these when the Jews are in the desert, yes, mo Moses had Moses had a cousin who was very jealous and started a rebellion. Right. And he said, you know what, this is unfair. And Moses said, you know what, I'm sick of this rebellion. The the world is gonna do something that's never been done before. I'm not gonna make it funny, but the world's gonna do something never fun, it's gonna swallow up you. If if that happens, then you'll know that I'm the chosen leader and God
Why Private And Charity Shows Matter
SPEAKER_01is really behind me. And that's what happens as soon as he's done talking, and everyone else is like, Oh god, all right, I guess he's right, real. I don't know, but that's Korach. I don't know. I mean, yes, this is some of these esoteric things, and there are but like there are ways to make like the first Jay sketch we did was Esther, right? We did about uh the Purim story, right? And which is like I I don't know how many people who aren't Jewish know about Purim. Do right. So so you you but it's fine, but it's Purim. We start with Purim because because I said to Ami and Mikey, I said, I have this idea. I said, what if Esther, Esther Mordechai in the top in the story, tells her uh you can't tell anyone you're you're Jewish. And I said, What if Esther was like Fran Dresher and like from the five towns? There you go, over the top, and then it becomes hilarious when Human's like nice to me and she's like, sorry, I'm showing up, like I don't touch whatever. And like that from there, it builds. And so I I think there's a level of way you can, you're right. You if you can write it intelligently enough to get it, it's like a Pixar movie. You can make it for the adults and the kids, if you can make it for the the people that get it and the people that don't get it, then then you're golden.
SPEAKER_00But don't get me wrong, too. Also, if you want to just go off on like completely something that nobody that's not a douche is gonna get, do that as well. Put that clip out there as well.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, and just like yeah, when they were doing Dafyomi about Sota, well the a woman who's accused of adultery, and she has to drink like this like like water that's like ground up with God's name in it. And so I said the way I say it, I was like, I was like, you know, Sota, it's like you know, it's a woman who's accused by her husband of committing adultery. We don't know if she did it. So what she does is she drinks this special water, and if she committed adultery, then she explodes. You know how you do. And if she didn't commit adultery, then they have the most awkward car ride home in the history of the universe. Right. Like, should we talk about what just happened? You're gonna tell me if you need to pull over you're feeling bloated or anything, right? Like, so like, but I was able to make that, and people loved it because I I I was able to learn that lesson of like explain it a little bit and make it funny. Because like, yes, even your from observant, you know, Torah readers are gonna be like, I don't remember this so well. Right. So to be able to I I think the best, sometimes the best audiences are people that like went to day school and then aren't observant anymore because they still they have the memory and the knowledge of it, and then they can laugh about it.
SPEAKER_00It's the oh oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah. The best thing that when you do something like that the the the most interactions we get like with the podcast is when I quote something from the Torah from the completely different place, or I can pl I can I say that Abraham said it, but really it was Moses that said it. And they come in you apicyrus, you you goi, you how do you even think it wasn't Moses said this, or other all they'll be like, hey, we really did this and this and then that usually well usually anything I say it was the Rebbe said it, but it's but you know, but um Yeah, because I said Jews like something more than laughing, and that's correcting people.
SPEAKER_01Do you know what other Jews like?
SPEAKER_00Glot kosher food and our sponsor AH Provisions, which is the most delicious glot kosher food, and they are a part of our uh podcast and our family. And um, and Seth, if you ever you should get in touch with him and uh and do a sketch at his factory. He's dying for people to go to his factory and see how beautiful it is. And um, kosher dogs.net is their website. Check it out, it's beautiful. And promo code Modi, and you'll get 30% off your first order. They're also in Costco. They're it's really have you ever had yeah, I got a six pack at Costco like last year or whatever. Yeah, yeah. It's they're amazing, and also Whites and Luxembourg, Whites and Luxembourg, the law firm that not only does good, uh, they do not only does well, they do good. Super philanthropic, uh Arthur Luxemburg's friend of the podcast, and his wife Randy, who listens and tells him what we talk about. Uh yeah, yeah. He's not listening to this. Um that's my favorite. And uh they're a part of our family, and we thank them very, very, very much for being uh in in the and here's Modi family. Yeah. That's great.
