Ayelet Newman, known by the stage name Ayelet the Kosher Komic, is an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

female stand-up comedian. She discontinued her acting career and began performing "kosher comedy" to women-only audiences after becoming a '' baalas teshuva'' (embracing Orthodox Judaism) in the early 2000s. In 2003 she moved to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. She performs both in Israel and internationally.

Biography

Born Ayelet Ben Hur, she grew up in a

secular Jewish Secular Jew may refer to: * A general epithet for Jews who participate in modern secular society and are not stringently religious * Nonreligious Jews, including nonaffiliated, agnostics, etc. ** Jewish atheism ** Cultural Judaism * ''Hiloni ...

family in Long Island, New York. After high school, she moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

to audition for roles in TV and film. Among her acting credits are an HBO series, a Lifetime TV movie, and a bit part in the 2003 film ''

The Hebrew Hammer ''The Hebrew Hammer'' is a 2003 American comedy film written and directed by Jonathan Kesselman. It stars Adam Goldberg, Judy Greer, Andy Dick, Mario Van Peebles, and Peter Coyote. The plot concerns a Jewish blaxploitation crime fighter known a ...

''. She also performed stand-up routines on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...

and at the New York Comedy Club and

The Improv The Improv is a comedy club franchise. It was founded as a single venue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City in 1963, and expanded into a chain of venues in the late 1970s. History Originally, it was a single venue founded in 1 ...

. Her career took a 180-degree turn when she began attending

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

classes at the Los Angeles branch of

Aish HaTorah Aish HaTorah ( he, אש התורה, lit. "Fire of the Torah") is an Orthodox Jewish educational organization and yeshiva. History Aish HaTorah was established in Jerusalem in 1974 by Rabbi Noah Weinberg, after he left the Ohr Somayach yeshiva ...

, an

Orthodox Jewish outreach Orthodox Jewish outreach, often referred to as ''Kiruv'' or ''Qiruv'' ( he, קירוב "bringing close"), is the collective work or movement of Orthodox Judaism that reaches out to non-observant Jews to encourage belief in God and life accord ...

organization. As she embraced a Torah-observant lifestyle, she quit acting and began performing what she calls "kosher comedy" – stand-up routines that are devoid of off-color humor, vulgar references, cursing, and personal attacks, but that instead focus on the humor in daily life. She also stopped performing in front of men, but plays to female audiences exclusively. Her hour-long show for Orthodox women and seminary girls includes stand-up routines on topics such as modesty,

dating Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the categor ...

, dieting,

kosher laws (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

, Jewish prayer, motherhood, and

malapropism A malapropism (also called a malaprop, acyrologia, or Dogberryism) is the mistaken use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a nonsensical, sometimes humorous utterance. An example is the statement attributed to ...

s in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. While most of the show is rehearsed, Ayelet does some improvisation. Her signature routine is a pre-flight safety briefing on the fictional "Glatt Kosher Airlines", in which passengers receive emergency instructions such as: "Should there be, God forbid, a rapid change in cabin pressure, a book of psalms will fall from the panel above your head". "Please say your own ''tehillim'' salmsprior to assisting the small child, elderly passenger or recent '' baal teshuvah'' seated next to you". She has produced the comic audio CDs ''It's a

Frum Frum ( yi, פֿרום, , religious', 'pious) is a word that describes Jewish religious devotion. The term connotes the observance of Jewish religious law in a way that often exceeds its bare requirements. This not only includes the careful stud ...

Frum Life'' and ''Life in Israel''.

Personal

Since she started her comedy career in the Orthodox Jewish world as a single woman, Ayelet was reluctant to reveal her age to media sources lest it limit her marriage opportunities. She has since married a full-time ''

kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...

'' student and is the mother of 9 .

References

External links

*
Articles by Ayelet on Aish.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayelet the Kosher Komic American women comedians American stand-up comedians 21st-century American actresses Baalei teshuva American emigrants to Israel People from Long Island Actors from Jerusalem Year of birth missing (living people) Jewish American female comedians Jewish American actresses Living people Comedians from New York (state) Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish comedians 21st-century American Jews

Biography

Personal

See also

References

External links