May 7, 2025 • 42 mins
Episode 148: Modi and Periel are joined by Abraham Toubiana of the Jewish Cultural Festival of Berlin - where Modi will be performing November 20th!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to and here's Modi.
Hello everybody, and welcomeback to and here is Modi.
And we have a special guest inthe house besides Perrielle
Ashenbrand, hi, who's wearing avery, very cute kaputa.
She's wearing a little blackcoat today.
She looks very rebisha, notRebbitinish.
(00:26):
I love that coat.
What is that?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Helmet length.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Gorgeous.
Her knees I don't know thejeans Looks like someone threw
her out of a car and she's likeoh my god, can we do one episode
of a makeover on you?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, can we do a?
Speaker 1 (00:44):
makeover on Periel.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
You, can I get to choose?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
hair color and everything.
I get to everything.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Hair color.
Are you going to put me in ashidle?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Put you in a shidle and okay, and we have a friend,
a good, a Mashiach energy friend.
Let me tell you we met this guywhen was Avi?
His name is avi I always getdistracted, avi and the last
name is to be on now to be onnow, now, to be on now, god
right, yeah, to be on now.
(01:13):
Um beautiful name and um heruns the.
I'm gonna say in english theberlin jewish cultural week.
I'm going to say it in Englishthe Berlin Jewish Cultural Week.
Is that right, correct?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
yes.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Right, which I performed at two years ago, and
it was amazing.
It was amazing and it wasdefinitely one of the things I
can put down in my life that Icould say, wow, that was an
amazing event.
The comedy club that weperformed at had no air
conditioning.
I sweated through the suit.
I swear to God, I'd never seenthe drops run down my coat.
(01:52):
I've sweated through suits, soI wear dark suits because I
sweat through them sometimes.
This was a light suit and itjust turned completely wet and
there was just like drops comingoff of the bottom of the.
That's how hot it was.
I did two shows, but it wasamazing and the shows were just
a part of it.
We got to see Berlin Avi set usup.
(02:16):
We had we went, me and Leo.
I think we came from somewhere.
We came from Israel orsomething.
I don't remember.
I don't remember.
I don't remember, but it wasunbelievable and of course we
got there and Mercedes-Benz wasa sponsor.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Exactly, was a sponsor, was Not anymore.
Actually, they're coming backin this year Because you are
coming If you need me to make aphone call.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
I will call Mercedes-Benz.
I have two of their cars and Ibelieve they should be sponsored
, so they sent this Maybach forus.
So we were driving aroundBerlin like Adolf Eichmann,
literally, literally, and wetold the driver we don't want to
see anything specific, we'redoing a general tour.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
But you said, I remember also that you were
driving through Berlin and thenthere were like these huge
pictures of you.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
No, well, you know.
So some of the buildings wekept seeing in Berlin looked
very World War II-y, you knowlike, still like, looked like
when you look at films of theNazis and World War II.
Those buildings were still,some of them were still there.
And Leo goes, that buildinglooks very Reich-y, very like
Third Reich-y.
Yeah, and Leo goes, thatbuilding looks very.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Reichy very like Third Reichy.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
And you're waiting to go see this big banner of a
Nazi flag.
But then he showed us where,like the main center of the show
was, and it was a huge bannerwith my dumb face right on it.
And I'm like the swastika wasreplaced by my face.
I was so happy when I saw that.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
That feels like very sweet revenge it was very sweet
revenge.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
There's Jewish comedians' faces where the
banners of the Nazis used topost, and the festival was
unbelievable.
Tell us about the festival Wellyeah, of course.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
I mean.
The festival is running since1987.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Wow, and you just had me only two years ago.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Yeah, exactly, I didn't know you before Chutzpah
to have you here no just asecond, I'm just running it for
the last four years.
This is going to be now myfirst years and yeah, it's now
the 38th edition which we arerunning, and you're going to be
there again, and again, again.
I mean, we're doing it for 10days and we're running more than
40 events in this 10 days tellus about the events, because
(04:28):
some of them were amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
We saw them.
We saw like other stuff too.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Yes, of course.
I mean we had like, we havelike concerts, we have, uh, we
had like, when you came, we hada fashion show.
Fashion show, a jewish fashionshow, what.
At mercedes-benz.
We, we are doing readings onthe Bebelplatz, where the Nazis
burned the books, so we arebuilding their tent, wow, and we
have readings there with Jewish, only Jewish, writers.
(04:52):
We have movies, like it'sreally really huge.
And Diana and I I have to admitI'm not doing it by myself, it's
my wife so we are running thefestival since yeah, since I 22
we started and we changed it allover.
I'm, I think, the first one whois running it as a jewish
person, for before that, um,there was a non-jewish person
(05:14):
running a jewish festival, andso we changed it and we made it
more alive.
And when they asked me if Icould do it, I was telling them
listen, if I'm gonna do it, I'mgonna do two things.
I'm going to do two things.
What I'm not going to do islike talking about the Holocaust
and the Near East politics, Imean Israel and everything.
(05:34):
So, and you know, because I wasborn and raised in Germany and
if you are outing yourself as aJew, there are always two
questions or two things.
It's like they say oh, are youJewish?
I'm sorry about the Holocaust.
Like a German person, I'm sorry, but what are you doing in
Israel?
It's not correct.
So this I wanted to show themlike another face of our culture
(05:57):
, of our rich culture, andthat's why I'm doing like with
you comedy.
What was really great.
I remember when Leo told melisten, avi, from the beginning,
bring a big venue.
And I said no, no, it's notgoing to work in Germany they
don't speak English.
And we were sold out, I thinkafter two hours.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Yeah, we did two shows in that same club.
Yeah, and, like you said, hedidn't mention the Holocaust,
but I did, you did.
The room was a thousand degreesand I said all the Jews are
having flashbacks.
That was my opening line, andthen we just did all the other
stuff.
It was we also met with, so youobviously have to raise money
(06:35):
for this.
And so we had a dinner with, wehad a lunch with all of these
people who were.
A lot of them were hotelownerships right All over
Germany, right, am I right?
And some real estate Jews thatwere there.
They were helping the festival,making donations or whatever it
(06:57):
was.
Some of them, some of them.
So we had lunch with them inthis beautiful restaurant and
across the street, avi says tome and you see that building
across the street, I go.
Yeah, he goes.
That was Adolf Eichmann'soffice.
Wow, right, you said it to me,or the other guy said it Maybe
the other one, I didn't know.
I was blown away.
(07:18):
It was blown away.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
It's wild Germany.
I just got back.
Coincidentally, I was justthere for a week.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Nothing is coincidental Things coincide.
Oh, I love that you come on andAvi's on the podcast.
This is Avi's first podcast, sofirst of all, congratulations.
Second of all, your camera isthis one, so you'd be much
better to look at me when you'reanswering the questions than at
Periel, just so we can see yourbeautiful eyes Exactly.
(07:49):
So just that's your camera.
He's so sweet, he's so naive.
His wife, though, she's the onethat moves things along.
You got to meet his wife.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
No, I got the last word at home.
Why are you laughing?
I'm always saying yes, you'reright, that's it Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I'll introduce you to my husband.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
What did you do in Germany?
Speaker 2 (08:06):
I went to Dachau.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Oh, nice place Shopping.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Shopping, shopping.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Great stores, first of all, today's Yom HaShoah.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
That's right.
Today we're taping this on theHolocaust Remembrance Day, which
is amazing.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
And germans.
I don't like to talk about theholocaust, but here we are.
I mean, I don't blame you guyswhy are you not blaming me?
Speaker 3 (08:30):
I don't have a problem to talk about the
holocaust no, but germans do I'mjewish you're jewish.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Well, fair enough.
Um, I mean, maybe that shouldbe a question.
You said that.
You said that for the festival.
The first thing that you saidwas you're not going to make it
about the Holocaust.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
No, because they're placing you in.
How do you say it?
In a box, in a box, yeah, a box.
Jews Holocaust.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Yeah, I get it.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
There are only like two things and I mean this is
not our people.
I know you've been to Israel.
I mean we are wild, we lovelife.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
And they to.
We love life.
Yeah and um.
They see us as jews and onlythe holocaust and the gray
dachau place and everythingthat's not us, and they love to
see us in this place and I, I, I, that's again it's not us.
I know, I grew up, I was bornin germany and my father was a
big guitar player and wow alwaysum.
You know, all my german friendscame over, always in my own
apartment, because they said hey, there's life, there's food,
(09:26):
there's, this is who we are.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Wait a second, though .
What about your family?
Your father was also born inGermany.
No, Tunisia.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Oh okay.
I'm half Sephardic, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
But you look so Ashkenazi.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
What did you do?
My other half?
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Yeah, but when we were in Germany, we told you the
story.
First of all, when you walkaround Berlin, they have on the
floor those gold.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Stolpersteine.
Show who Stolpersteine.
It's kind of you know you arelike.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Stolpersteine.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
I just met her, no that you are like?
Speaker 1 (10:06):
how do you say if you are like?
It's a memorial plaque and itsays, like in this house, that
this is in front of is whereElza and Moshe were taken away
in the year 1942.
And no one knows whateverhappened to them afterwards.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Or they were killed somewhere, or they were killed,
it tells you.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
it just shows you where this and that's all over
the city.
So if you live in Berlin, youjust see gold little plates all
over the floor reminding you.
And then Leo and I were justwalking around to take in the
city and all that, and thiscouple came over to us, blonde
boy with blue eyes, and hisgirlfriend, who's Ethiopian.
