Israel’s Most CANCELLED Comedian Turns Jew-Hate Into Comedy | Yohay Sponder

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This comedian has had shows canceled in Amsterdam, Sydney, and Melbourne, but continues to sell out theaters full of adoring fans all over the world.

Why?

Because he's Israeli.

He's a self-loving Jew who finds the humor in the horror and uses laughter to spread a message of peace, connection, and Jewish pride.

Plus, we've got exclusive footage from his most recent US show that you won't find anywhere else.

He's Yohai Sponder, I'm Jonah Platt, and this is Being Jewish Today's episode of Being Jewish is brought to you by Honeymoon Israel, a nonprofit that helps young couples build real Jewish community through an unforgettable group trip.

Check out their new Argentina experience at honeymoonisrael.org/beingjewish.

Yochai, welcome to the show, my friend.

Thank you very much, brother.

It's really, uh, really happy to, honored to be here.

This is, uh...

You, I told you I follow the show.

We've been following each other from, from afar, so it's great to get to be in the same room together.

Before that specific war, it, it felt that the American Jews are kind of involved and in a way.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

But after October 7th, I, I saw more and more, uh, I also saw people that went silent completely.

Of course.

So that's why my appreciation stays with those who chose to use their platforms and, and make a voice about it.

I feel like it's gone both ways, where Americans have been more involved, even more than they already were before with Israel, and that Israelis are really noticing and appreciating Americans and re- and more diaspora Jews and realizing, oh, like we're all in this together.

They...

You know, when we catch shit, they're catching a lot of shit in a different way, too.

Yeah.

All right.

So let's, let's get into this.

So, uh, as I mentioned, my wife Courtney, weekly shout-out to Courtney, and I were at your show last night.

Um, and I, I wanna help some of the folks at home who may not know you or be familiar with your stuff get to know you a little bit.

So you're an Israeli, but you do your comedy in English.

Yeah.

Why, and how did that start?

Somewhere between 2008 or 2012, when I really started, I had this idea that, uh, my comedy could be interesting in English.

I felt some, you know, some sense of, uh, that it's gonna be funny in a second language that- That English is a funnier language Why is English funnier?

The structure of the language is opposite than Hebrew.

Uh-huh.

So basically when, when you say stuff that I...

With a lot of nouns on, on it describing something, the funniest thing you can put in the end, and that's better for comedy.

Right.

That's just one example for- ' Cause Hebrew's sort of like it comes backwards, like- Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

It's like hatul lavan.

Right.

But in English you would say white cat.

Right.

So the, the thing's gonna be in the end.

So the surprise goes as f- as far as possible.

That's just- I totally get that ...

a little thing.

That makes sense, yeah.

That's a little thing.

And the, the second thing is that, uh, this- the Israeli's comedy style weren't ever not funny or not...

Was under pressure, so it's a lot of jokes per minute.

Comparing to the American or British style, it's more linear, lean back, and they take their time.

It's storytelling and that, that makes it more, uh, like, uh, aired.

When you said you, you felt like your comedy would be funnier in English, what was your comedy in 2008 as opposed to, you know, we'll get into exactly what your comedy is now, but w- is, is it different from what you were doing when you first started?

Yeah.

It's evolving, you know?

It's evolving.

B- uh, imagine it was almost 10 years before Me Too- Yeah ...

uh, campaign.

So I had jokes about relationship that, uh, all the bad things is, uh, on her.

Like- Mm-hmm ...

uh, they just, uh, want to talk all the ti- Like, the jokes of the, of that time.

And then, uh, I, uh, I had a show in, I think was it in, in, uh, Bucharest?

Romania?

Romania.

Okay.

I had the sense.

I studied English, but when I flew to Romania to do a show in Hebrew to Israelis, I was like, "This is, this is cool to travel and, and perform.

I love it." Right.

And that encouraged me to do more, uh, English studying, to- Right ...

to study, study more.

Certainly opens up a lot more- Yeah opportunities.

Yeah.

So it's 10 years that we're doing, uh, shows in English.

Yeah, tell me about Funny Monday.

We open up the scene for everyone who pr- want to perform in English, uh, both Israelis and non-Israelis, the, the, you know, big stars that come to...

Jeff Ross was in Israel to open for Chris Rock, right?

He came to do a spot on Funny Monday.

That's awesome.

It's a lot of fun.

10 years, 90 episodes that you can, uh, watch on YouTube.

When would you say your comedy shifted from, you know, I'm just making jokes about relationships, et cetera, to I'm making jokes about what it's like to be Jewish and be Israeli and, and really, you know, focus on that messaging?

Performing in Hebrew versus performing in English, it changed the shifting right away because when you're performing in English, you're performing in places that people are less Israelis, and that makes you tell them who you are, so you joke about who you are from an external perspective.

Mm-hmm.

I, I always had jokes about myself alongside jokes about relationship and the other stuff, so it's always...

It, it always felt like I'm talking about everything that's funny to me in my perspective then.

Today, I can tell you that the more you grow, the more subjects, the more things bother you.

You know, the fact that there are starving kids in Africa didn't bother me when I was, uh, 23.

Mm-hmm.

But today, I have jokes about it that I'm saying that, you know, I had a, a bit now in, uh, Manhattan, and I'm talking to non-Jews.

I'm talking, I'm doing set.

I'm talking about the fact that I'm Jewish.

I'm acknowledging it, but then I'm talking about world's problem.

I'm saying, when my friend tell me...

I, I love the fact that I'm a father, really happy to be a father, but when my friend tell me I, I'm not sure I wanna have kids So I'm saying if you don't wanna have kids, don't have.

I don't think it's something that someone that is not sure of should have.

Yeah.

Especially when we have 400 million, uh, orphans on the planet.

That's crazy.

Right?

So take one, see if you like.

You don't like, put it back.

But if you know, like that's...

So it's stuff that it's, uh, of course, uh, a little bit with, mixed with dark humor, but it's a given fact that people, stuff that I deal with.

You've called your recent touring your reserve duty.

Did I?

Yeah.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, more than once I've heard you say it.

Really?

Yeah, I think you said it even last night.

No, it, it's, it's a smart thing to say.

It's just I'm happy with me saying it.

Yeah, it was a good one.

Yeah.

What do you think a comedian can communicate that traditional PR can't communicate?

I think in every form, form of art that you have, it's a, it's a good thing to, uh, to care about something.

It's something that, uh, that, that boiled in us that we, we decide that we want to, to make a change.

I mean, I'm more outside of it than you, but it doesn't appear to me that every comedian has something like what you just described.

I feel like some are just like being funny or just observational or, you know, I don't know that they have a, a, you know, something deeper.

So, so I, I don't think all, all people are alike to begin with, but I'm saying if, if you're good in your craft and you know what you're doing, right, and you're, you know, you, you love the, the art that you're, you're doing, it doesn't matter what it is, right?

I like to carve in, uh, clay or whatever you're doing, your art is.