SPEAKER_01Who's sponsoring you guys for all your stuff? So we have different ones. So we we started in the last uh year plus of doing different. We kind of like are like, okay, if we could find a way to make a sponsorship um possible, but we've had you know daily giving, which is a di I idea. This guy, Jonathan Donath, he started this idea of do giving a dollar a day to Sadaka automatically, and whatever. We did that one. That's like you know, all these Sadaka phone calls you get and emails you get before you know uh Rosh Hashanah, you always get these things that are like, uh yeah, we want to uh send uh soldiers from the IDF to uh New York Jets games. Like what? And then look, that's that's that seemed like a good use of money. Uh so then we did like a real no, so then so that's the thing. And we did we did one for like um like called Ama Tai, which is like dealing with like end
Passover Programs: Blessing And Chaos
SPEAKER_01of life, like like making like a lack like Will and like your what your like your your the wishes you have. And we're like, how do we make this funny? And then we said, Oh, let's just do a family talking about hey, like a family, because a Jewish family doesn't want to talk about like, especially if you're like you know, superstitious, they'll be like, no, no, no, whatever. So, like, we gotta talk about dad. I'm like, what's going on? He's fine. And then you look at him and he's like, he's like not doing great. And then, and then uh, so but like the parent, the one guy, uh like Ami plays this as like the super yeshivish with the guy who has like three phones and he's like, Yeah, I don't want to talk. Listen, I gotta go, I gotta go. Let me let me tell me on WhatsApp what's happening. And then the mother who's like in denial and whatever we made it, but we made it funny and important. So there's those are nice things. Um, we've done for like um again, we the the kosher restaurant one was uh Mayor Punym, which does soup kitchens in Israel. I know Mayor Punim very well. Yeah, so the the the premise was because their soup kitchens in Israel are designed to be like restaurants so they to keep people's dignity so that you don't have to like feel like you're getting you know charity. So as soon as I heard they're like restaurants, I was like, oh great, let's do an idea where somebody who isn't Jewish comes to a kosher restaurant to get the full kosher restaurant experience.
SPEAKER_00Do you know that Marepanim? I did an event for them. They they provide uh kosher food all over Israel. Not kosher food, food. Yeah. They provide food for people all over Israel, and I hosted a cantorial concert for them. So they brought me, they had all of these like um like cantors. It was in a synagogue in Long Island, and I was the host. Like I would I would do a little shtick in between the the and it was great, and there was lots of money, and they uh Ossem, the big Israeli company that does uh give them they just didn't miraculous world, miraculous, miraculous world.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, so so we've we've really found a bunch of sponsors for different, you know, videos. I mean, part of it is trying to get them, you know, attention and whatever, make it make it fun. I mean, we would love to have just general sponsors that can so we can keep doing what we're doing to like you know really make ideas that don't necessarily have to tie into this idea of like whatever their company is and just have kind of a general sponsorship. But like, but they're really fun to do that these these sketches. I mean, we we did I mean with the one of the best ones we did was a we did a paysach program Fire Festival, you know the Fire Festival like we made a Paysoch program Fire Festival documentary of like a PASOC program of like of like you know a shady guy and whatever, and it was like and the idea was like all right, we thought it was a Pesoch program in Jamaica, we didn't realize it was Jamaica Queen.
SPEAKER_00So fun. Oh my god. Yeah, so um we uh we what what's what's what's coming up next with you?