He's a Jewish kid that met hisgirlfriend, uh, who was
(10:44):
Ethiopian, in Israel, and theylive in in Berlin, and he says
that we keep it very quietly.
He goes, he grew up in Berlinand he they never advertised
that they were Jewish.
They went to a Jewish schooland then when they went into the
regular school, they just itwas their first time being
around non non-Jewish people.
It was there.
It's a very, still very.
You guys are very hidden stillwithin in berlin, which is why I
(11:10):
was a hit, because I walk on,hey, I'm a big jew, hey, we
control politics, hey, wecontrol the money, we control
everything.
And they're like oh my god,this guy's saying it and it's
like yes, they were shocked.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
They were shocked, but they were shocked.
But I was not born in Berlin,I'm from Düsseldorf, it's like
the western part, and I had noJewish school.
I mean, when I was growing upin Germany, there were only
20,000 Jews all over Germany,wow.
So it was nothing.
And I mean, we've been toJewish camps and there were only
(11:41):
like 200 people my age all overGermany, wow.
So we were just meeting once ayear like for ski and for summer
camps.
But I had no problem to say inschool that I'm Jewish.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
But what happened to your family during the Holocaust
, like where were they, how didthey survive?
Speaker 3 (12:00):
It's a funny story actually.
I mean, for my father's side,had like to go to how do you say
, in caves in tunisia, becauserommel was there and right.
So they went in caves, so thetwo of them died because of
typhus, but for my, uh, for mymother's side typhus yeah I have
to used to speaking english.
(12:21):
I mean, you know I'm fromgermany, yeah, no, and from my
mother's side.
Actually, my grandfather was ingermany until the 8th of
november 38, so one day beforethe, and then he left to
palestine.
I think they knew it um beforeand um, but the other family
they went to Auschwitz.
(12:42):
I had, like his cousin was atMengele even.
And no, it's awful, but therewas a funny story when I moved.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
It's hilarious so far , yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Everything he says it's a funny story.
Then he goes Mengele took outmy grandfather's arm and then we
put it into his nose and whathappened?
Was he got a job in the circus?
Speaker 3 (13:09):
No, no no, it was not like this.
I mean, really a few aunts andeverything of my grandfather
died in Auschwitz.
But I moved to Berlin in 2003.
And well, berlin is really big.
So I decided to move toPrenzlauer Berg at Korinastraße
52.
So one year later my father ispassing away in Israel and I
(13:32):
wanted to know a little moreabout my grandfather, where he
lived in Berlin and everything.
So then I was going to hiscousin and I'm asking okay, you
as well from Berlin, where haveyou lived?
So she said, well, my apartmentwas at Korinastraße 35.
And I was asking okay, you'reas well from Berlin, where have
you lived?
So she said, well, my apartmentwas at Corinnastrasse 35.
And I was like, what I mean,from all the Berlin, I'm living
right next to your house.
And then they showed me apicture of my grandfather before
(13:54):
he was leaving Berlin, atSchönhausen Allee, and this is
where I'm living at this moment.
I mean I had like goose, yousay Goosebumps, go this moment.
I mean I had like goose, yousay goosebumps, goosebumps on it
.
I mean this is like how historyis coming back.
I mean berlin is really big.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
We have almost four million people, not like new
york, but um that's incredibleis a berlin is that we had a
great time there, outside theoutside, the festival berlin's
an amazing place, um.
That's why you're coming backI'm coming back because I took
so much fun and I just lovebeing in.
I love performing in Germany.
I don't know why there'ssomething I get about Between
(14:30):
the shows I've done in Frankfurt, düsseldorf and Berlin.
I don't know why I loveperforming in Germany.
I'm really looking forward tothe shows we have in Warsaw and
the shows we have coming up inMunich.
I've never been to Munich wehave a show coming up there and
Geneva and Antwerp, and I don'tknow why I call it the
reparations tour.
(14:51):
I just I just because I just Idon't know why I feel such a
great like.
Here we are where, where theydestroyed us, and we're coming
back laughing.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
It's so amazing, it's so amazing.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
They're not there anymore and here we are getting
together to laugh.
Is that crazy?
Speaker 3 (15:09):
No, not at all.
This is exactly what I wantedto show with the festival, and
you were like really saying whatI was like feeling.
And here we are, we are stillhere and that's it.
I mean deal with it.
And I mean the people werereally proud after you left,
after the show.
They were really proud to bepart of this festival.
I mean to be to laugh and Imean this is the most exciting
(15:33):
thing.
I mean later, I mean threeweeks later, it was before the
7th of October, and then boom,it's crashed all over again, so
I was there before October 7th.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Yeah, you know, since October 7th Two weeks, I think,
before.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
It was crazy, was it?
Yes, yes, end of September youperformed in Berlin.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
And 7th of October.
Oh, wow, so maybe we wereflying to Israel after that.
Maybe that's what it was.
Wow, you know, since October7th, I sing Hatikvah at the end
of every show.
I can't wait to sing it inBerlin.
I cannot wait to sing it inBerlin.
I'm going to have chills, youknow.
(16:16):
I want to give a shout out toalso to last night I saw the
Children of October 7, the movie, which was amazing.
Montana Tucker Montana Tuckerdid this movie with Paramount
and MTV, the Children of October7, and it was amazing.
And the Holocaust hasn't ended.
(16:40):
The Holocaust hasn't ended.
It really it hasn't ended.
I know they closed down thecamps, the auschwitz and
buchenwald, and then trablinkand all that, but the holocaust
has not ended.
Um, and it's um, it'sunbelievable.
When you, I saw that, and whatwas amazing about the whole the
(17:05):
movie was the correlationbetween the.
It was its own Holocaust on asmaller level, but I don't know.
Whenever I'm in Europe, youfeel maybe it's because all the
movies we watch, is that what itis?
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Did you grow up with these stories from your parents?
Where were your grandparentsfrom Like?
What was that history?
Speaker 1 (17:35):
My grandparents went to Israel before the war.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
From where?
Speaker 1 (17:40):
From Belarus, romania .
The borders changed all thetime at the places that they
lived, so we didn't have thosestories.
But we had another set ofgrandparents my aunt's parents
who lived with.
They were like my grandparentsand they had the number and they
had Wow.
Also, we didn't grow up withthe stories.
(18:00):
The whole telling of theHolocaust stories is it's not
new, but it wasn't around whenwe were growing up.
The grandparents didn't justsit at the table and say, hey,
elie Wiesel with his book Night,I think, really ignited that
(18:20):
thought and then when the moviestarted coming out, good movies
began the conversation.
And now we're having theconversation with survivors who
are in their late in life,whereas now this movie yesterday
that I saw was the Children ofOctober 7th.
(18:43):
The kids are coming out of aHolocaust and they're
interviewing them right away.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
At the end of.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
World War II.
There was no podcasts, so asurvivor or a hostage or
whatever you want to call them,didn't have a platform to tell
what just happened to him or her.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
They didn't want to talk about it.
They didn't want to talk aboutit.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
They didn't want to talk about it.
That's right too.
They were very….
Speaker 3 (19:05):
I don't know how it was in the States, but you know,
I grew up and I was born inGermany and at synagogue I saw
all the old people with thenumbers on their arms.
Wow, and they never… theydidn't want to harm us, they
wanted to protect us and theyalways.
I mean I've never seen suchbeautiful people.
I mean they always werepositive about life and to laugh
(19:26):
and everything.
And I mean I I remember this.
I mean I was seven or eightyears old and I was asking, like
this guy, what is this number?
And he was making fun of it.
This is my phone number if Iforget it or something.
And they always made jokesabout it and and my grandparents
never talked about it.
I mean it was like you don'ttalk about the Holocaust, I mean
(19:46):
, as you said.
I mean there was Schindler'sList and then the movies, and
then we started to researchabout it, but nobody talked
about the.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Holocaust Right, it wasn't.
Like it is today, where we givesurvivors that are still alive
a platform to talk about it andhere tell us what happened when
they got out of there.
They were in shock and theywere.
They just wanted to get on withtheir lives and move on with it
.
And um, and I don't know if youknow, but um, we're doing a uh
(20:17):
I I hate to bring, even thoughthat you began with, I don't
want to talk about the Holocaustwe ended up here we're doing an
interview with Omer Shemtov,one of the hostages that was
released, a live interview withhim, and I just can't wait to
get into that conversation withhim as a nowadays survivor.
But back to you and Berlin andthe festival.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
But I can tell you as well with the hostage.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
So our opening will be like we're doing our own
production this year, I'mbringing a symphony orchestra,
wow.
And we are telling the Jewishstory with movies of, like
Munich, prince of Egypt.
We are telling the story withsoundtracks, I mean from John
(21:01):
Williams, stevens, stephenspielberg, the whole thing.
So the opening will be munich,you know, remember the movie
from steven spielberg?
Yeah, yeah.
And this will stay like um ofall the terror attacks of
everyone, and agamberger one ofthe hostages yeah, of course,
yeah survive will do the openingfor us.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Oh, that's beautiful.
She's playing the violin.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Yeah, it's a violin which survived Auschwitz, a
violin which is 130 years old.
And yeah, so she's doing theopening.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
She's amazing, Agam.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
What else is in the festival?
What else is going to be at thefestival?
Speaker 3 (21:36):
So you are coming.
Obviously I'm headlining thefestival.
What else is happening?
