Sam Horowitz Viral Bar Mitzvah Hits Small Screen
By Talia Lavin August 16, 2013
(JTA) — The Internet is crazy. That might be the main lesson of the overnight explosion of bar mitzvah dance star Sam Horowitz. The Texas teen’s dance routine has 431,877 YouTube views and counting.
Thanks to his sudden fame, the newly minted man appeared today on “Good Morning America” and showed off his dance moves on Broadway — well, in Times Square, anyway. Clad in a sparkly dance suit like a tiny Jewish Liberace, Horowitz showed his moves like Jagger surrounded by writhing backup dancers in black minidresses. Notably absent were the 20-foot letters spelling his name in neon lights. Maybe Broadway calls for more restraint than a Texas coming-of-age ceremony.
Angela Horowitz, Sam’s mother, appeared beside him, beaming. As well she should. Not every mom can boast that she made her son’s dream of descending from the ceiling in a giant chandelier come true.
Despite the fawning of GMA’s hosts, the YouTube comments trend toward the negative, calling the display everything from “vulgar” to a “shanda.” But Sam is pretty psyched. Every inch of his braces was showing in an ear-to-ear smile.
“It’s like a dream,” Sam told anchor Josh Elliott.
Indeed. Now when can the rest of us wake up?
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
