Rosh Hashana, 5781
Once upon a time, the martyred and legendary comic Lenny Bruce (z”l) explained the difference between Jewish and goyish on stage and in the first chapter of his autobiography, How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. He said like this: “Count Basie is Jewish. Ray Charles is very Jewish. Eddie Cantor is goyish.”
We need to update this classic exercise in comparison-contrast between mainstream and counter culture.
Seth Rogen is Jewish. Joe Rogan is goyish.
George Soros is Jewish. Bernie Sanders is so Jewish it hurts. Mort Klein is goyish. Jay Sekulow is gospely goyish.
Antifa is Jewish. The Likud Party is goyish. Blue Lives Matter is scary goyish.
Bikes are Jewish. Cabs are Jewish. Uber is goyish. Boats are goyish. Pickup trucks are super goyish.
The Forward used to be very Jewish, now it’s like a Reform prayer book that’s all in English, embarrassingly scrubbed of all the Hebrew letters that were once arranged in all its former Yiddish glory. Medium is goyish but in a multiculturally healthy way.
But seriously, while this exercise is all in good fun, the sad and sorry truth is that there really…