We have jazz, we have themovies, we have like a party
with Dag Nachash, which is aband from Israel, and we have
readings again.
I mean, there was a big writer,Leon De Winter is coming.
Is he going to be in thatsynagogue that?
Speaker 1 (21:57):
beautiful synagogue, there's a synagogue that he took
us to.
So is it going to be in thatsynagogue, that beautiful
synagogue?
There's a synagogue that hetook us to which is so beautiful
and massive and huge, and hetold us that during the war
that's where the Nazis storedtheir horses.
Wow.
And then I asked him why didn'tthey just burn the synagogue
down?
(22:18):
Because the synagogue was builttoo close to the other
buildings.
It would have burnt down theresidential buildings as well,
and just to be in that synagoguewas, and just to think that
there were horses running aroundthere, and now that synagogue
is so beautiful, it's such agreat space, is that where the
show I'm doing is Good.
I love performing in asynagogue, you do.
(22:38):
I love performing in asynagogue.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Well it'll.
I love performing in asynagogue.
You do.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I love performing in a synagogue Will be a great show
.
Yeah, it's going to be.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
I will.
I will be there.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
And how is the fundraising going?
Speaker 3 (22:50):
It's not easy.
It's one of the reasons why I'mas well here in New York.
So if you know some sponsors,let me know.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
It's always hard because, you know, and I can't
say, I mean people are alwaysnow a lot of doing sponsors or
doing etc.
To israel and I mean this ismore important.
I understand, but it's alwaysimportant for our festival to
raise it or to make it bigger,and this is what we did to the
four, four years, the last fouryears and um where can people go
(23:20):
to find more information aboutthe festival?
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Yeah, and Jüdische Kulturterre, remember it's so
hard, it's so hard, it's so hard.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
What was that?
What happened?
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Jüdische Kulturterre.
Jüdische Kulturterre,kulturterre is Kultur.
Kulturterre Wachen Dreecher.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Best of luck with that.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
You guys will find it's jktberlin jktberlin
jktberlin perfect, wwwjktberlinvery good folks.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
That's Mashiach Energy.
Send money, send help, be apart of it.
If you need a reason to go toBerlin, this is it.
Berlin's an amazing, amazingcity, the history.
We had such a great tour theguy gave us without getting out
of the car it was me, no youwere one day your tour was good,
but the other guy gave us wereyou in the car with us?
(24:21):
I?
Was driving in the car, it'sBerlin's Holocaust museums and
sex dungeons, isn't it no?
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Book me a flight.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Book me in both.
Book me in both.
That sounds perfect, maybe editthat out, but okay, but that's
the we got like.
It's really an amazing city.
I'll be there and I would lovefor people to come to.
If you need a reason to flysomewhere to Berlin, that's a
great reason People come toParis, I'm there.
(24:54):
Let's make a weekend of it.
Berlin is definitely an amazing, amazing place for it and that
venue is so beautiful thatsynagogue and I'd be crazy if I
didn't ask you what's the vibenow since October 7th with
anti-Semitism?
I don't know.
On my Instagram I'm seeingcrazy feeds of police and
(25:18):
Palestinian clashing, reallyclashing.
Tell us what's happening there.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
It's not nice.
What should I tell you?
I mean, after 7th of October, Ithink all the Jews all over the
world, we are facing I mean ananti-Semitic wave.
It's unbelievable, and inBerlin as well, we feel it.
We feel it from neighbors, wefeel it from the students, we
feel it.
We feel it from neighbors, wefeel from the students, we feel
it everywhere was it shocking inGermany like was it surprising?
(25:47):
um, well, I think everybody wasshocked after 7th of October.
I don't know how you felt that,the guys here all over, uh, in
the United States.
But, um, I mean my wife and Iit was Saturday, it was Shabbos
I mean we didn't know what'shappening.
I just heard my phone alwayslike ding, ding, ding, ding and
I, my wife and I it was Saturday, it was Shabbos I mean we
didn't know what's happening.
I just heard my phone alwayslike ding, ding, ding, ding, and
I said my wife, Diana,something is happening here.
I have to switch on my.
(26:07):
I have to look what's happening.
In this moment my neighbor isknocking my door and I remember
she said listen, I don't know ifyou know what's happening, but
you have to burn Gaza down.
She's saying this was like asupport.
I mean I said what's happening?
I don't know.
So this was in the beginning.
(26:28):
Everything was really positiveand everybody was supporting
Israel.
But after one week everythingwas like yeah it's changing.
I mean, I'm going in a littlesynagogue and after one week we
had like a Molotov cocktailwhich was thrown on us.
Hamas, on the 13th of October,told that they're going to make
an attack at Jewish restaurantsor schools.
(26:51):
So my children are in Jewishschools and I sent them to
school and from 600 people, only23 people came.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Wow, because all the parents were really like afraid
to send them to school and from600 people, only 23 people came.
Wow, because all the parentswere really like afraid to send
them to school.
Is there security?
Are the police helping out?
Is there?
Is there a showman?
Is there some kind of there?
Is Israelis?
Speaker 3 (27:11):
with guns and there's police, but people are afraid.
I mean, yes, okay, the schoolsare protected, but you know, if
the children are going to school, what's going to be after?
I mean, they're going out ofthe school, somebody just have
to go after them.
And people are afraid.
And the students in theuniversities, they were like
Israelis beating up on thestreets.
(27:32):
It's a nice situation, I cantell you.
But you know, I don't know howit is like here, but I saw as
well at Columbia University.
It's not great.
It's not great.
It's not great, it's not greatat all.
So, but it's moving us Jewishpeople together.
What should I tell you?
And I didn't know if I wantedto do another festival.
I can tell you, really, yes,because it was.
How can you do a festival aftersuch an event?
(27:54):
You have to do a festival.
I did.
But in the first three months Iwas shocked.
They said how can I dosomething positive with such an?
Speaker 1 (28:03):
We left Israel on Saturday when the war began and
on Monday we had a show plannedin Paris and we just had to
continue.
Otherwise, they win.
Otherwise, if you didn't do afestival the next year or the
next scheduling because of that,it's a win for them.
It's a win for them.
It's a win for them.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
I understand totally, but you know we had not like a
positive feeling to do somethinglike yeah, everything is fine,
et cetera.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
But my tour now is called Pause for Laughter,
because you have to pause forlaughter.
Yes, you have this horrendousthing happen and we should help
in whatever we can to thehostages' families, to the
hostages' forum, to Israel, toIDF, to all of that.
But also take a minute andcatch your breath and have a
(28:54):
laugh.
Go listen to somebody play theviolin, go be with the community
, even if it's not somethingthey want to see maybe they
don't want to see a fashion showor a violin but you're just
sitting in a room with peoplewho are, you're with your
community for a little while.
You know it's just, it's justreally important.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
this is what we did.
I mean we did like um on babelspots where the jewish people,
where the nazis burned the book,and right next to the
university where the studentswere like pro-Palestinian.
We completed a Torah roll there, on this place, and the last
letters, each letter we weregiving not only for the hostages
(29:37):
, for the victims of the 7th ofOctober, and we invited the
whole city to be part of it.
And then in a convoy there waslike a Hasidic player, shlomi
Gertner.
I know Shlomi Gertner.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
You know Shlomi Gertner, Of course I know him
yes.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
So I was placing it on a truck and said, listen,
we're doing, samer, we're goingto bring this Torah to the
synagogue, to this little shul.
And there came, thousands ofpeople came there, wow, and
everybody was thanking me.
I said, listen, I mean, therewas jewish people and they were
saying, listen, since the 7th ofoctober, this is such a good
vibe, and everything and um.
(30:12):
And then I said I was satisfied, like after this event, because
I didn't know how it will endin the end, and um, but there
were.
It was really a good protectorfrom the, from the, from the
police.
I think there have been morepolice officers than people who
attended.
No, it was not, but no,yesterday I did uh.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
Yesterday I did a um, a podcast with these two girls.
It's called video judaica in uhin brussels I'm sorry in
Belgium for the show that I'mdoing in Antwerp and she said
that she was at my show inBrussels and when I sang
Hatikvah since it was the firsttime she heard it as a community
(30:52):
, as people together she goes.
It was such a moving moment inmy life.
She told me, you know, justbecause you just had the show,
it was 900 people and it wasaltogether Jewish and there was
a protest, a very there was avery peaceful protest up the
block from it.
It didn't affect us.
(31:13):
You know, it's funny becausewhen I do perform, it's Modi.
It doesn't say the Jewishcomedy of Modi or Modi Rosenfeld
, it just says Modi.
So it's not like anybody has togo, but over here I'm
performing under the Jewish, allof that.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
German is very good.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
No, we walk whenever we're in Germany.
Whenever we're in Germany, Ispeak to everybody in Yiddish
and sometimes they have no ideawhat the hell I'm saying and
Liam's like they don't know whatyou're saying.
Stop talking to them in Yiddish.
They don't know what you'resaying.
You speak Yiddish.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
I speak, yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
He does speak.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Yiddish.
We get in the car and I go Wieweit To get to the hotel, and
he's not doing what I'm saying,but in Yiddish wie weit, how far
.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
That's right.
He said in German wie weit ises, wie weit is it Right, it's
pretty close.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
It's good so yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
I ate a lot of sausage when I was in Germany
just now and you know who I keptA kosher ones right Of course,
and you know who I kept thinkingof.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
Who.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Seth Seth.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
She ate kosher sausages.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Almost as good.