If you have, uh, something, some, something that you want to say, a story that you wanna tell, that makes it, uh, 10 times more powerful.

Sure.

And I'm not judging people that they, maybe they don't bother by it.

I see 10 comedians every time that I'm in the Comedy Cellar that they're, uh, Jewish.

Half of them would not even mention the fact that they're Jewish.

The other half would joke about, uh, Judaism and they join the...

You know, the...

I, I would make fun of my fact that I'm Jewish, I would make fun of Judaism, uh, you know, alongside the other stuff that I'm doing.

It makes sense, it balance out.

But if the only thing that you say about Jews is the, your criticism as a comedian about yourself, which is understood, it's a, it's a comedy style, it's American comedy style, what you allow, you can do.

I mean, I feel a sense as, as an audience member that there is a, uh...

We're starting to see the pendulum swing back a little bit, I feel.

Like, people wanna be able to laugh at whatever again and, and be more gloves off and, and make fun of each other equally.

Do you feel that at all in the audiences as you're around the US that, like, people are hungry for that kind of humor?

Comedians that they're one or two generation before me, they, they push that, that cart back.

Um, I think it's happening for a few years now that they're, they're against the, that, that, that culture that- Yeah ...

dictate what you can say, what you can't say, and so they did a lot of, uh, hard work for, for all of us.

I would imagine, though, it's different in Israel.

Yeah, in Israel it's not...

You can say whatever you want.

This country's under pressure since the...

It's not just because we're savage.

We are savages, I'm not gonna defend that.

Oh, yeah, of course.

We are.

But I don't think that's the reason for the free speech on stage.

We had one case that someone, uh, uh, said, like he did the, we call it hafoch al hafoch, they're, like, opposite.

The sarcasm, you know, did the joke about, uh, vegan people.

Okay.

And if you hear the joke, he's really, he's really making fun of the people that they're not vegan.

Okay.

Because the character is making fun of the vegans, is really pushing it to the place that you...

If you have really basic common sense, you understand that those jokes are pro-vegan.

Okay.

So they, they, uh, got him out of stage Someone just dropped him out of the stage because they got annoyed by that.

Now, it was a paid gig.

He get the money anyway.

It doesn't matter, and it was a big deal in the news and everything.

So, so that, that was funny to me when I saw that, that it's so rare that someone get offe- Like, he got canceled.

It's the first case that I heard of in Israel from, like- That was the thing?

The veganism was the thing?

That was it, yeah.

Someone that said some- Someone got really hurt by the joke, and they just...

That just show you how, uh, how we are, uh, mainly okay with everything else, people.

But I think also the community grow, grew, so you don't see a lot of, like, fat-shaming jokes or, uh, ethnical background.

I don't feel that we're not allowed to do, and that's the reason that we don't do it.

I, I feel that it just spiritually growing from the '90s and the 2000s.

Just more stuff seeping into the, the culture.

Yeah, it's just we're being affected by the, the woke culture and the PC from America, but in a good way.

Didn't, it never was a, like, it didn't police us.

It just inspired us to, to be, you know, to, to be funny naturally and to say stuff that they're not too much, uh, and we push the borders at the same time.

What's your biggest goal with your career right now?

To be the biggest comedian you can be, or to spread, you know, your message, your Jewish pride, your, your connection?

And would you give up one for the other?

This question is too good.

I don't know.

I don't know.

It's good to do those podcasts because it- Makes you think?

Sends you home with, uh, homework and in one point in my life I found myself, uh, doing both of those and, uh, in, in a very, you know, high, uh, speed and you gotta stop sometimes and think, what, what do you want from life?

Mm-hmm.

Listen, I think doing comedy is my main thing, so if you ask me if I need to pick one, I wanna make people laugh.

I think this is in my core.

I'm just happy that I had the opportunity and the privilege to use that tool to, to spread messages and to make it from observational comedy that I really love, and you feel the energy goes up when you just, you move to dumb jokes all of a sudden.

In the show, the most self-loving Jew, the most sh- you know, Zionist show you can...

But in that show, you all of a sudden you give them a break.

Escapism in a comedy show.

Inside of a comedy show, escapism, uh, for stupid jokes, and you feel how the, that's, that's the real comedy also.

It's comedy.

Say more about that.

What do you mean?

So like when you go to the jokes that are not so on the topic, you feel people are, like, super excited for that and there's, like, an even higher level of release maybe?

Yeah, I mean, there are stuff that they're really painful for you- Yeah ...

in your soul, and there are stuff that e- has nothing to do with any pain.

It's just funny.

Mm-hmm.

So it doesn't...

You know, the, when the masseuse is pressuring in a place that, "Ah, don't touch there." Or sometimes they press it like, "Oh, oh, oh, exactly there." Right.

"Touch there." Yeah, yeah.

It's the same reaction, but sometimes it's really painful and sometimes it's not ready yet for the massage.

Mm.

So escapism has nothing to do with, with that pain at all.

Right.

It's just talking about stupid things that happen to everyone.

Right.

That's the secrets of success of a lot of great, great comedians, that they never y- they never even dealt with the, with the biggest questions in life, and they multi-billionaires right now.

Right.

Knowing that and still walking my path, I'm telling you that I'm I'm happy to do what I'm doing.

I feel that I'm, uh, that, that's, that's what I had to do.

That's awesome.

So let's talk a little bit about your canceled shows.

You got canceled in Amsterdam by Boom Chicago.

I love Boom Chicago.

I, I went as a teenager and- I used, I used, I used to love them too I know.

It's, for, for folks who don't know, it's a, an English language comedy, uh, theater in Amsterdam where folks like Jordan Peele, Seth Meyers, Jason Sudeikis have come out of there.

I've been doing improv since I was a teenager, and I, it's like I, I'm almost done with auditioning for them after college, but now I'm pissed off because of what happened to you.

So t- tell us the story.

So basically we're looking up on the, uh, site of the Boom Chicago to see what's happening with the tickets.

I don't know, the tickets- You had two, two shows scheduled.

I think we were sold out in the first one, and the second one did really well, almost sold out, and the show's not on, on the site at all.

It's just not on the site.

And this is how long before you're supposed to perform?

Five days, four days before.

Were you already in the Netherlands?

No, I almost flew, and it was okay, maybe it's a technical problem.

Let's, let's check it out.

And we emailed them.

They emailed us back, uh, "We're sorry.

Uh, we took it off because of, uh, some threats that we got.

We consulted with the police, and they said that we should, uh, not do the show here 'cause it's too dangerous, and we can't secure our team." And I'm like, "What are you guys talking about?" You know?

And, uh, the police's job is to secure that show.

That's exactly...

They had one job.

Right.

And, uh, they said like, "We're sorry.

We can't do it.

We checked with the police.

We didn't find any file that could, that, uh, any complaint that filed." And like if you hadn't emailed them, were they just, what, not gonna tell you?

I think they would.

I think they, they were about to.

It was kind of the weekend or, but they just took it off the site to get the, the heat, the, they plan on it or whatever.

