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The crowd at last year\u2019s Ida S. Mandell Event at Adath Israel on the Main Line. (Courtesy of Adath Israel on the Main Line)<\/p>\nThe crowd at last year\u2019s Ida S. Mandell Event at Adath Israel on the Main Line. (Courtesy of Adath Israel on the Main Line)<\/p>\n
Remember Jewish comedy? It\u2019s still a thing, and it\u2019s thriving, even in this era of war, antisemitism and security concerns.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s especially thriving in the form of Alex Edelman, the standup star perhaps best known for his show \u201cJust For Us,\u201d about secretly attending a white nationalist gathering.<\/p>\n
That landed on Broadway, and later HBO Max, winning first a Tony Award and then an Emmy. They were just the latest honors in what is fast becoming a decorated career for the Boston native, who was raised in a modern Orthodox family and attended the Maimonides School.<\/p>\n
On May 3, Edelman will bring his sharp brand of Jewish comedy to Adath Israel on the Main Line. He is the headliner for the 2026 Ida S. Mandell Event, the synagogue\u2019s biggest annual fundraiser.<\/p>\n
Dinner begins at 5:30 p.m., dessert at 6:45 and the show at 7:30. The event is open to the wider community. It was last year, as well, when Adath Israel drew a crowd of almost 1,000 people by bringing in the Israeli-American standup Modi Rosenfeld.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe felt like we had hit something with Modi, and we wanted to strike gold twice, and it looks like we did,\u201d said Adath Israel\u2019s Rabbi Eric Yanoff, alluding to the fact that tickets for this year\u2019s event are going fast.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things we felt in the room last year was that we were giving people permission to breathe. I say, sometimes, in order to laugh, we have to breathe. Physiologically, you can\u2019t laugh without breathing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Last year, Yanoff, Rabbi Andrew Markowitz and other Adath Israel leaders reached out to Rosenfeld\u2019s people, and the comedian said yes. This year, it was basically that simple with Edelman, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cTruth be told, because they\u2019re both nice Jewish boys, they were both very interested in helping to support us,\u201d said Markowitz.<\/p>\n
There was a moment during last year\u2019s event when Rosenfeld talked about how he had performed at bigger, more prominent venues, but none compared to a synagogue like Adath Israel. He said something to the effect of, \u201cI love this! I love packing a shul!\u201d recalled Yanoff.<\/p>\n
At Adath Israel, these NJBs can find NJCs, or Nice Jewish Crowds.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a home team crowd. You could feel the energy in the room last year,\u201d said Yanoff.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have to translate anything when he\u2019s here,\u201d added Markowitz.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s audience was filled with Adath Israel congregants and Jews from the wider community. The rabbis expect a similar showing this year, as they are preparing to go into High Holiday mode with expanded seating again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re right there,\u201d Markowitz said.<\/p>\n
Born in 1989, Edelman\u2019s debut show, \u201cMillennial,\u201d won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer. He followed that up with \u201cEverything Handed to You\u201d and \u201cJust for Us.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s known for exploring Jewish identity, family and contemporary politics, specifically his own place as a New York-based Jewish comedian in a polarized political climate. His catchphrase, \u201cCan you believe it?\u201d is often a method for deflecting the ensuing awkwardness that comes with politics, cancel culture or antisemitism.<\/p>\n
Edelman started attending and participating in open mics when he was 15, and while studying in yeshiva for a year in Israel, he helped launch Jerusalem\u2019s first comedy club, Off the Wall Comedy. His debut show won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer in 2014, and his touring career started shortly after that.<\/p>\n
Adath Israel members had heard of Edelman, according to Yanoff. Rabbi Markowitz and others were also fed the comedian by their algorithms when they looked up clips of Rosenfeld last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you select someone, you watch everything you can get online first. But also, reputationally, people had seen him. People were saying, \u2018Oh my gosh, you got to get this guy, Alex Edelman,\u2019\u201d Yanoff said.<\/p>\n
The rabbis thanked the Mandell family because, without their generosity, the night wouldn\u2019t have been possible. It funds \u201call the good work we do throughout the year,\u201d Yanoff said.<\/p>\n
Tickets remain available at adathisrael.org.<\/a><\/p>\n