No, not almost.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
There's no way anything could be as good as the
sausages and the kosher meatsof A&H Provisions, especially
the hot dogs.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Especially the hot dogs.
He's one of our sponsors yes,the best ones.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
We should tell him to sponsor you guys as well.
Seth has A&H.
It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
He should join.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
It's amazing food, people love it and for 30% off
of your first order, you use thepromo code Mody and go to their
website kosherdogsnet I'mtelling you, avi, best hot dogs
you ever had.
And our other sponsor is WeitzLuxembourg.
It's a law firm that not onlydoes well, they do good, they're
(33:17):
very philanthropic and they aregreat.
And Arthur was on one of thepodcasts recently and we had a
whole conversation aboutpretzels Weitzluxcom.
Weitzluxcom.
They're our sponsors andthey're great and we love them
and thank you very much for that, so they should join.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
I mean, I'm running a kosher street food festival on
the 6th of July.
There was, like in the lastthree years we had like one day
12,000 people were joining.
Wow, 30 stands with kosher foodWow.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
That's so cool, you should join.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
We'll let them know.
Good, All the stuff that you'redoing.
It's unbelievable.
You're bringing Moshiach energyinto Berlin.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
Am I?
I don't know.
No, they were all joking aboutme, about the Kosher Street Food
Festival.
So we did it like the firsttime three years ago and they
said nobody will join, nobodywill come.
And the first year there werelike 4 000 people came there and
then like, and we tookrestaurants who are not doing
kosher the whole year andeverybody turning the whole
(34:20):
kitchen kosher and everything.
In the second year there werelike 8 000 people, 30 at 12 000.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
so this year on the 6th of july we'll see how many
will come that's really cool thehotel we stayed at didn't have
a israeli restaurant downstairsright they had, they still have
it's amazing it was, it was.
It was a great little apartmentlike we had there was.
It was very cute alreadyreserved for you is it?
Yes, it is okay good, good,good.
I spoke already with leo aboutit good, I don't know anything
(34:48):
and I'm so happy the hotel isalready, it's already booked.
Yes, if you need me to speak toMercedes, I'll get on the phone
with them.
I have cars of theirs.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
I have the cars.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
I don't have the drivers oh, we'll get a driver
then, perry Ellicott.
I'll be your driver no, I'venever been to an autobahn so I
take you next time.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
What's that autobahn?
Perry Ellicott, I'll be yourdriver.
No, I've never been to anAutobahn, so I take you next
time.
What's that Autobahn?
It's the highway Unlimited.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Yes, I was on that highway just now.
You guys are insane.
There's no speed limit on thishighway.
Why, insane?
It's normal, it's so terrifying.
There's no speed limit.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Right.
So just zooming right, I don'tlike that no, no, no, it's great
.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
No, it's not, it's terrifying when I took you how
much is it 95 miles an hour no55 or 65, that's it yes it was
like slow motion.
I mean, if we are going Germany, we are going like 220, 230
kilometers an hour.
How much is it miles?
No one knows.
Whatever it was.
Speaker 2 (35:52):
it was so terrifying.
My nephew, who's 24, wasdriving me around in their
Mercedes, of course and Ithought we were going to die
like at any given moment.
It was really scary.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
Should I take you before the show or after the
show?
Speaker 1 (36:08):
I'm not going on any.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
I'm not going driving fast anywhere I don't like that
, don't worry, I have to drive.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
I like to.
I drive to doing the normalspeed limit yeah, I don't I'm
not a speeder, I'm not a.
No, you will be, don't worry Imean everybody's zooming through
and all that.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
It's crazy and the other thing that's going on in
germany is that people areconsuming the most obscene
amounts of beer just likenonchalantly in, like pints that
are like this big children arelike no from 16.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
I mean, you know, I was working for bmw when I was I
, I was learning, I I am.
I did apprenticeship as amechanic, you know really
parents said yes, my parentssaid, listen, you have to do
something with your hands.
So I was working for bmw so wehad like an in munich.
Usually you have like this howdo you say the, the automag
where you got the cans from thecoca-cola?
(37:00):
Yes, so they have beer.
I mean there's things where youcan take.
It's unbelievable.
So then I was like living inthe states.
I said you have to be 21.
I said what, what 21?
Speaker 2 (37:10):
I mean we are drinking their beer and also
you're allowed to drink anddrive there, right?
Speaker 3 (37:15):
no, you're not smoke and drive, not drink and drive.
Alright, no, no, no, okay, ohmy god, until now here.
No, no, no, you're not allowedto drink, but we're doing it
anyway, yeah good, and your wifehow is?
I don't know, I'm here, rightnow, what does she do?
Speaker 1 (37:31):
She does an interesting job.
Speaker 3 (37:35):
No, she's actually one of the.
I mean, it's a lot of work toorganize such a festival and I
have a main job.
This is not what I'm doing allover the year, but I can tell
you we are doing now anotherfestival in Osnabrück I don't
know if you know the city.
No, it's a smaller city, sowe're doing as well.
This year, the first time inseptember, we're doing the
jewish festival as well.
And so she said we have tocontinue.
(37:56):
And I'm saying listen, it's,it's hard.
I mean with all the managers,with israelis, it's hard to to,
to do the marketing, socialmedia, etc.
I have no idea what socialmedia marketing.
So she's behind it and she'slike the force which are which,
I mean, she's the how do you say, the good vibe for the festival
(38:17):
.
And this is the reason why weare continuing, because of her,
not because of me.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
She's a real Eshet Chayil, a real woman of valor.
I'm singing it every Friday.
You sing it every Friday.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
yes, I am really you know the song or no?
No, your husband doesn't singEs.
I am really you know the songor no?
Speaker 1 (38:34):
your husband doesn't sing what do you think?
No, I don't know.
I don't know with your husband.
Sometimes he puts on tefillin,but he doesn't sing he puts on
tefillin every day.
Shabbos as well?
I don't think you're supposedto on Shabbat we had three days
of those jokes, three days ofthose jokes we had with him.
His wife ignores him when hedoes those jokes.
Speaker 3 (38:56):
Always, she ignores every one of his jokes, but
sometimes she's laughing.
And I said, why are youlaughing?
He said, oh, this one I didn'tknow, but it's not.
I mean, it took me eight yearsto propose to her.
Eight years, yes, eight years.
I said she was asking her.
Eight years, yes, eight years.
I said she was asking.
Why eight years?
I said I want to make sure thatyou know all my jokes.
(39:16):
Oh, it took you eight years toget the jokes out.
No, to tell them all the jokes.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
Oh my god.
Leo has been posting um.
We got footage of me doingcomedy from like 100 years ago,
from 30 years ago, and leo isobsessed with these video and
he's posting them now.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
They're amazing, they're amazing.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
I was I had.
I didn't realize how, like I,we have to talk about that in
another episode, but they're,they're pretty crazy.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Everybody should immediately go to your Instagram
and watch those videos.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
In the recent clips we've been putting it's like
shows from 1997 and right after9-11.
What were you laughing?
Speaker 2 (39:58):
I was watching them.
I was dying.
They're unbelievable.
They look for their from like.
Another time it's another time.
And they're like grainy alittle bit.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
Grainy and the font he put on them fits that time of
font and he's a man of valor.
He's great.
So that's it.
We can start to wrap this up.
I cannot tell you how great itis to see you.
What an absolute tanug and justa fun Joy, A joy that you
(40:30):
popped up into the.
You were in New York and we'redoing the festival and I'm
looking forward to it.
We have so much before then, wehave so much before it.
We're going to be andeverything's available on
modicom.
We're going to be in Warsaw,Poland, on the 14th of May.
(40:52):
Everything is in May Warsaw,Manchester, Munich, Frankfurt,
Geneva and Antwerp.
Tell your friends or, if you'rethere, get your tickets at
modilivecom.
Be the friend that brings thefriends to the comedy show.
Get some tickets for yourfriends.
We also have the Not SleepawayCamp, the Laughaway Camp.
(41:13):
We have shows that are going tobe in comedy clubs really fun
in Omaha, Nebraska.
I don't have all the dates withme right now, but get them.
Everything's on modilivecom.
See there, and please, pleasehelp.
The berlin uh jewish culturalfestival and the website is j t
(41:39):
no, j k t j k t dot berlin, dotberlin, b-e-r-l-i-n.
Exactly, and it's and it's.
That's just, even if you havenothing to do with it and you're
in the middle of nowhere.
Send some money there, sendsome energy.
Money is energy.
Just send some energy to Berlinfor this festival.
It really gives people hope.
(42:02):
That festival just gives peoplehope and like, wow, we're here,
we did it, we're alive, we'resurviving, we're laughing.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
Hope is the good word for today, I think, and like
wow, we're here, we did it,we're alive, we're surviving,
we're laughing.
Speaker 3 (42:18):
Hope is the good word for today.
I think.
Anyom HaShoah, it really is.
Our theme is as well.
It says Atit, it's future.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
Atit.
Yeah, also Hatikvah, that'shope.
Right, tikvah is hope.
Speaker 1 (42:29):
Right, we just keep going.
Hamashkanta the mortgage.
Whatever you want, we canalways make it like oh my God,
avi, it's so, so good to see you.
Amazing and success with thefestival, and we're going to
have the best time in Berlin.
(42:51):
We will, okay.
Thank you all very much forlistening.
Modilifecom.
Stay in touch.
We love you.
