LIVING HISTORY
Yossi Vassa is an Ethiopian-Israeli stand-up comic who has been confronted with hardships and tragedy that most 29-year-old Americans would struggle to imagine. At age 9, he and his family were among thousands of Ethiopian Jews resettled in Israel thanks to Operation Moses. They journeyed on foot for 440 miles to a Sudanese transit camp, where they waited for a year before being airlifted to Israel. Vassa’s grandmother and his two younger brothers died from diseases contracted on their journey to the camp.
Though his story if full of sorrow and heartbreak, Vassa tells it with humor in his one-man show, “It Sounds Better in Amharic: From Ethiopia to the Holyland,” co-written and directed by Shai Ben Attar.
“I think of it as a unique drama,” Vassa said. “At the beginning we tried to define it as theatrical standup, but it’s not just standup. There’s also a dramatic, sad story.”
“It’s easier for people to understand difficulties through humor,” Vassa added. “It’s easier to communicate, especially when talking about something that is very strange and sensitive.”
The show transcends Vassa’s story, exploring larger issues of immigration, social integration and personal identity, while also investigating personal change, courage and humanity.
“I changed very much, and it’s a good thing. Don’t be afraid to change,” Vassa said. “At the end of the show I say that I’m open to change because I’m changing all the time.”
An optional Shabbat dinner with vegetarian and Ethiopian flair precedes the performance.
Bnai Keshet, 99 So. Fullerton Ave., Montclair; Feb. 27, Shabbat dinner at 7:30 p.m., $10; reservations and payment for dinner required at synagogue office by Feb. 25., performance 8:30 p.m.; free, reservations required. (973-746-4889 or [email protected])
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