SPEAKER_01What's what's I mean I'm I got a pretty busy December, thank God, you know, things November to March. I'm gonna be in Scottsdale, Arizona. Then I'm doing something with Dovey uh in for Eula. Scottsdale. Uh it's called Beth Tefila. It's like every you know, a lot of shoals have the same name. They just have like a randomizer that like but-da-da, show them rape amuna, like every single show. So it's I think it's called Bass Tefila in in Scottsdale, Arizona, and then I'm doing a show for Eula in LA, uh, and then something for Berman in Silver Spring, and then Beth Tefila in Baltimore, and then the BRS Poker Tone synagogue. Um, that's like one week. Yeah, it's one one week in December. My wife's gonna kill me. But that you know what? No, it's just I'm gonna weigh the whole week and like it's uh a bit challenging, you know. It's but that's the best. Uh aren't you on the high when you I love that? I understand, but I'm saying my wife's just like, hey, when are you coming back?
SPEAKER_00Because you have three kids at home.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and then I say to you, where are you going for paysack this year? And then I I kind of try to balance it up. But yeah, I got three little kids at home. Is she is she on board with what's going on with you? Yeah, it's just tough. I I it's also hard because like I've done a lot of different jobs. You know, I worked at BH because you know I needed more material.
SPEAKER_00You worked at BH. Yes. That is that is miraculous. Why? Tell me, what did you do at BH? I was you were the guy that stocked the candies.
SPEAKER_01I was the modern orthodox token modern orthodox guy.
SPEAKER_00No, there's a bunch of modern orthodox guys. I know, I know, I know, I know I'm kidding, but everybody thinks. Those of you who don't know, and I I'm wow if you don't know. No, BH is is pretty BH is this camera store that is literally a world. It's a world of uh a camera store. It is all electronics, yeah, everything.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And um, they're obviously online, but they're also uh they're really much online, but they have the physical store.
SPEAKER_01Brick is like Santa's workshop, but with like Hasidic juice.
SPEAKER_00And whatever
Energy, Timing, And Late Shows
SPEAKER_00is happening there is uh whoever's running that should be running America. It is so tightly run, and you you walk in there, there's a lot of chasidim and a lot of like Santa's workshop. Yeah, but you also see people who who aren't Jewish working there. Yes. There's I saw Indian people, I saw a lady with a hijab, I saw uh there's a lot of like a lot of people, a lot of people, and they all know what they're doing, they all know what it is, they very they're very knowledgeable, and and then whatever you order, it kind of comes on this conveyor belt that goes throughout the store and it gets to the front, and the way the woman's waiting for you, and they just say your name, and here it is. And it's it's so well run. It's so it's so impressive. You're gonna have sponsors of an ANH and BNH. They don't call they didn't call, but yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh no, it's it's it's really well run. And they're with create they're closed all of Pesach and Circus, even Holomoid.
SPEAKER_00It's the entire first of all. So it's it's a major store. And if you're a camera person, you want to see the physical camera before you buy it, so you want to go there. But if you go there on if you're visiting New York and you go there on a Saturday, it's closed. Yeah. Friday night.
SPEAKER_01They literally have to warn people like our sketch. They literally have a schedule to say, by the way, just so you know, and then like we would come back to work after you know after the Hagim, and like people just email be like, Who closes for the entire for nine days during October? Right. It's crazy. And they still function and make money. And they still function. I think that's part of it though. Meaning they literally, they're wet. You can't, I don't think you can buy anything on Shabbos. It literally says Oh really, like you can't check out, or you order the order's not fully processed until three stars come out in months. No, whatever. It's like till Shabbos is over. You can't uh you can't, yeah.
SPEAKER_00No, you can you can go.
SPEAKER_01You can buy, you can buy it, it's not gonna say hey, whatever, but like the order is not like processed until after after whatever. But they don't tell the people that I think it does. It does. I think it does. I've never I've never tried it, but um, you know, it's one of those things, it's crazy.