But, uh- Did you see the quote-unquote heat that they were getting?

Was it like online stuff or like somebody called them or like- Yeah, because people that they're sending email to them, they're sending email to us, and they're threatening us.

I know these kind of people, and I know this kind of vibe and this kind of text.

This is crazy that I have stories about antisemitism that my grandfather had.

Yeah, like what, what- It's insane ...

what, what kind of stuff are they saying?

Like, uh, threats.

Threats of- Like physical harm threats?

Of course.

There are the good kids and there are Hamas.

Used to be good kids, but they're just stupid- Right and they think they're doing the, the right thing.

Right.

They think they're pushing some innocent people, and they're helping innocents.

Right.

Which I always...

That, that's the most painful part in this, that they, they just think we're the bad ones, and they don't...

I, I'm not saying you go study Because I want you to be on my side.

I'm not saying that to no one.

I'm telling you educate yourself and then you'll decide what you're seeing if, you know, to be in the right side of history.

Right, but you're, you're ignorant right now.

Just educate yourself.

You're ignorant, and that's why you hate me.

Right.

Because you're stupid.

Right.

You're not hate me because I'm a bad guy.

You hate me because you don't know who the bad guy is.

Mm-hmm.

But you're saying that's, that was one group.

That is not who you were getting threats from.

I got threats from both.

Oh, from both.

But it's, that's what so annoys me that these guys would never be legitimate in, in the Palestinian society by the way they look, by the way they talk, by the way they present themselves.

Right.

And they don't know that.

Again, they're stupid.

And they threat you and they s- they s- this is the division of the woke people that they could join together.

You know, extreme left with the extreme, extreme, extreme right which is the, you know, the racism- Tom Harrison ...

of, of the, the racism of the Hamas.

Yeah.

That they're racist.

This is this extreme right where the only ra- this is Nazi agenda.

Yes.

Whoever is not us, we should kill.

They don't even, they don't even know that.

You need to explain them to them and they don't know.

It's just insane.

They got sent some emails and they canceled the show.

How did that feel?

Like, what's the feeling of I've been canceled because I'm Israeli?

We turn it to a, not just a lemonade, we turn it to a limoncello in the end of the day.

And I'm talking a lot about when, when stupid people try to do something, they're not just not solving the problem, they make their problem 10 times, uh, bigger.

So how, how did you turn lemons into limoncello on this one?

So I, I rather you to put the clip.

Yeah, we can do that.

All right.

Let's roll the clip.

Was at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam.

Few days before the show I see that they took off the advertisement of the show from the site.

"We're so sorry we can't do the show.

We're scared.

Why don't we help you to find a Jewish venue?" I told him, "Why don't I will help you to find a Jewish lawyer?" And I sued him so bad, guys.

I sued him and he paid a lot.

And I donated, I donated the money to the kibbutzim in the South Five percent I know you've said that, you know, boycotters double your income.

Is that, is that real?

Like you really have made money more so financially off of like cancellations and protests?

Yeah, absolutely, because- ' Cause they're breaking their contracts and stuff?

Yeah, stuff like that.

But m- moreover, the, the support of the community.

People come out more when they see- People come out- ...

that you're getting pressure ...

but it's, it's more, uh, interviews per, uh, cancellation.

It's more you use that pressure, and you use that cancellation.

People get annoyed, but you use the platform because, uh, news channels in Australia that they interview us for the cancellation in Sydney, we got, I think, uh, also then twice as much as people that we supposed to have.

Mm-hmm.

And it happened also in, uh, in Amsterdam and more places.

And, um, I had demonstration in, in Paris, um, outside the show in Brussels and in Philadelphia, and I, I started to get friend with them.

With the people outside?

Yeah.

They're funny.

Tell me about that.

They're just like the...

Listen, most of those people never been, never, they don't know anything about Israel.

They don't know the two million Arabs living with us.

They don't know that there are 57 Muslim countries that...

And w- we are considered the colonizers.

Uh, they don't know nothing, so it's so fun to see, just to look at them, and this is, this is a miserable person, that he just want to be belonged to something.

Yeah.

And even in this demonstration that he put up, uh, 10 people showed up.

Like it's, it's sa- I'm sad for them.

How do those conversations go when you talk to them?

Will they even engage with you?

When you get in an argument with someone about these issues, just the fact that you're Jewish alone, you have more information about those subjects than all of them combined.

They don't know what you know, and they, uh, they come with hate and, uh, empty brain and brain, uh, from, uh, information and knowledge about the subject.

Yeah.

You will beat them 10 out of 10 in every circumstances.

Yeah.

So don't, don't shy out from, from those enga- engagements.

It's just funny.

Everything they say, you can have three better things to say about.

Yeah, I think what...

I mean, I know what, what stops a lot of people is they go, "Well, I don't know all the facts of the history.

I don't know all the data.

I'm not gonna be able to match, you know, their...

If they quote me numbers of Palestinians who had to leave, blah, blah, blah." And I always say it's like you don't need to be an expert in that stuff.

You have to be an expert in hate against Jews and what that looks like and, like, what being a Jew is and, and focus on that.

That's the, the main issue.

You can talk about all that other stuff in any kind of setting.

That's not the issue.

The issue is the anti-Jew bigotry.

That you need to become an expert in.

And it's, uh, it's all over.

It's not if you, "I'm not anti- anti-Semite.

I'm anti-Zionist." Right.

All right?

Why it's only with us you have it?

You ever thought about it?

Why there's no...

I'm not anti, uh, French Right.

Why are you anti-Chinese?

I'm anti-France.

Oh, so what do you mean?

Once all the French people get out of France, they're cool.

But as long as they're French in France I'm anti-French.

It's only with us it's cool to say that.

Totally.

Totally.

Do you ever get anti-Zionist Jews at your shows?

Not that I'm aware of.

No?

But after I did a show in, uh, I think it was Pittsburgh or, uh, Cleveland, my friend told me that he saw a lot of really lefties that, uh, enjoyed the show.

L- he said, "These are people that just, uh, criticize Israel and they're these people that they're not...

You can't call them Zionists." He sa- he said, "I know this group of people.

They came to see you.

They loved you," he told me.

That's awesome.

I was like, "All right.

I don't know what's, uh..." Maybe they also need to, uh, relief and, and...

'Cause I'm, I'm not either right-wing or left-wing by my, by my material.

If you ask me what my opinion, yeah, I, I really wanna have peace, as every human being, but I'm maybe more tending to right, maybe.

I mean, you, you got into some Donald Trump stuff- Yeah ...

last night in the show.

Yeah.

But I'm happy to see that no matter where, where you're located in the political point of view, you can sit and enjoy stand-up about, uh, Israel, Palestine, or whatever is happening now.

Do you have a sense of where your American audiences have leaned politically, if they've been more right or more left, or just it all feels like just Jews?

I feel mainly Jews, but more and more, uh, allies with time.

That's great.

More and more Christians.

I get, uh...

