{"id":17579,"date":"2016-03-04T00:19:46","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T08:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=17579"},"modified":"2016-03-03T19:51:10","modified_gmt":"2016-03-04T03:51:10","slug":"stand-up-rabbi-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2016\/03\/04\/stand-up-rabbi-returns\/","title":{"rendered":"Stand-up rabbi returns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Bob Alper will perform as part of Congregation Beth Israel\u2019s Purim festivities on March 23. (photo by Sultan Khan)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s too good not to lead with \u2013 Pope Frances\u2019 honorary comedic advisor, Rabbi Bob Alper, will be bringing his comic stylings to Congregation Beth Israel on erev Purim March 23.<\/p>\n

A professional comedian for some 30 years now, Alper said his life hasn\u2019t changed that much since he became the papal advisor last fall. \u201cI now drive my very own popemobile in my hometown in Vermont,\u201d he said. \u201cIt gets 150 miles to the gallon, but is not great in blizzards. Otherwise, nothing has changed, though I do \u2018use\u2019 the title whenever I can. It\u2019s a great story.\u201d<\/p>\n

No doubt, Alper will be flying to Vancouver. He was invited by the congregation, \u201cpeople who obviously know how to make Purim rock,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been here twice before, \u201conce for a show at Temple Sholom and, earlier, for a Federation event. One of the most difficult of my career, since it fell just two weeks after 9\/11.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll only be in Vancouver for a day or two,\u201d he added about this month\u2019s trip, \u201cbut I hope to do the highlights. The best part of every trip, for me, is performing!\u201d<\/p>\n

Alper won the title of honorary comedic advisor to the Pope in a contest held by the Pontifical\u00a0Mission Societies in honor of the Pope\u2019s September 2015 visit to the United States and to raise awareness and money for three pontifical missions. He beat out more than 4,000 people from 47 countries, including fellow American funnymen like Bill Murray and Conan O\u2019Brien. You can watch his video, as well as those of the other contestants, at jokewiththepope.org, but the joke is: \u201cMy wife and I have been married for over 46 years, and our lives are totally in sync. For example, at the same time I got a hearing aid, she stopped mumbling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in a religious Reform family for whom our synagogue was central, and my uncle was a Reform rabbi,\u201d said Alper of his background. \u201cMy father loved humor, and told long \u2018shaggy dog\u2019 stories, which, naturally, prompted me to take the opposite route into the quick-hit world of stand-up. Bob Newhart, Shelley Berman and Mel Brooks records were my childhood companions and, in Jewish youth group, in high school, I would memorize and perform their routines at regional convention talent nights, thereby attracting the hottest girls. Comedy is good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Alper was ordained as a rabbi in 1972 and then worked in congregations for 14 years. It was another contest that led him to become a comedian.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1986, living in a Philadelphia suburb and armed with a doctoral degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, Bob was charting a different path, trading congregational life for a counseling practice,\u201d writes editor David Crumm in the introduction to Alper\u2019s book Thanks. I Needed That. And Other Stories of the Spirit<\/em> (Read the Spirit Books, 2013). \u201cBut, at that same time, comedy reared its ugly head in the form of a \u2018Jewish Comic of the Year Contest.\u2019 Bob entered, came in third behind a chiropractor and a lawyer, and went on to make stand-up a full-time career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alper\u2019s wife, Sherri, is a psychotherapist. On his website, it notes, \u201cProfessionally, he makes people laugh, while she helps people cry.\u201d<\/p>\n

With literally thousands of shows under his belt, Alper has made a lot of people laugh. \u201cIt gets easier and easier,\u201d he said about performing. \u201cThat\u2019s how comedy works. I agonized before I did my first five minutes in 1986. Now performing is a delight and, since stand-up is cumulative, I have tons of material from which to choose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among Alper\u2019s shows are duos with Muslim comedians.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Muslim colleagues include Ahmed Ahmed, of Egyptian background, Azhar Usman, of Indian background, and Mo Amer, a Palestinian born in Kuwait,\u201d writes Alper in Thanks. I Needed That<\/em>. \u201cWe do Muslim-Jewish shows, frequently enhanced by the addition of a Baptist minister, Rev. Susan Sparks. And we have so much fun at each performance, it\u2019s almost criminal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call our shows Laugh in Peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in late 2001, Ahmed and I were brought together as a gimmick by a savvy publicist,\u201d he continues. \u201cOur relationship quickly developed into a friendship based on the camaraderie of fellow artists and the breezy banter of guys who really enjoy one another\u2019s company. We laugh together a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alper began working with Usman when Ahmed became more focused on acting, and he also works with Amer quite often.<\/p>\n

He admits, \u201cNo question, Laugh in Peace was conceived initially as a way to further our comedy careers, to book more gigs, to raise our visibility. It would be disingenuous to suggest anything else. But as the act and our personal relationships evolved, we quickly understood how Laugh in Peace brought a sense of hope and relief and healing that shared laughter, especially shared laughter between communities in frequent tension, can provide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alper is also the author of Life Doesn\u2019t Get Any Better Than This<\/em>, a collection of stories, and the cartoon book A Rabbi Confesses<\/em>, and he has produced two CDs and a DVD. For more information and a five-minute demo of Alper\u2019s comedy, visit bobalper.com. Readers can also watch the video \u201cRabbi Bob Alper\u2019s dog respects religions\u201d and many others on YouTube.com.<\/p>\n

Beth Israel\u2019s Purim celebration starts at 6:15 p.m. on March 23 with a kid-friendly Megillah reading and costume parade, followed by carnival activities. The full Megillah reading and comedy by Rabbi Bob Alper starts about 8:15 p.m. Food will be for sale during the evening. Visit bethisrael.ca<\/a> for more information and to register for the kids events.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Bob Alper will perform as part of Congregation Beth Israel\u2019s Purim festivities on March 23. (photo by Sultan Khan) It\u2019s too good not to lead with \u2013 Pope Frances\u2019 honorary comedic advisor, Rabbi Bob Alper, will be bringing his comic stylings to Congregation Beth Israel on erev Purim March 23. A professional comedian for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17583,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[5445,547,5278,5446,982],"class_list":["post-17579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-alper","tag-beth-israel","tag-comedy","tag-pope","tag-purim"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}