SPEAKER_00I remember when when I I had a mortgage once, I I refinanced the mortgage with this Jewish company, and we were going through like when you when you do do a mortgage, it's like a it's like a an acronym of signing nonstop. Nonstop. And all of a sudden I just I'm I'm an autopilot, and all of a sudden I just see like a page and I just see something in Hebrew and like a like a Hajjgaha, like a symbol or something on it. I'm like a like a little tree. I go, what the hell? I got I pulled it and I go, what is this? And it's because when Jews lend money to Jews, you're not allowed to charge interest. But this allows them to charge interest because it is a livelihood and it's not uh it's not like uh it was like a business. And I'm like, I go, wow. I go, do people ever pull he goes, no, no one ever just to just sign and keeps going. But like that's why they stick it right in the middle, so you don't you don't know. Yeah, it's so crazy. But I guess I guess you can do whatever whatever they no.
SPEAKER_01I mean that's that's no, it's also a normal thing to charge interest on a loan. It's just a matter of like a lachic, whatever.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01So but I mean I mean, imagine this clip goes out, Jews don't know. I I was gonna say this is all over they're like this is fully this is the thing that we're gonna do. Well, that's why I said like you're not on, you're not the fact that you're not on like Twitter or whatever, you don't even understand how bad it is from an anti-Semitism standpoint. Like you have like Candace Owens and these like Tucker Carlson, and they're obsessed with like the Talmud. And I'm just like, is this like like the Gemara that you think like they're like, oh yeah, you know what says in the Talmud? I'm like, I'm pretty sure it's like mostly about oxen goring things, and they're like, No, no, no, it says the goyum are the worst. I'm like, I'm pretty sure it's mostly about oxen. Like I this so I wanted to do an idea of a sketch or something like of like you know, a Talmud, all these anti-Semites going to a daffion sheer, waiting for the excitement of like we're gonna finally learn the Talmud. And it's just like, so when is the first time you can say creation my at night? And like when your ox books on his property, is it his ox? Yeah, and they're like Candace, when does this get exciting? They're like, No, I swear it's great, but you gotta get to 50 pages first. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um there's a lot of I think that's what we do. I'm saying, but the J Sketch My Comedy is very much a Jewish prideful, I guess you say, you know, the Mashiach energy type of thing. Very much just a pride of like, I'm very proudly Jewish, not hiding it. I can't couldn't hide it if I tried. And like I'm gonna talk about it and not, and I think that the world respects it more. I mean, I don't know about me personally, yeah, but when you are waffling about like if you are work at a company and you're like, I have to take off for these days, and but if you like are like wishy-washy about it and you're like, Oh, I kind of keep this. Like, do
J Sketch: Making Orthodox Life Relatable
SPEAKER_01you have principles or do you not have principles? It really means something if this is what you're living. And I mean, whatever you asked me about politically for a second, like the people that are like only talking about their Judaism to bash Israel, like I have a big issue with because like are you like the you gotta let there's these videos of this guy, like this like you know, free Palestine person going up to somebody, this like Hasidic guy and being like, Hey, we're the real Jews. It's like okay, great, keep Shabbos. We're Sitzis. How do you oh the real the the it's there's like a the um the the the black Israelites that not not I don't know if it was uh one of those, but it was just a guy like yelling at this like Hasidic guy trying to provoke him, being like, We're the real Jews, you know, just saying no, you're not the real Jews.
SPEAKER_00No problem. Go be the real Jews, go go produce movies, go find cures for diseases, and go build buildings for hospitals. Go go right ahead, go be the real Jews.
SPEAKER_01Not even that, be the real Jews and be like, hey, do you want to like wear tzitsis and put a keep on or like keep kosher?
SPEAKER_00That's not that's not that's not real Jews. That's not that doesn't make you a real Jew.
SPEAKER_01No, no, no, no, but I'm saying, but meaning like he's saying this guy's like walking around in in a Hasidic garb.
