What My Jewish Mom Thinks About Deflate-Gate

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
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Most Jewish boys just call their moms. Josh Seftel turned his chats into a web series.
Every week, the New York filmmaker Facetimes his mom in Sarasota, Florida. After covering the basics, the conversation always segways into to Pat’s favorite subject: celebrity gossip. Over the past year, they’ve tackled some of the great questions of our time: Is it morally kosher to eat Paula Deen’s fried chicken? Is Denzel Washington aging well? Will Lena Dunham’s tattoos prevent her from getting a Jewish burial?
This week was no exception: the shocking(?) revelation that 11 of the 12 balls used during the New England Patriots’ win against the Indianapolis Colts were under-inflated by 2 pounds — leading to the inevitable “Tom Brady’s deflated balls” jokes — just screamed for a Jewish mother’s perspective.
Watch Pat Seftel weigh in on the Patriots, deflate-gate and why she would definitely date Tom Brady:
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And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