I, I really love to see, "Hey, I'm not Jewish," in the, in the comments.

I really love that because it shows, uh, it shows support.

Totally.

I'm asking them sometimes can I share this with the...

Would love to show my people the, the support.

Do you find that they're coming as, you know, friends of Jews?

Or, or do you have just fans who are non-Jews who just love what you're doing?

When you see the Asian comics that break through or the be- best example is the Black comics, right?

Right.

That they, in the beginning of, uh, the '90s you saw, uh, uh, mostly Black audience in the beginning.

Mm-hmm.

They talk about differences between Black and white and how they, uh, grew up and all the things.

Then with time you see that they become, uh, uh, mainstream and, and more and more people starts...

Okay, when it's funny, it's funny.

Yeah.

I don't care that I'm not what he is, and it's okay.

You also don't have the same, uh, um, height that I have and the same weight and the same hair color.

So, uh, yeah, I'm just gonna make you laugh about what I'm going through.

We talked about this a lot when I had Modi on the show about, you know, the ability to appeal beyond your own demographic, and he, he basically said the same thing as you.

Like, y- there's plenty of people who love an Asian comedian or a Black comedian who aren't Black and aren't Asian, and no reason it can't be the same for a hilarious Jewish or Israeli comedian.

Yeah.

Australia Uh, also pulls your shows.

There's a, the comedy chain, I guess, and, and they pull two of your shows, and they cite perceived insensitivity of your humor as, as reasoning.

They need to have something else.

They can't say, "Hey, your, it's your nose." You know?

I mean, like- Your nose is too Jewish.

They can't do that, so.

Did you sue them?

I mean, like, to me, that seems flat-out racist, right?

Unless they're canceling other people for their perceived insensitivities of their comedy.

Show me all the cases that you cancel someone because his content.

Right.

Show me one more.

Not, not like 10 more.

Show me one another case.

I mean, what was the feeling there?

Same kind of vibe as Amsterdam, or does this one hit different?

You don't feel it's personal.

That's good.

You feel it's, like, national.

It's a national problem.

Hmm.

I, uh...

Yeah, we filed the lawyers.

And the thing is, the, in these cases, you talk to really high rank, uh, you know, people in, in some positions.

Within, like, the Australian government?

Our government.

In the Israeli government?

Yeah.

To, to help support your lawsuit.

Yeah.

To push connection and to see, like, this is, this is not a one-person, uh, issue.

Right.

That's what I feel.

This is a diplomatic, uh- Hmm ...

case.

Okay, real talk.

One of the best things my wife Courtney and I ever did was honeymoon Israel, and now people keep asking me, "Wait, Argentina?" Yeah, they're going to Argentina.

Because being Jewish looks different all over the world.

Buenos Aires has one of the largest Jewish communities on Earth, and HMI's Argentina trips are an incredible mix of culture, food, nightlife, adventure, and honestly, just a damn good time.

But also, being around other people who get it right now, that hits different, and that's really what HMI is about.

You meet other couples in the same stages of life as you, figuring out careers, relationships, identity, family, what being Jewish or loving someone Jewish means right now.

Jewish, Jew-ish, or Jew-adjacent, everybody's welcome.

And as someone who actually did HMI, I can tell you, those friendships stick.

So if you've been looking for your people, check out one of their upcoming events to find out more at honeymoonisrael.org/beingjewish.

That's honeymoonisrael.org/beingjewish.

So let's talk a little bit about, uh, that, that large honking necklace you got on.

It's just a jewelry.

White people can...

It's a jewelry.

When did you start wearing that giant necklace and why?

All right, so first of all, I think, uh, yeah, I think pride.

I think, uh, you should wear your Star of David the biggest you can find and use it also as a weapon.

What do you mean?

If you already wear it, wear it, something that you can protect yourself with.

This, I don't think you can.

This is pretty small.

It's sharp though.

Yeah.

The edges are pretty...

I could, like, definitely poke somebody in the eye with this one.

Yeah.

I couldn't ninja star them to the face- Yeah, this is a- like you could ...

Star of Ninja Star.

There you go.

Ninja Star of David.

Ni- Ninja Star of David.

We gotta get that in the merch store.

Yeah.

I, I'll take your idea and steal it.

Okay, perfect.

Um, I have a lot of, uh, Star of Davids that I'm changing, uh, with the mood.

Are they all this big?

No.

No, I have also one that is smaller that I'm really emotionally connected to.

Tell me about that one.

Th- this one I got recently in Mexico from, uh, from someone that she's follow me.

It's connected to that, that blue thing behind it, or are those two different necklaces?

No, it's two different necklaces.

It's really fancy.

She made it.

She, she's a jeweler.

Why is that so special?

So her name is Sarah.

Shout out to Sarah in Mexico.

She just showed up after the show.

It was a Pesach program.

And she's telling me that, um, she was, uh, sitting next to her father that- for weeks when he had the treatment for a very horrible disease, and it always felt like they're losing him.

And she's telling me that they watch stand-up.

That was the main thing that, that...

Listen, in my journey, I have a few steps that, like, people had to, to shake me and tell me, "Hey, hey.

What you did, that's not just important.

You have to keep doing it.

There's people depending on it." Hmm.

And in her case, in Sarah's case, it was after, like a year and a half after those moment that happened that I realized that I n- that thanks to those moment, she had more content and she could follow someone that bring her what she needed.

And, uh, they, uh...

He was in the show, too, her father.

Oh, wow.

She said, "This is the guy.

That's like, you don't, you don't even know how much I love this man and how much you helped us.

You really helped us." Wow.

"It's, it's like a medicine," she said.

"We laughed.

We had a good time, and I always thought that one day I'm gonna give you this." That's amazing.

And we hugged.

I cried like, uh...

I cried 'cause I lost my dad.

That's the, that, that...

She, she hit the point that, you know, as a comedian, you don't wanna stand there and cry after a show and s- s- it's weird.

But I re- I teared up really...

Uh, I choked up, and we hugged and everything.

And I told her, "D- y- but you follow me, right?" She said, "Yes." "You saw the videos?" "Yes." "So you know that my father died." She said, "Of course." "So why are you bringing your alive father to, like, what, what's the point of- Like rubbing it in my face.

Yeah, like, "Hey, look how healthy my dad is." Let's talk about your dad a little bit since you brought him up.

I know you've said that he really was part of, of raising you in a happy home because- Yeah his parents were Holocaust survivors and he didn't grow up in a happy home and wanted to make sure you had one.

Can you tell me a little bit about what that environment was like?

M- my father told us when, when he was four years old, he realized that he's depending on himself.

That's the saddest thing that a parent can tell you, that like at a- at age four he realized that he needs to t- to look, uh, to take care of himself.

Yeah, a very, very sad house.

He remembers his mom mostly laying in bed with migraines, just laying like this and sometimes she'd, "Ah, ah." She's shouting because she, probably memories came back to her.

Sure.