SPEAKER_00You're you're a real Jew because you were born Jewish. You were born whatever your family pack that or you converted now. Whether you put on tsits for twilling or whatever, that doesn't make you a there's nothing I hate more than when people come to me and go, I'm a bad Jew. And say I'm I'm a bad Jew. I I eat bacon and I I I travel on the Sabbath. That's not make you a bad Jew. It makes you a bad Jew if you punch your wife in the face and and uh and abuse your kids. That then that then you're a bad Jew. And you're a bad person in general. But that doesn't make you a bad Jew. You know, we you whatever you do, taking off those days to keep the Sabbath is there to make you a better person. Right.
SPEAKER_01But don't somebody else that might not need that to be a better person. I think I think right. I think it's it's a matter of a lot of people lose the forest for the trees and they get obsessed with like certain details of halacha, and then they end up, you know, like completely disrespecting people, and it's not like that. I think the reason we have so many mitzvot and things to do is because it's God's constant reminder hey, by the way, you're part of this club and you can't get out of it. And that's the whole thing. You're wearing a uniform, whether or not you realize it. And that means that act like a good person and be a respectful human being and all those things, in addition to doing some of these things.
SPEAKER_00Well, hold on here. You're part of this club and you can't get out of it. I'm not sure I'm all the way on that club on that on that. You think you can un undo your Judaism? You you don't. I didn't say undo your Judaism, but but all these things that you do helps you to connect to being a better person. You're you're you're putting on filling, you're putting uh you're making the blessing on the wine. It's not because you're Jew, it's because you want to be a better person. It's a technology that was given to the world to you as a Jew to be to connect to being a better person. What if you if you do it with real consciousness, if you come to the table, everybody enjoy dinner, then you have nothing, then it's nothing. It's it's so oh it's so empty. Right.
SPEAKER_01Meaning people lose people lose the meaning, and it's supposed to be it's supposed to be a reminder. Again, I said something like I'm teaching my kids like, hey, why we say a braca on a food on food? Yeah, it's hey you're remembering, by the way, there are a lot of people who don't have food, and God, everything that I have in this world is because of God. Right. And it's it's so there are like many touch points throughout your life, and that's what uh I think a yarmulk is is just like I say the yamakka people say, you know, I I I worked in uh you know with Hasidic guys, and they said, Why do you I was the only one who wore a wedding ring, and they said, Why do you wear that? And I said, Oh, it's like a yarmulk for your hand, you know.
SPEAKER_00I saw some I saw a clip, I I don't know his name, and I won't even say his name if I had it, but there's a clip now of this rabbi that was talking about about Mashiach and he's a reform or conservative rabbi, and he's wearing a talus and no yarmka and he's dartioning, and of course, all you can focus about and Judy Gold luckily went into it. I I I I would never, I don't I'm not looking to start anything. That's not my scene. She was like, Really? Really? Talas, but no yamah, and he completely has the most demented view of what Mashiach and Mashiach energy is, and he's just and he began to bash Chabad, and it was just like the poor guy, the poor. I like felt bad for him almost that this is uh This is your altered view, that this is your your living through this world thinking this. Um and then I saw a clip of of of uh this Iman in a synagogue speaking to I think it was central synagogue and he put a yamaka on and went and spoke. And the rabbi didn't wear a yamaka. And and it's fine. It's I'm just like I'm like, really? I and you're not and we're not living in a messianic time. No, there's so to me that's machiachan energy right there. This this Iman came to a synagogue to speak, to say we can have peace, we can have machine that that that is what Avraham Avinu, that is the whole thing.