Speaker 2 (42:56):
Auf Wiedersehen, auf Wiedersehen.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
Guten Tag.
Welcome to and here's Modi.
Hello everybody, and welcomeback to and here is Modi.
And we have a special guest inthe house besides Perrielle
Ashenbrand, hi, who's wearing avery, very cute kaputa.
She's wearing a little blackcoat today.
She looks very rebisha, notRebbitinish.
(00:26):
I love that coat.
What is that?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Helmet length.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Gorgeous.
Her knees I don't know thejeans Looks like someone threw
her out of a car and she's likeoh my god, can we do one episode
of a makeover on you?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, can we do a?
Speaker 1 (00:44):
makeover on Periel.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
You, can I get to choose?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
hair color and everything.
I get to everything.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Hair color.
Are you going to put me in ashidle?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Put you in a shidle and okay, and we have a friend,
a good, a Mashiach energy friend.
Let me tell you we met this guywhen was Avi?
His name is avi I always getdistracted, avi and the last
name is to be on now to be onnow, now, to be on now, god
right, yeah, to be on now.
(01:13):
Um beautiful name and um heruns the.
I'm gonna say in english theberlin jewish cultural week.
I'm going to say it in Englishthe Berlin Jewish Cultural Week.
Is that right, correct?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
yes.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Right, which I performed at two years ago, and
it was amazing.
It was amazing and it wasdefinitely one of the things I
can put down in my life that Icould say, wow, that was an
amazing event.
The comedy club that weperformed at had no air
conditioning.
I sweated through the suit.
I swear to God, I'd never seenthe drops run down my coat.
(01:52):
I've sweated through suits, soI wear dark suits because I
sweat through them sometimes.
This was a light suit and itjust turned completely wet and
there was just like drops comingoff of the bottom of the.
That's how hot it was.
I did two shows, but it wasamazing and the shows were just
a part of it.
We got to see Berlin Avi set usup.
(02:16):
We had we went, me and Leo.
I think we came from somewhere.
We came from Israel orsomething.
I don't remember.
I don't remember.
I don't remember, but it wasunbelievable and of course we
got there and Mercedes-Benz wasa sponsor.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Exactly, was a sponsor, was Not anymore.
Actually, they're coming backin this year Because you are
coming If you need me to make aphone call.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
I will call Mercedes-Benz.
I have two of their cars and Ibelieve they should be sponsored
, so they sent this Maybach forus.
So we were driving aroundBerlin like Adolf Eichmann,
literally, literally, and wetold the driver we don't want to
see anything specific, we'redoing a general tour.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
But you said, I remember also that you were
driving through Berlin and thenthere were like these huge
pictures of you.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
No, well, you know.
So some of the buildings wekept seeing in Berlin looked
very World War II-y, you knowlike, still like, looked like
when you look at films of theNazis and World War II.
Those buildings were still,some of them were still there.
And Leo goes, that buildinglooks very Reich-y, very like
Third Reich-y.
Yeah, and Leo goes, thatbuilding looks very.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Reichy very like Third Reichy.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
And you're waiting to go see this big banner of a
Nazi flag.
But then he showed us where,like the main center of the show
was, and it was a huge bannerwith my dumb face right on it.
And I'm like the swastika wasreplaced by my face.
I was so happy when I saw that.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
That feels like very sweet revenge it was very sweet
revenge.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
There's Jewish comedians' faces where the
banners of the Nazis used topost, and the festival was
unbelievable.
Tell us about the festival Wellyeah, of course.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
I mean.
The festival is running since1987.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Wow, and you just had me only two years ago.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Yeah, exactly, I didn't know you before Chutzpah
to have you here no just asecond, I'm just running it for
the last four years.
This is going to be now myfirst years and yeah, it's now
the 38th edition which we arerunning, and you're going to be
there again, and again, again.
I mean, we're doing it for 10days and we're running more than
40 events in this 10 days tellus about the events, because
(04:28):
some of them were amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
We saw them.
We saw like other stuff too.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Yes, of course.
I mean we had like, we havelike concerts, we have, uh, we
had like, when you came, we hada fashion show.
Fashion show, a jewish fashionshow, what.
At mercedes-benz.
We, we are doing readings onthe Bebelplatz, where the Nazis
burned the books, so we arebuilding their tent, wow, and we
have readings there with Jewish, only Jewish, writers.
(04:52):
We have movies, like it'sreally really huge.
And Diana and I I have to admitI'm not doing it by myself, it's
my wife so we are running thefestival since yeah, since I 22
we started and we changed it allover.
I'm, I think, the first one whois running it as a jewish
person, for before that, um,there was a non-jewish person
(05:14):
running a jewish festival, andso we changed it and we made it
more alive.
And when they asked me if Icould do it, I was telling them
listen, if I'm gonna do it, I'mgonna do two things.
I'm going to do two things.
What I'm not going to do islike talking about the Holocaust
and the Near East politics, Imean Israel and everything.
(05:34):
So, and you know, because I wasborn and raised in Germany and
if you are outing yourself as aJew, there are always two
questions or two things.
It's like they say oh, are youJewish?
I'm sorry about the Holocaust.
Like a German person, I'm sorry, but what are you doing in
Israel?
It's not correct.
So this I wanted to show themlike another face of our culture
(05:57):
, of our rich culture, andthat's why I'm doing like with
you comedy.
What was really great.
I remember when Leo told melisten, avi, from the beginning,
bring a big venue.
And I said no, no, it's notgoing to work in Germany they
don't speak English.
And we were sold out, I thinkafter two hours.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Yeah, we did two shows in that same club.
Yeah, and, like you said, hedidn't mention the Holocaust,
but I did, you did.
The room was a thousand degreesand I said all the Jews are
having flashbacks.
That was my opening line, andthen we just did all the other
stuff.
It was we also met with, so youobviously have to raise money
(06:35):
for this.
And so we had a dinner with, wehad a lunch with all of these
people who were.
A lot of them were hotelownerships right All over
Germany, right, am I right?
And some real estate Jews thatwere there.
They were helping the festival,making donations or whatever it
(06:57):
was.
Some of them, some of them.
So we had lunch with them inthis beautiful restaurant and
across the street, avi says tome and you see that building
across the street, I go.
Yeah, he goes.
That was Adolf Eichmann'soffice.
Wow, right, you said it to me,or the other guy said it Maybe
the other one, I didn't know.
I was blown away.
(07:18):
It was blown away.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
It's wild Germany.
I just got back.
Coincidentally, I was justthere for a week.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Nothing is coincidental Things coincide.
Oh, I love that you come on andAvi's on the podcast.
This is Avi's first podcast, sofirst of all, congratulations.
Second of all, your camera isthis one, so you'd be much
better to look at me when you'reanswering the questions than at
Periel, just so we can see yourbeautiful eyes Exactly.
(07:49):
So just that's your camera.
He's so sweet, he's so naive.
His wife, though, she's the onethat moves things along.
You got to meet his wife.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
No, I got the last word at home.
Why are you laughing?
I'm always saying yes, you'reright, that's it Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I'll introduce you to my husband.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
What did you do in Germany?
Speaker 2 (08:06):
I went to Dachau.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Oh, nice place Shopping.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Shopping, shopping.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Great stores, first of all, today's Yom HaShoah.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
That's right.
Today we're taping this on theHolocaust Remembrance Day, which
is amazing.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
And germans.
I don't like to talk about theholocaust, but here we are.
I mean, I don't blame you guyswhy are you not blaming me?
Speaker 3 (08:30):
I don't have a problem to talk about the
holocaust no, but germans do I'mjewish you're jewish.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Well, fair enough.
Um, I mean, maybe that shouldbe a question.
You said that.
You said that for the festival.
The first thing that you saidwas you're not going to make it
about the Holocaust.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
No, because they're placing you in.
How do you say it?
In a box, in a box, yeah, a box.
Jews Holocaust.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Yeah, I get it.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
There are only like two things and I mean this is
not our people.
I know you've been to Israel.
I mean we are wild, we lovelife.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
And they to.
We love life.
Yeah and um.
They see us as jews and onlythe holocaust and the gray
dachau place and everythingthat's not us, and they love to
see us in this place and I, I, I, that's again it's not us.
I know, I grew up, I was bornin germany and my father was a
big guitar player and wow alwaysum.
You know, all my german friendscame over, always in my own
apartment, because they said hey, there's life, there's food,
(09:26):
there's, this is who we are.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Wait a second, though .
What about your family?
Your father was also born inGermany.
No, Tunisia.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Oh okay.
I'm half Sephardic, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
But you look so Ashkenazi.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
What did you do?
My other half?
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Yeah, but when we were in Germany, we told you the
story.
First of all, when you walkaround Berlin, they have on the
floor those gold.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Stolpersteine.
Show who Stolpersteine.
It's kind of you know you arelike.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Stolpersteine.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
I just met her, no that you are like?
Speaker 1 (10:06):
how do you say if you are like?
It's a memorial plaque and itsays, like in this house, that
this is in front of is whereElza and Moshe were taken away
in the year 1942.
And no one knows whateverhappened to them afterwards.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Or they were killed somewhere, or they were killed,
it tells you.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
it just shows you where this and that's all over
the city.
So if you live in Berlin, youjust see gold little plates all
over the floor reminding you.
And then Leo and I were justwalking around to take in the
city and all that, and thiscouple came over to us, blonde
boy with blue eyes, and hisgirlfriend, who's Ethiopian.
