‘The Jewish is right up front’

Stand-up comedian Mordechai Rosenfeld distinguishes between “comedians who are Jewish,” and “Jewish comedians”-and he classifies himself in the latter category.

“The Jewish is right up front,” said Rosenfeld, who performs as Modi. “There are comedians who happen to be Jewish-I am a Jewish comedian.”

Indeed, his act screams Jewish. In Rosenfeld’s first comedy special, “ Know Your Audience”, released last year, he explored everything from Ashkenazi vs. Sephardi cultural differences to antisemitism to the “Shabbos” elevator that traditionally observant Jews take on Shabbat.

Now, he has released his new comedy special, “Pause for Laughter,” which he wrote after October 7, in part, to offer a break from the heaviness of the news. “In between all the hardships, we have to pause for laughter,” he said. “My goal is to fight sadness.”

He is currently touring with his Big Deal Comedy Fest, alongside comedians Elon Gold and Michael Rapaport who, like Rosenfeld, are proudly Jewish and outspokenly pro-Israel.

Ever since October 7, when Rosenfeld happened be performing in Israel, he has concluded his shows by singing Israel’s national anthem Hatikvah

, “The Hope.”

“It’s to remind everyone where our thoughts, hearts, and prayers are,” he said.

Rosenfeld was born in Tel Aviv before emigrating at age 7 with his family to Long Island. His parents didn’t raise him traditionally observant, but he discovered his passion for Judaism as a teen.

His interest in Judaism grew while attending Boston University; he frequented the Lubavitch Center near campus to learn. Today, living in New York City, Rosenfeld leads services at his neighborhood synagogue, studies Talmud, and keeps a kosher home.

Comedy wasn’t always in the cards for Rosenfeld. After college, he worked for several years as an investment banker on Wall Street, where his impersonations of his co-workers drew big laughs. With a little encouragement, he took to the stage at a comedy open-mic night, where he discovered comedy was his true calling.

Rosenfeld describes his favorite evenings of standup through a Jewish spiritual lens: The room, he said, would be full of ” Mashiach

energy,” a term he defines as “unity and harmony–an entire auditorium of people laughing together.”

By now, he’s been eliciting laughter for a long time. For three decades, he has worked small comedy clubs and been a fixture on the Jewish circuit, especially with Orthodox Jewish audiences.

But in the last five years, Rosenfeld’s star has been rising. Opening himself up to bigger stages and arenas, and a more diverse fanbase, he also hosts the podcast And Here’s Modi .

Much of his star power, he said, he owes to his husband, Leo Veiga, who took over his management during COVID and exposed him to larger international audiences via Zoom. Now, post-pandemic, Rosenfeld has been playing more diverse audiences in real life, too.

“My favorite thing at my shows is when people who aren’t Jewish bring people who are Jewish… and people who are Jewish bring people who aren’t Jewish,” he said. “For me, that’s Mashiach energy.”

For tickets to “Modi: Big Deal Comedy Fest,” at the Auditorium Theatre on Dec. 18, please visit here .