SPEAKER_01I mean, we're in the parshiad of like Avram Avinu, and it's like that's the whole thing. Is Avraham is this idea of bringing uh monotheism or bringing the idea of hey he gives you know somebody a place to sleep or gives them the food and they say thank you. It's like no, thank Hashem. Like this is remember the source of who who is of everything that we have here. And that's the whole point of that is what Judaism is supposed to be. And yeah, we've gone a long way away from it in a lot of ways, but to be able to dial back into that, and I I hate politically how Judaism gets abused, and they say, like, oh, this is what the Torah wants. It's like the Torah
Writing For Insiders Without Losing Outsiders
SPEAKER_01says very specifically what it wants, and but like the what does it want? No, I'm saying it's supposed to be you're supposed to be a role model for the world. That's what you are as Jews. You're role models for the world. And the I I that that's what you are. You are you are the the wearing the uniform from the company. That's what I'm saying. I mean uniform.
SPEAKER_00I'm so so stop with the wearing the uniform. We we're we were we were a role model for the world. It's that's not okay. That's a very strange way to say it because it was we're the chosen people. Hashem chose us not to be the greatest nation and to be the most the most powerful. It was to disseminate la vire ivri, yeah, you to uh all of this amazing knowledge. Yes, right.
SPEAKER_01Say this is the truth of the world. Right. You're bringing the truth into the world. No, no, but I'm saying, but you are a representative of the company. That's what I'm saying. You're representing God. Right. You're representing God, and that's the major difference. But Christianity uniform is one thing, but it's I mean uniform. I mean I mean uniform in quotes. People should seem from what you do more than what you no no, but I but I'm saying, but I'm saying, but it's it's but you what no what you do, you're you're I know you're gonna be. And don't get me wrong, I'm posting Tvillon and Talas all day long.
SPEAKER_00And I and I love that I wear my kaputt too.
SPEAKER_01But I mean uniform, I but I mean uniform. I know I know, but I mean uniform in quotes. I don't actually mean uniform. I'm saying you are Jewish, whether or not you like whether or not you like it, you are Jewish, people are gonna see you. As you said, Jews are seen. You are seen, you better do the right thing because you are getting judged for it. So you better be doing the right thing and don't forget what that is. I mean, listen, I've I've I call it this idea that like brismila, the fact that brismila is so common, I don't even know if that's supposed to be the situation. Meaning the brismila, I think, is supposed to be this idea that like, oh, it's supposed to be a signifier of a thing.
SPEAKER_00You're like, by the way, just so you know, you are this the but but uh and the world when they see Jewish people, they they it's so confusing to them. Because especially now that there's all of this internal fighting, which is the worst thing in the world, it is just Especially now, especially now in is okay. Here is the kind the the the war is is is kind of over, right? We're in this when there's gratitude and in healing and mode, and then the ultra-orthodox people are protesting to not go to the army. Yeah, and so like again, we it's hitting our news station. We're seeing it from all of the the the news outlets that we follow on on social media. But someone who's not Jewish all of a sudden sees in Jerusalem there's thousands of Jews just getting tested and protesting, and they were doing it so crazily, and they were climbing on the cranes, yeah, and one of them fell off and died. And I right away said, I mean, he would have been the worst paratrooper in the world. He would have I mean, it's a good thing he's not in the army to jump off a crane w without a parachute. Yeah, I I just uh there's I'll I'll tell you off.
SPEAKER_01There's a there's a story about that that's a story. They say he might have been killed himself. You think he killed himself? I think they heard he like left it out. Or something, or you or you like told people like I can't handle this anymore, or something like that. I think. No. I no no no no, there were those people that did that. I'm thinking the one guy who died, though. I think that's what that's what their stories are coming out that that's what it was, probably. That's so not what it is. He just thought he's like, okay, so yeah, I can be a good paratroop and just jumped off. I said I said my solution to the uh the protest is just have them have the Harediam in charge of the fake pager companies. Like have them work at the welcome to H and B pagers, where we're definitely not a front for it's an insane thing.
SPEAKER_00It's it's what's happening in the Knesset, which is destroying, which is which is like the opposite of the Mashir energy. It's like it's like wow. Do you know it's so I think the people bringing Mashir today uh is is people who aren't the Khereidi.