He's a Jewish kid that met hisgirlfriend, uh, who was
(10:44):
Ethiopian, in Israel, and theylive in in Berlin, and he says
that we keep it very quietly.
He goes, he grew up in Berlinand he they never advertised
that they were Jewish.
They went to a Jewish schooland then when they went into the
regular school, they just itwas their first time being
around non non-Jewish people.
It was there.
It's a very, still very.
You guys are very hidden stillwithin in berlin, which is why I
(11:10):
was a hit, because I walk on,hey, I'm a big jew, hey, we
control politics, hey, wecontrol the money, we control
everything.
And they're like oh my god,this guy's saying it and it's
like yes, they were shocked.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
They were shocked, but they were shocked.
But I was not born in Berlin,I'm from Düsseldorf, it's like
the western part, and I had noJewish school.
I mean, when I was growing upin Germany, there were only
20,000 Jews all over Germany,wow.
So it was nothing.
And I mean, we've been toJewish camps and there were only
(11:41):
like 200 people my age all overGermany, wow.
So we were just meeting once ayear like for ski and for summer
camps.
But I had no problem to say inschool that I'm Jewish.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
But what happened to your family during the Holocaust
, like where were they, how didthey survive?
Speaker 3 (12:00):
It's a funny story actually.
I mean, for my father's side,had like to go to how do you say
, in caves in tunisia, becauserommel was there and right.
So they went in caves, so thetwo of them died because of
typhus, but for my, uh, for mymother's side typhus yeah I have
to used to speaking english.
(12:21):
I mean, you know I'm fromgermany, yeah, no, and from my
mother's side.
Actually, my grandfather was ingermany until the 8th of
november 38, so one day beforethe, and then he left to
palestine.
I think they knew it um beforeand um, but the other family
they went to Auschwitz.
(12:42):
I had, like his cousin was atMengele even.
And no, it's awful, but therewas a funny story when I moved.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
It's hilarious so far , yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Everything he says it's a funny story.
Then he goes Mengele took outmy grandfather's arm and then we
put it into his nose and whathappened?
Was he got a job in the circus?
Speaker 3 (13:09):
No, no no, it was not like this.
I mean, really a few aunts andeverything of my grandfather
died in Auschwitz.
But I moved to Berlin in 2003.
And well, berlin is really big.
So I decided to move toPrenzlauer Berg at Korinastraße
52.
So one year later my father ispassing away in Israel and I
(13:32):
wanted to know a little moreabout my grandfather, where he
lived in Berlin and everything.
So then I was going to hiscousin and I'm asking okay, you
as well from Berlin, where haveyou lived?
So she said, well, my apartmentwas at Korinastraße 35.
And I was asking okay, you'reas well from Berlin, where have
you lived?
So she said, well, my apartmentwas at Corinnastrasse 35.
And I was like, what I mean,from all the Berlin, I'm living
right next to your house.
And then they showed me apicture of my grandfather before
(13:54):
he was leaving Berlin, atSchönhausen Allee, and this is
where I'm living at this moment.
I mean I had like goose, yousay Goosebumps, go this moment.
I mean I had like goose, yousay goosebumps, goosebumps on it
.
I mean this is like how historyis coming back.
I mean berlin is really big.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
We have almost four million people, not like new
york, but um that's incredibleis a berlin is that we had a
great time there, outside theoutside, the festival berlin's
an amazing place, um.
That's why you're coming backI'm coming back because I took
so much fun and I just lovebeing in.
I love performing in Germany.
I don't know why there'ssomething I get about Between
(14:30):
the shows I've done in Frankfurt, düsseldorf and Berlin.
I don't know why I loveperforming in Germany.
I'm really looking forward tothe shows we have in Warsaw and
the shows we have coming up inMunich.
I've never been to Munich wehave a show coming up there and
Geneva and Antwerp, and I don'tknow why I call it the
reparations tour.
(14:51):
I just I just because I just Idon't know why I feel such a
great like.
Here we are where, where theydestroyed us, and we're coming
back laughing.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
It's so amazing, it's so amazing.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
They're not there anymore and here we are getting
together to laugh.
Is that crazy?
Speaker 3 (15:09):
No, not at all.
This is exactly what I wantedto show with the festival, and
you were like really saying whatI was like feeling.
And here we are, we are stillhere and that's it.
I mean deal with it.
And I mean the people werereally proud after you left,
after the show.
They were really proud to bepart of this festival.
I mean to be to laugh and Imean this is the most exciting
(15:33):
thing.
I mean later, I mean threeweeks later, it was before the
7th of October, and then boom,it's crashed all over again, so
I was there before October 7th.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Yeah, you know, since October 7th Two weeks, I think,
before.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
It was crazy, was it?
Yes, yes, end of September youperformed in Berlin.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
And 7th of October.
Oh, wow, so maybe we wereflying to Israel after that.
Maybe that's what it was.
Wow, you know, since October7th, I sing Hatikvah at the end
of every show.
I can't wait to sing it inBerlin.
I cannot wait to sing it inBerlin.
I'm going to have chills, youknow.
(16:16):
I want to give a shout out toalso to last night I saw the
Children of October 7, the movie, which was amazing.
Montana Tucker Montana Tuckerdid this movie with Paramount
and MTV, the Children of October7, and it was amazing.
And the Holocaust hasn't ended.
(16:40):
The Holocaust hasn't ended.
It really it hasn't ended.
I know they closed down thecamps, the auschwitz and
buchenwald, and then trablinkand all that, but the holocaust
has not ended.
Um, and it's um, it'sunbelievable.
When you, I saw that, and whatwas amazing about the whole the
(17:05):
movie was the correlationbetween the.
It was its own Holocaust on asmaller level, but I don't know.
Whenever I'm in Europe, youfeel maybe it's because all the
movies we watch, is that what itis?
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Did you grow up with these stories from your parents?
Where were your grandparentsfrom Like?
What was that history?
Speaker 1 (17:35):
My grandparents went to Israel before the war.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
From where?
Speaker 1 (17:40):
From Belarus, romania .
The borders changed all thetime at the places that they
lived, so we didn't have thosestories.
But we had another set ofgrandparents my aunt's parents
who lived with.
They were like my grandparentsand they had the number and they
had Wow.
Also, we didn't grow up withthe stories.
(18:00):
The whole telling of theHolocaust stories is it's not
new, but it wasn't around whenwe were growing up.
The grandparents didn't justsit at the table and say, hey,
elie Wiesel with his book Night,I think, really ignited that
(18:20):
thought and then when the moviestarted coming out, good movies
began the conversation.
And now we're having theconversation with survivors who
are in their late in life,whereas now this movie yesterday
that I saw was the Children ofOctober 7th.
(18:43):
The kids are coming out of aHolocaust and they're
interviewing them right away.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
At the end of.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
World War II.
There was no podcasts, so asurvivor or a hostage or
whatever you want to call them,didn't have a platform to tell
what just happened to him or her.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
They didn't want to talk about it.
They didn't want to talk aboutit.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
They didn't want to talk about it.
That's right too.
They were very….
Speaker 3 (19:05):
I don't know how it was in the States, but you know,
I grew up and I was born inGermany and at synagogue I saw
all the old people with thenumbers on their arms.
Wow, and they never… theydidn't want to harm us, they
wanted to protect us and theyalways.
I mean I've never seen suchbeautiful people.
I mean they always werepositive about life and to laugh
(19:26):
and everything.
And I mean I I remember this.
I mean I was seven or eightyears old and I was asking, like
this guy, what is this number?
And he was making fun of it.
This is my phone number if Iforget it or something.
And they always made jokesabout it and and my grandparents
never talked about it.
I mean it was like you don'ttalk about the Holocaust, I mean
(19:46):
, as you said.
I mean there was Schindler'sList and then the movies, and
then we started to researchabout it, but nobody talked
about the.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Holocaust Right, it wasn't.
Like it is today, where we givesurvivors that are still alive
a platform to talk about it andhere tell us what happened when
they got out of there.
They were in shock and theywere.
They just wanted to get on withtheir lives and move on with it
.
And um, and I don't know if youknow, but um, we're doing a uh
(20:17):
I I hate to bring, even thoughthat you began with, I don't
want to talk about the Holocaustwe ended up here we're doing an
interview with Omer Shemtov,one of the hostages that was
released, a live interview withhim, and I just can't wait to
get into that conversation withhim as a nowadays survivor.
But back to you and Berlin andthe festival.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
But I can tell you as well with the hostage.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
So our opening will be like we're doing our own
production this year, I'mbringing a symphony orchestra,
wow.
And we are telling the Jewishstory with movies of, like
Munich, prince of Egypt.
We are telling the story withsoundtracks, I mean from John
(21:01):
Williams, stevens, stephenspielberg, the whole thing.
So the opening will be munich,you know, remember the movie
from steven spielberg?
Yeah, yeah.
And this will stay like um ofall the terror attacks of
everyone, and agamberger one ofthe hostages yeah, of course,
yeah survive will do the openingfor us.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Oh, that's beautiful.
She's playing the violin.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Yeah, it's a violin which survived Auschwitz, a
violin which is 130 years old.
And yeah, so she's doing theopening.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
She's amazing, Agam.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
What else is in the festival?
What else is going to be at thefestival?
Speaker 3 (21:36):
So you are coming.
Obviously I'm headlining thefestival.
What else is happening?
We have jazz, we have themovies, we have like a party
with Dag Nachash, which is aband from Israel, and we have
readings again.