She was a really, really beautiful, uh, woman and, you know, s- to survive Auschwitz, it's, uh- So the, the dark house, shades, never bring friends home, and, uh, father goes to work and come back, uh, at night.

Not, not, not like a house that you want to imagine for, for your kids.

Laughter and, uh, happy meals together- Mm-hmm ...

and stuff like that.

Both your grandparents survivors of Auschwitz?

Uh, yeah, from, from my father's side, yes.

And it's- But also from my mother's side that sur- survive not being in the Holocaust, but they survived.

I think we're all Holocaust survivors in a way.

Your mother's parents were in, in Morocco at that time?

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

So going back to your dad, so what did he do to change the situation?

A lot of things that you're raising your kids, it's either from what you experienced as a kid or- You want to- ...

you wanna do the opposite.

Totally.

It's either this or that.

Yeah.

So my, and my father, uh, he took those things to, to the extreme opposite, alongside with stuff that he took from his parents that their, uh, values of, uh, you know, show up on time and be a hard worker and Be a good person Sounds like he, he was a great man.

Yeah.

Well, listen, he, my father was my best friend and we talk every day, and, uh, we had our laughters and our stuff, but he was, he was a real man.

He was a real man.

Tough person.

He knew what he's doing.

Was funny.

Remind me King David.

There's a lot of, uh, similarities.

How so?

He was a shepherd for a few years.

He was, uh, loved by a lot of w- women.

He was a, a dancer.

Oh.

Was David a dancer?

I guess.

He can- He had moves.

He had moves He had moves.

He was an- War- warrior.

Both of them fought in a very important wars.

Um, he was c- relatively smaller, was smaller than me.

Hmm.

So David and Goliath.

Right.

Uh, he had the cool hair.

So the saying that David had.

And he was the father of, uh, Solomon.

Wisest man.

Wisest man ever lived, I'm just saying.

Okay.

What's the feeling or responsibility of being, you know, we call a 3G, a third generation of Holocaust survivors, the grandkids of Holocaust survivors?

What do you, what do you carry of that with you?

The best story is that, that I had two grandmothers.

One of them is kind of, uh, observant, I would say, the Moroccan.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, like, and the other one, uh, survived Auschwitz, and she's not really up to all the God thing.

Mm-hmm.

So every year before Yom Kippur, we get a phone call from the grandmother, the, the Moroccan, like, "Please, I want you to fast.

It's very important.

It's healthy.

It's also good.

Hashem, uh, wants you to clear your, uh, soul, and that's, that's good.

Forgive it." And then half, uh, half an hour after the fast starts, we get a phone call from the Polish grandmother.

She goes, "Yochai, I don't want you to fast.

Don't fast.

I didn't eat for five years." You can, uh, not fast and your kids and your grandkids, no one fasting.

So I didn't know what to do.

Mm.

So I did one hour of this, one hour of that one.

You know?

It's a pretty sweet deal.

I wanted to respect both.

This is the story about like who, you know, growing up Israeli, growing up with both of those, uh, such different cultures that, uh, that shapes who you are.

What about today?

I mean, as you do your work and move about the world, and you're a father now, like how present is that knowledge of who you come from, and, y- you know, is there a sense of legacy or responsibility in, in what you're doing?

Absolutely.

Absolutely, and it's in the little things.

It's in the little things.

First of all, respect.

Respect more.

'Cause it's not that I didn't respect at all, but I wasn't listenful enough to what people bothered by the things I'm doing.

For example, the F word.

Okay.

That bothers the people that follow me, but they love me, right?

Yeah.

So that's up to me to say, "Okay, what's the price?

How much I need that," right?

Let's start from there.

Yes, Judaism, yes, I'm putting tefillin every morning.

I am proud of it- All right ...

but I'm not trying to show off with it.

But for my lifestyle, that's something that I- I'm willing to, to do, and it, it helps me to strengthen my Jewish identity, to understand who I am.

Uh, so, so when I'm s- when I'm talking about respect, if people tell me that they're watching, grandmother, her daughter, and her grandkid together, they can watch my video together.

So that, that given...

You don't need to tell me if you can light it up the F word, if you can make it less dirty, the, the said.

You don't have to tell me that.

You just have to tell me the story that the whole family watch your video.

Right.

So I'm, I'm trying to do my best.

You are a father yourself, as I mentioned.

Uh, you have a three-year-old daughter.

Uh, how- how's that been?

How you liking fatherhood?

Yeah, I really like that.

Yeah.

I really, really like that.

I, uh, find myself, uh, dealing with questions, uh, of, you know, of life.

I took her once to the kindergarten, and on the way back, I saw this, uh, old lady crossing the street with a, with a stick.

She struggle.

You know, when you have kids, you, you wanna be there for them.

You wanna protect them and give them everything they need.

It's like, I'm gonna be there as much as I can, but you won't.

You won't be here in one point.

Right.

I saw this grandma, like this old, old lady.

I think she was 90-something.

I said like, "One day my daughter, if everything gonna go well, she's gonna-- I hope people be nice to her when she's be that..." Like my concern went that far as a father that I hope that she's gonna be, you know, she's, she's gonna be happy in this age also and people are gonna be nice to her and help her to cross the street.

It's beautiful.

Did you help the old lady cross the street?

No.

It's the-- We call that hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy, yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Work that into your set.

Yeah, yeah.

The mother of your young daughter is an American woman.

H-how has being married to an American changed your perspective on Americans?

That's a huge advantage because, uh, since we met, uh, Kayla and I, it was, uh, it was kind of a bond, professional bond of, uh, culture that I could have an opinion of someone that is wide perspective, international, and also really smart.

My wife is-- I think she's a genius.

She told me the tour of 2022, end of 2022, that I started touring in America- Mm-hmm ...

that my perspective from-- that the fact that I'm not from here, I can work it on my power to engage that and to, to acknowledge that and to l- give them something that I can, can help them to, uh, like my raw stuff a little more 'cause it's, you know, the jokes that you bring from, from your own culture are different.

This bit was, uh, jokes that wrote themselves about who I am, my, my identity, why I can do all these things.

She just told me, "You're fresh off the boat.

You gotta, you gotta acknowledge what's going on, what's up." I mean, last night people were requesting it like a song at a concert.

They're like, "Do, do the the second do bit." So I'm half Moroccan and half Polish.

Moroccan, Morocco.

I can do jokes.

Don't get offended.

I can do jokes about Moroccans, also about Africa because Morocco is in Africa.

Everything you can do, you can do, Africa.

I also got married to American lady two years ago, guys.

American lady.

And I just got the paper done.

I got the paper done, so I'm not only American, I'm African American now.

I can do it.

So that's always a good thing with it.

You don't like when people get upset that they see stuff that they already know.

Yeah.

But if you go to a movie and you watch all the trailers, you watch, like, 10 trailers, like, "Hey, I know this movie." Like, that's ...

I, I give it to you for free, and you come to my show, you can, like ...

I always, you always have 60, 40, between 60 to something percent of new material, right?

Yeah.

And some stuff.

