by Benji Lovitt, recipient of an ROI Micro Grant to attend GA 2011

Well-known rabbi Joseph Telushkin, in his book on Jewish humor, attributes the classic Jewish sense of humor to the need to “laugh to keep from crying.”  Throughout our journey spanning thousands of years, the Jewish people have had much to cry about.  In just 63 years of its existence, the state of Israel has gone through enough ups and downs to fill many a history book, prompting legendary Israeli songwriter Naomi Shemer to pen the classic song “Al Kol Eileh” (On All These) which recounts both the highs and lows, the bitter and sweet.

With no slowdown in depressing headlines from the Middle East and studies showing that young American Jews are gradually becoming less connected to Israel with each passing year, what’s an affiliated Jew to do?

Laugh, and laugh often.  Rabbi Telushkin knew what he was talking about.  Anyone who has spent any time in Israel knows that in a country where East meets West, old meets new, and explicit rap lyrics meet radio stations where American FCC regulations do not apply, there is no shortage of hilarious moments, interactions, and opportunities.

With the help of my recent ROI Micro-Grant, I embarked on a seven-city tour of the United States to perform stand-up comedy shows about life in Israel for local Hillels, the umbrella organization for Jewish life on college campuses.  One of the highlights of the trip was attending the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly, being selected as one of the presenters at the ROI-sponsored “Rocky Mountain Schmooze” where I gave a light-hearted talk about “what my shaliach didn’t tell me” before I made aliyah.  (Fellow 2011 ROI Summit alumna Chaviva Galatz also presented, and ROI staff member and alumna Esther Kustanowitz MCed.)

While the average attendee of the Schmooze was probably more “Israel experienced” than the average 20 year-old college student I meet at my shows, what these events had in common was a presentation of Israel that focuses not on news headlines, but on the minute details that a first-time visitor or longtime citizen might notice on any given day.  By joking about topics such as the celebration of Jewish holidays in Israel vs. in the US, the perils of trying to learn Hebrew, and the adventure of passing through El Al security, I was able to help remind young audiences of why they/we love Israel in the first place and to spread the message that even if Israel isn’t yet the perfect Jewish state, it’s the only one we’ve got.

More than one of these shows were co-sponsored by Masa Israel Journey, the long-term Israel programs initiative of the Jewish Agency for Israel.  Masa strives to bring thousands of Jewish young adults to Israel each year for a period of five to ten months to strengthen their Jewish identities and connection to Israel.  By partnering together on these shows, we were able to reframe the conversation about Israel on campuses from one focusing on “settlements”, “occupation”, and “Hamas” to one which brought smiles to faces.

Thank you to ROI for its help in making this tour possible, allowing me use humor as a bridge to tackle the topic of modern-day Israel and Jewish identity.