A ‘Drive-By’ Bar Mitzvah for Lisa Kudrow’s Son
Image by Getty Images
By Anne Cohen May 15, 2014
Getty Images
Major faux pas, Lisa Kudrow.
The former “Friends” actress, who stars in the new Seth Rogen/Zac Efron comedy “Neighbours,” got into an awkward spot with Conan O’Brien, after he found out that she “mispaced” his invitation to her son’s bar mitzvah.
“You and I have been friends for a long time and then I happen to find out that your son was bar mitzvahed and I wasn’t invited,” the host complained during an appearance by Kudrow on Conan.
But have no fear Conan — you weren’t the only one. No one was invited. Not even his mother. It was, as she called it, a “drive-by bar mitzvah,” courtesy of Chabad.
What is a drive-by bar mitzvah, you may ask? Well, it starts with a 15-year-old boy hanging out at the mall. Kudrow explained that her son was approached by men from Chabad, who asked if he was Jewish (you know the ones). When he explained that he was half Jewish (on his mother’s side), they asked if he had been bar mitzvahed. He said no. They offered to do it right then and there. He agreed. Presto, drive-by bar mitzvah!
According to the interview, the men put tefilin and a yarmulke on Kudrow’s son, had him recite a prayer and sent him home with a picture for his mother (and proof, I expect).
Mazel tov!
Watch the whole clip below:
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
2X match on all Passover gifts!
Dive In
Most Popular
- 1
News A Jewish Republican and Muslim Democrat are suddenly in a tight race for a special seat in Congress
- 2
Film & TV What Gal Gadot has said about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- 3
Fast Forward The NCAA men’s Final Four has 3 Jewish coaches
- 4
Culture How two Jewish names — Kohen and Mira — are dividing red and blue states
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Cory Booker spoke at a synagogue on Yom Kippur. Its rabbi says Jews should learn from his 25-hour Senate speech.
-
Fast Forward Cory Booker’s rabbi has notes on Cory Booker’s 25-hour speech
-
Fast Forward Naftali Bennett is back: Former Israeli prime minister will make another run at Netanyahu
-
Fast Forward Citing post-Holocaust doctrine, Germany seeks to deport 4 pro-Palestinian protesters, including one American
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.