But, uh, yeah, I, I love to do, to redo old bits and to rework on them.

I like it because it gets more layers to it.

Yeah.

And this I can do.

I have seven more jokes that are not online.

Even if I'm gonna do the bit, it's gonna be really refreshing with other stuff that are in it.

That's awesome.

What have you discovered that, uh, Americans don't understand about Israelis?

I love to put between the jokes some little insights.

The, you know, when I have the joke about the Druze soldier that served with me.

So I'm saying we have Druze, we have Christians, we have Circassian, Bahá'í, Bedouin- Sure ...

and Muslims.

Yeah.

We have Muslim soldiers.

So before the joke about the, the Druze and we got wounded and everything- To tell the world that we have all of those, whoever is in Israel, every ethical background and religion that exists in the country also exists in the, in the IDF.

It's a very important thing to s- to say that.

So it's educational in a way to- So you like to sprinkle it in ...

just that little information that I know won't, won't divide the room, not even only if I'm performing to Jews, whoever I'm performing.

It won't divide the room because it's a fact that people need to know.

Mm.

Which makes our apartheid the weirdest apartheid ever, that we have both of the part of the apar- in the army.

Yeah.

What about something that, uh, Israelis don't get about Americans?

It's in the little things.

It's, uh, how we write emails.

Have you ever rewrote an Israeli email to you convert it to American email?

No.

We always will go, uh, "No, you should do this, and I'm gonna...

I'll meet you there." Americans would...

If I, if I send my wife the email to rewrite it, it was from one line to two pages.

Like, "Hey, thank you.

I hope the email finds you well.

Thank you so much for ...

No, man, 10 is not good.

Let's do it 11." I wish I could send more Israeli emails then.

I'm always having to, like, stop myself and add the flowery crap 'cause people need it to not get upset.

Yeah, I gotta, I gotta tell you, with, with texting with you, I realize that you're way more Israeli than American.

That's for sure.

Mm.

That's also...

It's not always a compliment.

Okay.

Well, I'm gonna take it as one in, in this case.

I- imagine that you always wanna be, uh, less monkey in the meeting.

When we're a few Israelis in a, in Israel, in a American restaurant- Okay ...

you don't wanna be the most monkey on the, on that chain.

You wanna be second monkey, third monkey, and I will explain.

Okay.

Please.

Uh, the check comes, like, "No, no, you put too much tip," to L- next to the, next, next to the waitress.

Right.

"Put less tip.

You don't need all that much." She, what did she do?

She didn't do that much.

You can...

So it's like, oh my God, I'm happy I'm not the- Right ...

this one ' cause I know with other Israelis I'm gonna be this person.

Not with that example, but, like, my appearance and my rudeness would come out- Mm-hmm that way.

Mm-hmm.

It's evolution.

I love it.

What about European Jews?

I mean, you've traveled all over the place.

W- is there a, a, a general European Jew vibe?

What I notice is, which is really cool, as Jews speaking all languages- Mm-hmm ...

all over the world, Jews, um, r- culturally really- We have a lot of information that we hold together about what's going on everywhere.

We're like sensors.

We're like, uh, you know, when the hate goes up, we really collaborated really amazing- Yeah ...

as, as, as a tribe.

And I see that now because I'm, I'm seeing us.

And the third thing that is pretty, pretty awesome is that we really look alike.

Not just by the way we look as people, but the way we look as people, like as, as a group.

It's the same people when- whenever I go.

It's kind of a M- it's a mind tricky thing that it will, like, would, would get you...

These guys flew with me here from Australia.

I was just in Australia, now it's here.

It's not the same group, but it's the same group.

Meaning, like, the, the energy is the same?

It's the same people in a way.

It's the same...

You have all of those, uh, people that were concerned this week about their kids to send them to school because of this and that.

They, they were, uh, get threats and, you know, all that.

But still, you sit in front of them and you get the same vibe of family, and they're, they're just with a little bit of a different accent than the people from, from next week.

It always remind me of the Cholent, you know?

Around you what?

Cholent.

A Cholent.

Yeah.

They, no matter where you're from- What, like a stew?

Yeah.

No matter where you're from, you would, back in the day, you would take your pot with some same, mainly same ingredients.

It's a little bit changes, but- Yeah ...

all over the world.

You put it in the city oven- Yep ...

before electricity.

You come back to take the food on Friday, uh, night first time, and then you put it back and take it back to Saturday morning.

And that, that, that bond, that pot, it's the Jewish people.

Speaking of, you know, Jewish ritual and tradition, you are- I'm circumcised, yes.

Yes.

That's ex- That's what I w- I noticed.

Yeah.

But you're unusually, at least in my experience, unusually religiously connected for an Israeli.

Most of the Israelis I meet are generally pretty secular.

Um, but you wrap tefillin.

You, I've seen you, you know, do blessings over food and over water.

Have you always been that religiousl- No.

Okay, so where, where's that coming from?

I, I, I feel that it's more of a, like I'm keeping my tradition, uh, more than what I'm religious.

That's what, how would I describe it.

It's kinda new.

It started with my, my journey, my recent journey, and after my father passed away.

It's, I think it started with, with the studying, studying of, of who we are.

First saying the things that I'm saying on stage, I needed to figure them out.

Mm-hmm.

And a lot of stuff with you studying it, and you get more and more, uh, connected to your roots.

I think it's, it's coming from this place.

My sister and I, we work together on the show.

My sister, shout out, uh, Zohar.

She's a, she's an amazing writer.

She's really smart.

Did she write, help you write the show?

She help, she helped me write and edit the, the script, yeah, of the show.

How cool is that?

Yeah.

So wait- For a lot of times.

All right, hold on.

So time out.

Who, who else from your family works on your- I have another family member that I grew up with.

It's my cousin that he has a ticketing site And he's a producer and we work together 20 years Amazing.

So you got the cousin who's producing and ticketing and you're- Yeah.

My wife manages the, the project.

Your wife is your manager.

She manages the company.

She's my manager and she manages the company that we own.

Anybody else?

It's basically like a falafel store of, uh Of comedy?

It's a halal, it's a halal, uh, cart, cart in the, the Times Square.

I believe That that's the way to, to do things with people that, that care about you.

It's amazing.

I'll always ask my wife to help me.

She's like, "Hell no." Yeah.

She's like, "We're, we're gonna fight.

I don't wanna help you.

Do, you gotta do your thing and then I'll see you for dinner." Yeah.

Yeah.

I still love you, babe.

I met your wife.

She's awesome.

She is awesome.

Another note about my wife.

Yeah, please.

The, the, the, uh, that she's, she's also really funny.

She's also writing with me.

And then- Oh my gosh ...

she, yeah.

She said a lot of funny things that, that became part of the show.

It's not like writing for me.

Right.

It's like she said stuff that she comment about things and it got in.

Right.

And about my sister that when, uh, we tried to work after the Shiva of my dad.

Mm.

She told me, "You forget that my father also passed away." It's not, I mean, what a bad luck.