SPEAKER_01I but you're right now, but then then you're not gonna be I mean I'm not gonna be able to do that. Now you're gonna get your comments. Yeah, no, but uh, but listen, no, no, it's not, it's just it's a matter of like remember Akht and unity is really important, and that's something that's really, really necessary. Like it's literally said Josephus, who's like the historian who used to be Jewish, tried to undo his Judaism, being Christian, reported about the the Beta Mekdesh getting destroyed, the second temple. And he says, literally says something like the Jews were so busy fighting themselves they couldn't fight the Romans. Yeah. And that literally, and like, oh, have we learned our lesson of that? No, we have not learned our lesson from from 2000 years. It's just like that's our issue, is just, and there's a lot of again, the I think there's a lot of like uh guilt that Jews have, and that's why they're you have I mean, when when humans in New York is protest as showing Nature Carta, like literally and everyone's like it's confusing. Everyone's like, Great, this is so good. And you're like, you're just using these people as Jews to be like, look, Jews are anti Israel, and you're like, it's just no, it's really bad.
SPEAKER_00So it's a gr it's a crazy conversation that I it's not it's again, it's not that's not not something I focused on. My focus again, your focus as a communion is to Make people who are sad, happy, and try to bring peace wherever you can in the world. That is your job, Al P. Talmud. Yeah. That is what is written in the Talmud. That's your job. Okay.
Explaining Torah With A Punchline
SPEAKER_00It's definitely not to tell everybody about political stances and stuff. Um and that that's basically it. Tell everybody where, how, who, where they can see you, the wonderful Ellie Liebowitz, and your crew. And your crew. You have a crew. You have a crew. You have uh uh uh Greenblad and and uh all the it's a crew, you have a little crew.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, we do we we do our own shows and and shows together all the time. And um, I'm on Instagram, Ellie Comedyagram. My website is Liecomedy, E L I Comedy.com, because Liebowitz is way too hard to spell. I'm on Twitter X at Ellie Liebowitz, spelled impossibly E-L-I, L E B O W I C Z. Wow, now I know why you shortened your name to Modi. Yeah, and you you're available for events.
SPEAKER_00I'm available for events, you would have you, Jewish events of all types. Still at a point where you can say, let's just bring him, it's gonna be fun and and do it. And and yeah, and make your events fun and and bring bring a young comedian. I don't know if you're young, are you young? I don't look young. No, you are young. I'm younger than you're young. Sure, but but you're like years wise, you're younger. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Uh so you know, get and and make it bring comedy. So you be be the friend that brings the comedy. Bring the friend that brings the comedy to the event. Yes, yes. So do that. I really wish all of you guys so much success and so and have fun. Have fun while you're doing it. Oh my god, have fun. Um I am on tour. Wow. I'm not sure when this is airing. Uh, God willing, the show at Radio City Music Hall will be sold out by then. Um uh that's on MortyLive.com. April 2030 is Radio City Music Call. But besides that, uh, we're gonna be in Europe. Uh, not sure again, not sure when this is coming out, but we're gonna be in Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, and Berlin. Uh get tickets. There's a I mean maybe a few left, hope or they're sold out. And then we have a big, big domestic tour beginning next year with cities all over San Francisco, um Indianapolis, uh uh Washington, DC, everybody's been asking for, and uh 20 more. So go to ModiLive.com, find a show near you, and be the friend that brings the friends to the comedy show. Um also the merch page, uh mashirenergy.com, or it's just go to my shop on the and get a hat or two. Just uh believe me, I'm not making crazy money on this, but it just it sparks the conversation of Mashir Energy. Someone goes, What does that mean? And you start to tell them what it means, and whatever they whatever, as long as people are talking about Mashir. That's literally like so important. Just be speaking about Mashir, because that's what we need. And um, and uh that's it. Thank you all very much, and thanks for coming in. Really appreciate it. Thank you for having me. I had a great time.