I mean, there was a big writer,Leon De Winter is coming.
Is he going to be in thatsynagogue that?
Speaker 1 (21:57):
beautiful synagogue, there's a synagogue that he took
us to.
So is it going to be in thatsynagogue, that beautiful
synagogue?
There's a synagogue that hetook us to which is so beautiful
and massive and huge, and hetold us that during the war
that's where the Nazis storedtheir horses.
Wow.
And then I asked him why didn'tthey just burn the synagogue
down?
(22:18):
Because the synagogue was builttoo close to the other
buildings.
It would have burnt down theresidential buildings as well,
and just to be in that synagoguewas, and just to think that
there were horses running aroundthere, and now that synagogue
is so beautiful, it's such agreat space, is that where the
show I'm doing is Good.
I love performing in asynagogue, you do.
(22:38):
I love performing in asynagogue.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Well it'll.
I love performing in asynagogue.
You do.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I love performing in a synagogue Will be a great show
.
Yeah, it's going to be.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
I will.
I will be there.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
And how is the fundraising going?
Speaker 3 (22:50):
It's not easy.
It's one of the reasons why I'mas well here in New York.
So if you know some sponsors,let me know.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
It's always hard because, you know, and I can't
say, I mean people are alwaysnow a lot of doing sponsors or
doing etc.
To israel and I mean this ismore important.
I understand, but it's alwaysimportant for our festival to
raise it or to make it bigger,and this is what we did to the
four, four years, the last fouryears and um where can people go
(23:20):
to find more information aboutthe festival?
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Yeah, and Jüdische Kulturterre, remember it's so
hard, it's so hard, it's so hard.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
What was that?
What happened?
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Jüdische Kulturterre.
Jüdische Kulturterre,kulturterre is Kultur.
Kulturterre Wachen Dreecher.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Best of luck with that.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
You guys will find it's jktberlin jktberlin
jktberlin perfect, wwwjktberlinvery good folks.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
That's Mashiach Energy.
Send money, send help, be apart of it.
If you need a reason to go toBerlin, this is it.
Berlin's an amazing, amazingcity, the history.
We had such a great tour theguy gave us without getting out
of the car it was me, no youwere one day your tour was good,
but the other guy gave us wereyou in the car with us?
(24:21):
I?
Was driving in the car, it'sBerlin's Holocaust museums and
sex dungeons, isn't it no?
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Book me a flight.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Book me in both.
Book me in both.
That sounds perfect, maybe editthat out, but okay, but that's
the we got like.
It's really an amazing city.
I'll be there and I would lovefor people to come to.
If you need a reason to flysomewhere to Berlin, that's a
great reason People come toParis, I'm there.
(24:54):
Let's make a weekend of it.
Berlin is definitely an amazing, amazing place for it and that
venue is so beautiful thatsynagogue and I'd be crazy if I
didn't ask you what's the vibenow since October 7th with
anti-Semitism?
I don't know.
On my Instagram I'm seeingcrazy feeds of police and
(25:18):
Palestinian clashing, reallyclashing.
Tell us what's happening there.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
It's not nice.
What should I tell you?
I mean, after 7th of October, Ithink all the Jews all over the
world, we are facing I mean ananti-Semitic wave.
It's unbelievable, and inBerlin as well, we feel it.
We feel it from neighbors, wefeel it from the students, we
feel it.
We feel it from neighbors, wefeel from the students, we feel
it everywhere was it shocking inGermany like was it surprising?
(25:47):
um, well, I think everybody wasshocked after 7th of October.
I don't know how you felt that,the guys here all over, uh, in
the United States.
But, um, I mean my wife and Iit was Saturday, it was Shabbos
I mean we didn't know what'shappening.
I just heard my phone alwayslike ding, ding, ding, ding and
I, my wife and I it was Saturday, it was Shabbos I mean we
didn't know what's happening.
I just heard my phone alwayslike ding, ding, ding, ding, and
I said my wife, Diana,something is happening here.
I have to switch on my.
(26:07):
I have to look what's happening.
In this moment my neighbor isknocking my door and I remember
she said listen, I don't know ifyou know what's happening, but
you have to burn Gaza down.
She's saying this was like asupport.
I mean I said what's happening?
I don't know.
So this was in the beginning.
(26:28):
Everything was really positiveand everybody was supporting
Israel.
But after one week everythingwas like yeah it's changing.
I mean, I'm going in a littlesynagogue and after one week we
had like a Molotov cocktailwhich was thrown on us.
Hamas, on the 13th of October,told that they're going to make
an attack at Jewish restaurantsor schools.
(26:51):
So my children are in Jewishschools and I sent them to
school and from 600 people, only23 people came.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Wow, because all the parents were really like afraid
to send them to school and from600 people, only 23 people came.
Wow, because all the parentswere really like afraid to send
them to school.
Is there security?
Are the police helping out?
Is there?
Is there a showman?
Is there some kind of there?
Is Israelis?
Speaker 3 (27:11):
with guns and there's police, but people are afraid.
I mean, yes, okay, the schoolsare protected, but you know, if
the children are going to school, what's going to be after?
I mean, they're going out ofthe school, somebody just have
to go after them.
And people are afraid.
And the students in theuniversities, they were like
Israelis beating up on thestreets.
(27:32):
It's a nice situation, I cantell you.
But you know, I don't know howit is like here, but I saw as
well at Columbia University.
It's not great.
It's not great.
It's not great, it's not greatat all.
So, but it's moving us Jewishpeople together.
What should I tell you?
And I didn't know if I wantedto do another festival.
I can tell you, really, yes,because it was.
How can you do a festival aftersuch an event?
(27:54):
You have to do a festival.
I did.
But in the first three months Iwas shocked.
They said how can I dosomething positive with such an?
Speaker 1 (28:03):
We left Israel on Saturday when the war began and
on Monday we had a show plannedin Paris and we just had to
continue.
Otherwise, they win.
Otherwise, if you didn't do afestival the next year or the
next scheduling because of that,it's a win for them.
It's a win for them.
It's a win for them.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
I understand totally, but you know we had not like a
positive feeling to do somethinglike yeah, everything is fine,
et cetera.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
But my tour now is called Pause for Laughter,
because you have to pause forlaughter.
Yes, you have this horrendousthing happen and we should help
in whatever we can to thehostages' families, to the
hostages' forum, to Israel, toIDF, to all of that.
But also take a minute andcatch your breath and have a
(28:54):
laugh.
Go listen to somebody play theviolin, go be with the community
, even if it's not somethingthey want to see maybe they
don't want to see a fashion showor a violin but you're just
sitting in a room with peoplewho are, you're with your
community for a little while.
You know it's just, it's justreally important.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
this is what we did.
I mean we did like um on babelspots where the jewish people,
where the nazis burned the book,and right next to the
university where the studentswere like pro-Palestinian.
We completed a Torah roll there, on this place, and the last
letters, each letter we weregiving not only for the hostages
(29:37):
, for the victims of the 7th ofOctober, and we invited the
whole city to be part of it.
And then in a convoy there waslike a Hasidic player, shlomi
Gertner.
I know Shlomi Gertner.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
You know Shlomi Gertner, Of course I know him
yes.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
So I was placing it on a truck and said, listen,
we're doing, samer, we're goingto bring this Torah to the
synagogue, to this little shul.
And there came, thousands ofpeople came there, wow, and
everybody was thanking me.
I said, listen, I mean, therewas jewish people and they were
saying, listen, since the 7th ofoctober, this is such a good
vibe, and everything and um.
(30:12):
And then I said I was satisfied, like after this event, because
I didn't know how it will endin the end, and um, but there
were.
It was really a good protectorfrom the, from the, from the
police.
I think there have been morepolice officers than people who
attended.
No, it was not, but no,yesterday I did uh.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
Yesterday I did a um, a podcast with these two girls.
It's called video judaica in uhin brussels I'm sorry in
Belgium for the show that I'mdoing in Antwerp and she said
that she was at my show inBrussels and when I sang
Hatikvah since it was the firsttime she heard it as a community
(30:52):
, as people together she goes.
It was such a moving moment inmy life.
She told me, you know, justbecause you just had the show,
it was 900 people and it wasaltogether Jewish and there was
a protest, a very there was avery peaceful protest up the
block from it.
It didn't affect us.
(31:13):
You know, it's funny becausewhen I do perform, it's Modi.
It doesn't say the Jewishcomedy of Modi or Modi Rosenfeld
, it just says Modi.
So it's not like anybody has togo, but over here I'm
performing under the Jewish, allof that.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
German is very good.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
No, we walk whenever we're in Germany.
Whenever we're in Germany, Ispeak to everybody in Yiddish
and sometimes they have no ideawhat the hell I'm saying and
Liam's like they don't know whatyou're saying.
Stop talking to them in Yiddish.
They don't know what you'resaying.
You speak Yiddish.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
I speak, yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
He does speak.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Yiddish.
We get in the car and I go Wieweit To get to the hotel, and
he's not doing what I'm saying,but in Yiddish wie weit, how far
.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
That's right.
He said in German wie weit ises, wie weit is it Right, it's
pretty close.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
It's good so yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
I ate a lot of sausage when I was in Germany
just now and you know who I keptA kosher ones right Of course,
and you know who I kept thinkingof.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
Who.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Seth Seth.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
She ate kosher sausages.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Almost as good.