It's the comedian that lost his dad and the main writer.

Like, we both, uh, lost our father- Mm ...

on the same day.

So, no, it's supposed to be, like, a funny thing, too.

Yeah.

Well, I, I, I heard that line last night.

That's the American...

That's, that's the sensitivity American.

Oh, sorry.

Yeah.

But I asked ChatGPT, like, "I'm really sad.

Can you tell me something funny?

I lost my dad." And ChatGPT goes, "Knock, knock." Like, "Who's there?

Not your dad." That's good.

Yeah.

So we talked about your wife.

We've talked about your kid.

We've talked about your dad.

We haven't talked so much about your mom.

I know you credit her with really helping you get on the path to comedy.

She was super supportive of you.

As I've read, you called yourself less of a class clown and more of a joke technician.

Um, we talked about this last night, and I've got the backstage footage for you if you are a member of our Kehillah.

What?

What a surprise.

Bam.

If you are part of my subscriber-only community, which you can join at any time at beingjewishpodcast.com/community.

You get weekly bonus exclusive footage.

You get merch opportunities, discounts.

You get a monthly office hours live with me online, lots of other fun stuff.

We would love to have you part of the community.

Please join.

I wanna talk about a couple of Yohai catchphrases- Mm ...

uh, and things that I've- All right caught along the way.

Your previous tour that you did was called Self-Loving Jew.

Tell me where that came from.

It's a good sentence to summarize what I'm gonna do on stage that tour.

And, um, also had a joke about self-hating Jew that, uh, there, they just pick the...

That's the time now to criticize Jews, and that's the time now to criticize Israel when, when we're the most wounded- Right, when we're most vulnerable nation, v- vulnerable.

And then now you're like, we just, as a je- Like, it was a lot of, uh, bit about that in, in the show.

So then I thought, yeah, that's, that's what I'm doing.

I'm a self-loving Jew in the show.

That's, that's the opposite than, than these guys.

Have you encountered what you would consider self-hating Jews in your, in your real life, and how do you handle those folks?

Comedy.

And, uh, yeah, that's, uh...

The, the acknowledgement of, of what they're doing was, uh, always that the...

It's like someone is drowning, and instead of pull him out of the water and save him for a second, you're like, "Hey, uh, you forgot to put sunscreen." Right.

And I'm drowning.

I'm not saying that in- they're per se bad people, but the more they have a problem with prioritizing- Mm what's more important right now.

And they're not helping, that's for sure.

They're not helping, yeah.

Something you've said also is, "Be Jew, be you, this you can do." What does that mean?

It means that, um, wear your identity.

I, I always see that, you know, those in New York with a, with a yarmulke and the, the tzitzits- Mm-hmm outside and, uh, and they don't even ask the question if I can be myself, right?

Yeah.

Totally.

These guys inspire me to wear a Star of David or to, um, not to shy out from who I am.

So yeah, be you, be Jew.

This something that you can do.

This, this I can do.

Yep.

And should.

Yeah.

All right.

We have come to the end here, which means it's time for a little game.

All right.

I love games.

And, um, yeah.

So we're gonna do, um- Can I win?

Yes, you can win A Rip Van Mini Waffle No, no.

Come on, sir ...

that I happened to bring with me to the show today.

You can win this dessert That's not...

Where's the producer?

Guys.

Before we shot this episode, we shot a little behind-the-scenes piece.

And, and Yohai, who noticed all the, uh, wonderful awards and, and things we've gotten from previous guests, he wanted to participate and leave something behind as well.

So he gave me this special, limited edition, one-of-one Rip Van Mini Waffle, Dutch caramel and vanilla, a stroopwafel.

That's shaming now.

Um- That's a shame.

I was embarrassed that I didn't get...

I didn't know you give gift.

What?

Why?

You can, you can leave that tre- You wanna leave that necklace here?

Who are you, Ceaușescu?

Why we need to gift him?

What are you, Greek god?

Why we give him a...

If we gift the person, you guys can tell me that I need to give a gift.

Well, when you- I was in Target.

When you write, when you write a book, we'll, uh, we'll put it on the shelf with our other guests' books.

Will you?

Oh, yeah.

Thanks.

Yeah.

I am writing, writing a book.

I, I figured.

Yeah.

You should have one.

With this English, I'm writing a book.

Are you?

Yeah.

Google Translate.

All right, so let's get to this game.

Uh, we're gonna do our lightning round.

We're gonna do our Israeli edition, Ze Oze.

I'm gonna name two things.

You, you pick Ze Oze.

All right?

Okay.

Tel Aviv or Jerusalem?

Oh, that's a hard one.

Starting off with the hard ones.

Jerusalem.

Boom.

Laugh Factory or Comedy Store?

Laugh Factory.

How come?

' Cause they never go- got me into the Comedy Store.

I play there once on a open mic.

Mm-hmm.

I'm a regular at the Laugh.

Nice.

And I love them.

Moroccan food or Polish food?

Come on, man.

You can really- And there's a lamb ...

but it's just- Just to, just to say Moroccan.

Yeah.

Come on.

Of course.

Mizrahi or Ashkenazi?

Uh, I'm both.

You know I'm both.

Yeah.

It depends what day.

It depends on the, on the season.

On the season?

Yeah.

In the winter, I'm more Mizrachis.

Okay.

But in the summer, it's hot, so Ashkenazis.

Nice.

Who's got a tougher crowd, LA or New York?

It's funny because, um, the, you know, the, the people here are nicer than- Mm-hmm ...

wherever you go, it's a little bit different.

Yeah.

You know?

Uh, here I'm considered not nice enough.

Okay.

And in New York, I'm too nice.

Hmm.

But in Canada, I'm a real asshole.

Who laughs more, LA or New York?

Or is it all the same?

I think LA.

I would say LA.

Nice.

Yeah.

Um, who's tougher, London or Berlin?

Berlin Israelis or Americans?

Tougher crowd.

Israelis.

Really?

Yeah.

Is it 'cause they don't understand what you're saying 'cause it's in English?

Yeah.

Figured.

Orthodox or Reform?

As a crowd?

Yeah.

What's the difference?

Orthodox is more religious.

Reform, less religious.

So them all is the tough.

It's tougher?

Yeah.

Well, I'm interested because the more, I, I assume sort of the more Orthodox are even more, you know, devoted to, to Jewish and Israel- Yeah, but more, but also I love about religious Jews that they're aware of the mitzvah of laughter together.

That's more important to them.

Hm.

Also in Israel, the religious are like, "Yeah, make us laugh." Like I say, it's a, it's a mitzvah to sit together and laugh.

That's, uh...

And I feel that when this energy, uh, it's like, it's gonna be clean.

"Don't worry be.

You do, do the standup, do, do whatever you want.

We trust you." They really want the sho- They're, they're really happy to, to have people together laughing.

It's- That's so nice ...

and you feel it in both of those groups.

That's awesome.

Shawarma, plate or pita?

I used to be vegan for a very long time.