No, not almost.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
There's no way anything could be as good as the
sausages and the kosher meatsof A&H Provisions, especially
the hot dogs.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Especially the hot dogs.
He's one of our sponsors yes,the best ones.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
We should tell him to sponsor you guys as well.
Seth has A&H.
It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
He should join.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
It's amazing food, people love it and for 30% off
of your first order, you use thepromo code Mody and go to their
website kosherdogsnet I'mtelling you, avi, best hot dogs
you ever had.
And our other sponsor is WeitzLuxembourg.
It's a law firm that not onlydoes well, they do good, they're
(33:17):
very philanthropic and they aregreat.
And Arthur was on one of thepodcasts recently and we had a
whole conversation aboutpretzels Weitzluxcom.
Weitzluxcom.
They're our sponsors andthey're great and we love them
and thank you very much for that, so they should join.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
I mean, I'm running a kosher street food festival on
the 6th of July.
There was, like in the lastthree years we had like one day
12,000 people were joining.
Wow, 30 stands with kosher foodWow.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
That's so cool, you should join.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
We'll let them know.
Good, All the stuff that you'redoing.
It's unbelievable.
You're bringing Moshiach energyinto Berlin.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
Am I?
I don't know.
No, they were all joking aboutme, about the Kosher Street Food
Festival.
So we did it like the firsttime three years ago and they
said nobody will join, nobodywill come.
And the first year there werelike 4 000 people came there and
then like, and we tookrestaurants who are not doing
kosher the whole year andeverybody turning the whole
(34:20):
kitchen kosher and everything.
In the second year there werelike 8 000 people, 30 at 12 000.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
so this year on the 6th of july we'll see how many
will come that's really cool thehotel we stayed at didn't have
a israeli restaurant downstairsright they had, they still have
it's amazing it was, it was.
It was a great little apartmentlike we had there was.
It was very cute alreadyreserved for you is it?
Yes, it is okay good, good,good.
I spoke already with leo aboutit good, I don't know anything
(34:48):
and I'm so happy the hotel isalready, it's already booked.
Yes, if you need me to speak toMercedes, I'll get on the phone
with them.
I have cars of theirs.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
I have the cars.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
I don't have the drivers oh, we'll get a driver
then, perry Ellicott.
I'll be your driver no, I'venever been to an autobahn so I
take you next time.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
What's that autobahn?
Perry Ellicott, I'll be yourdriver.
No, I've never been to anAutobahn, so I take you next
time.
What's that Autobahn?
It's the highway Unlimited.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Yes, I was on that highway just now.
You guys are insane.
There's no speed limit on thishighway.
Why, insane?
It's normal, it's so terrifying.
There's no speed limit.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Right.
So just zooming right, I don'tlike that no, no, no, it's great
.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
No, it's not, it's terrifying when I took you how
much is it 95 miles an hour no55 or 65, that's it yes it was
like slow motion.
I mean, if we are going Germany, we are going like 220, 230
kilometers an hour.
How much is it miles?
No one knows.
Whatever it was.
Speaker 2 (35:52):
it was so terrifying.
My nephew, who's 24, wasdriving me around in their
Mercedes, of course and Ithought we were going to die
like at any given moment.
It was really scary.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
Should I take you before the show or after the
show?
Speaker 1 (36:08):
I'm not going on any.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
I'm not going driving fast anywhere I don't like that
, don't worry, I have to drive.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
I like to.
I drive to doing the normalspeed limit yeah, I don't I'm
not a speeder, I'm not a.
No, you will be, don't worry Imean everybody's zooming through
and all that.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
It's crazy and the other thing that's going on in
germany is that people areconsuming the most obscene
amounts of beer just likenonchalantly in, like pints that
are like this big children arelike no from 16.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
I mean, you know, I was working for bmw when I was I
, I was learning, I I am.
I did apprenticeship as amechanic, you know really
parents said yes, my parentssaid, listen, you have to do
something with your hands.
So I was working for bmw so wehad like an in munich.
Usually you have like this howdo you say the, the automag
where you got the cans from thecoca-cola?
(37:00):
Yes, so they have beer.
I mean there's things where youcan take.
It's unbelievable.
So then I was like living inthe states.
I said you have to be 21.
I said what, what 21?
Speaker 2 (37:10):
I mean we are drinking their beer and also
you're allowed to drink anddrive there, right?
Speaker 3 (37:15):
no, you're not smoke and drive, not drink and drive.
Alright, no, no, no, okay, ohmy god, until now here.
No, no, no, you're not allowedto drink, but we're doing it
anyway, yeah good, and your wifehow is?
I don't know, I'm here, rightnow, what does she do?
Speaker 1 (37:31):
She does an interesting job.
Speaker 3 (37:35):
No, she's actually one of the.
I mean, it's a lot of work toorganize such a festival and I
have a main job.
This is not what I'm doing allover the year, but I can tell
you we are doing now anotherfestival in Osnabrück I don't
know if you know the city.
No, it's a smaller city, sowe're doing as well.
This year, the first time inseptember, we're doing the
jewish festival as well.
And so she said we have tocontinue.
(37:56):
And I'm saying listen, it's,it's hard.
I mean with all the managers,with israelis, it's hard to to,
to do the marketing, socialmedia, etc.
I have no idea what socialmedia marketing.
So she's behind it and she'slike the force which are which,
I mean, she's the how do you say, the good vibe for the festival
(38:17):
.
And this is the reason why weare continuing, because of her,
not because of me.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
She's a real Eshet Chayil, a real woman of valor.
I'm singing it every Friday.
You sing it every Friday.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
yes, I am really you know the song or no?
No, your husband doesn't singEs.
I am really you know the songor no?
Speaker 1 (38:34):
your husband doesn't sing what do you think?
No, I don't know.
I don't know with your husband.
Sometimes he puts on tefillin,but he doesn't sing he puts on
tefillin every day.
Shabbos as well?
I don't think you're supposedto on Shabbat we had three days
of those jokes, three days ofthose jokes we had with him.
His wife ignores him when hedoes those jokes.
Speaker 3 (38:56):
Always, she ignores every one of his jokes, but
sometimes she's laughing.
And I said, why are youlaughing?
He said, oh, this one I didn'tknow, but it's not.
I mean, it took me eight yearsto propose to her.
Eight years, yes, eight years.
I said she was asking her.
Eight years, yes, eight years.
I said she was asking.
Why eight years?
I said I want to make sure thatyou know all my jokes.
(39:16):
Oh, it took you eight years toget the jokes out.
No, to tell them all the jokes.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
Oh my god.
Leo has been posting um.
We got footage of me doingcomedy from like 100 years ago,
from 30 years ago, and leo isobsessed with these video and
he's posting them now.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
They're amazing, they're amazing.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
I was I had.
I didn't realize how, like I,we have to talk about that in
another episode, but they're,they're pretty crazy.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Everybody should immediately go to your Instagram
and watch those videos.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
In the recent clips we've been putting it's like
shows from 1997 and right after9-11.
What were you laughing?
Speaker 2 (39:58):
I was watching them.
I was dying.
They're unbelievable.
They look for their from like.
Another time it's another time.
And they're like grainy alittle bit.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
Grainy and the font he put on them fits that time of
font and he's a man of valor.
He's great.
So that's it.
We can start to wrap this up.
I cannot tell you how great itis to see you.
What an absolute tanug and justa fun Joy, A joy that you
(40:30):
popped up into the.
You were in New York and we'redoing the festival and I'm
looking forward to it.
We have so much before then, wehave so much before it.
We're going to be andeverything's available on
modicom.
We're going to be in Warsaw,Poland, on the 14th of May.
(40:52):
Everything is in May Warsaw,Manchester, Munich, Frankfurt,
Geneva and Antwerp.
Tell your friends or, if you'rethere, get your tickets at
modilivecom.
Be the friend that brings thefriends to the comedy show.
Get some tickets for yourfriends.
We also have the Not SleepawayCamp, the Laughaway Camp.
(41:13):
We have shows that are going tobe in comedy clubs really fun
in Omaha, Nebraska.
I don't have all the dates withme right now, but get them.
Everything's on modilivecom.
See there, and please, pleasehelp.
The berlin uh jewish culturalfestival and the website is j t
(41:39):
no, j k t j k t dot berlin, dotberlin, b-e-r-l-i-n.
Exactly, and it's and it's.
That's just, even if you havenothing to do with it and you're
in the middle of nowhere.
Send some money there, sendsome energy.
Money is energy.
Just send some energy to Berlinfor this festival.
It really gives people hope.
(42:02):
That festival just gives peoplehope and like, wow, we're here,
we did it, we're alive, we'resurviving, we're laughing.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
Hope is the good word for today, I think, and like
wow, we're here, we did it,we're alive, we're surviving,
we're laughing.
Speaker 3 (42:18):
Hope is the good word for today.
I think.
Anyom HaShoah, it really is.
Our theme is as well.
It says Atit, it's future.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
Atit.
Yeah, also Hatikvah, that'shope.
Right, tikvah is hope.
Speaker 1 (42:29):
Right, we just keep going.
Hamashkanta the mortgage.
Whatever you want, we canalways make it like oh my God,
avi, it's so, so good to see you.
Amazing and success with thefestival, and we're going to
have the best time in Berlin.
(42:51):
We will, okay.
Thank you all very much forlistening.
Modilifecom.
Stay in touch.
We love you.
Speaker 2 (42:56):
Auf Wiedersehen, auf Wiedersehen.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
Guten Tag.
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