What about now?

Pita.

You used to be vegan until, uh, you got canceled at a comedy show in Israel?

Yeah.

Uh, Passover or Yom Kippur?

Oh, Yom Kippur.

Why?

Need to lose weight.

Hm.

Bris or bar mitzvah?

Bar mitzvah, no one get hurt.

Right, unless you have a really intense hora where someone drops off the chair.

Yeah, but that's more rare.

Not in my family.

We've had some, we've sent some people to the hospital in our horas.

They get really rowdy.

Really?

More at the weddings than at the bar mitzvahs, but yeah.

So your bar mitzvahs make a bris, uh, look less violent.

That's right.

That's sad.

Yeah.

Hatikva or Star-Spangled Banner?

Hatikva.

It's a little sadder sounding.

I mean, it's, it's, it's a song that put people together.

The song- It's true is kind of cute song.

Cute.

I don't think I've ever called Hatikva cute.

Um, are you Asian or African American?

Depends what the body part we're talking about.

Hamas or Hezbollah?

Luckily, they're both, uh, beneath the ground right now.

That's right.

Moshe Rabbeinu or Moshe Dayan?

Moshe Rabbeinu.

Larry David or Larry Bird?

Who's Larry Bird?

Great.

Naftali Bennett or Tony Bennett?

I, I need to educate myself, right?

You don't know Tony Bennett?

I, I- Okay.

I, I thought it was a, it was a dice roll if you were gonna know Tony Bennett ...

sounds familiar.

He's a singer.

Ah, so him.

Uh, Elon Musk or Elon Gold?

Elon Gold, absolutely.

Golda Meir or John Mayer?

Golda Meir.

And- I'm a big fan.

What do you have against John Mayer?

Golda, Golda is more kick a-...

I- You've watched the movie?

No, I haven't seen the m- the Helen Mirren movie?

I haven't watched that.

There's a lot of stuff that we, we didn't know about her, but in the movie they show the, also the things that we knew about, and all together it's a, it's a good movie.

I've heard that both Golda and John are both very sexually promiscuous.

So they've got that in common.

All right.

All right.

That's fair.

All right.

And the last question that we ask of all our guests: Challah, rip or slice?

Sliced Wow Yeah, that makes me Ashkenazi What a turn That makes me Ashkenazi What a left.

I did not expect that.

That's, I'm sorry In fact, I almost was gonna pipe down 'cause I knew what it was gonna be When, when my father-in-law tears it because he's been told, this is not his personality.

He's more European vibe.

He's very like...

But he tears it.

It always feels to me like a, like a very savage-y ritual.

So we got a slicer.

I, I tend to be a slicer, too.

I prefer a slice.

I want a nice- It's also weird, you know, after the, you, after the bracha that you start a...

It's also weird to cut it like this I guess.

I mean, to me that's how- I guess the answer is ketosis Ketosis.

Yeah That's right.

Almond flour challah Yeah.

No, don't touch the challah.

Don't even touch it Well, you can make it almond flour.

What can you do?

Blast on it, give it to the kids, and they will do whatever they want All right.

Yochai, thank you so much for- Ba nokha, man ...

for coming on, man.

This has been awesome Thank you so much My pleasure Best time, you know?

Good.

I'm glad Next time I'm here, I'm gonna give you a gift or something Hell, yeah.

All right Maybe a little you.

I'm gonna bring another little of you.

That's great.

Yeah A little me that you- Perfect.

They can be hanging out together Yeah Yochai, people wanna follow along with what you're up to next, the Genesis show and tour, all the places you're gonna be, where can they find you and follow your work?

It's in my site.

Uh, I have a link on Instagram in the bio.

Also www.sponder-standup.com, I think Wow, that was s- such a- ...

n- not confident delivery of that I don't know exactly, but it's like- So what's your, what's your Instagram?

Just Yochai Sponder?

Yeah, that's my Instagram @yochaisponder Yeah I, that's how I found him.

Lots of hilarious clips for you to enjoy for hours Beacon Theatre, uh, October 8th Oh, wow, that's awesome.

The Beacon's huge.

So New Yorkers, take note.

Beacon Theatre, October 8th.

It's a nice date.

I'm proud of it Oh, that's also a special date, too.

That'll be really interesting.

Don't miss that one.

Thank you for being here.

You're awesome.

You're the man.

This was super fun.

And for all of you beautiful watchers and listeners out there, thank you for tuning in.

Please make sure to like, comment, subscribe and share this content.

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And now, for your listening and/or viewing pleasure, here, as promised, is more exclusive footage from inside the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles last night, as I took in the hilarious comedic stylings of Yochai Sponder In LA you don't know what you're dealing with.

Just saying, you look good.

Lot of surgeries, a lot of surgeries.

I saw a really beautiful lady next to the pool.

Uh, uh, you know, more or less my age and she looks good.

So I thought, "Well, wow, wow.

She's my age.

I'm married, but she's, she looks good." And then she stood up and she started to walk home there.

And, and this city is weird.

I don't feel comfortable here.

I'm wearing my own face.

I look good for my age?

Thanks.

Yeah, no surgeries, guys.

No nothing.

Only hair implants.

I did hair implants.

I was bald, didn't like it.

But I donated myself, so it's my hair.

No, girls, when you do, you put stuff that you didn't have.

This is I have.

It's not ...

I didn't cheat.

It's a relocation.

You I wanted to do the s- you know the surgery with the, the six-pack?

I wanted to do that.

It looks good.

No one knows that you didn't work out.

It looks good.

Six-packs with silicone Tell her to give a punch.

Just a second.

Hold it.

Six-packs, but I was scared that I'm gonna gain weight with my wife in the next pregnancy, and then it's gonna split, you know, like a cow tits Like a mango.

I didn't wanna look like a mango when you open the mango.

Questions about the show Where did I get it?

Okay, in a French store in Tel Aviv.

This is the smallest we have More than a kilo, but I have them.

I believe, I believe that if you wear a Star of David, wear it or nothing.

Wear it big enough that is a weapon Someone coming the subway.

Uh, there they do.

Come on, come in, come in You, you ask something in answer?

Right?

That what happened here?

How many of your stories are true?

All of them.

That's what he said.

Can you beatbox?

If I can beatbox?

Yeah.

Beatbox.

Am I auditioning now?

What's happening here?

What's happening here, guys?

LA.

I'm in LA, I know, for the last time When I'm coming to Shabbat?

Oh, that's a Jewish question.

Yeah!

When I'm coming to Shabbat?

On Friday.

Ooh.

What, you inviting?

Yeah.

Nice.

Uh, so tomorrow?

Yes.

Okay.

What's your, uh- What's your ethnical background?

Shh.

Where are your parents from?

Russia.

Russia?

I'll pass.

Big thanks to Honeymoon Israel for supporting today's episode.

I know firsthand what it's like to fall in love with someone who isn't Jewish and be looking for other people who get it.

If that's you, check out HMI's trips at honeymoonisrael.org/beingjewish