That Time Bernie Sanders Played a Rabbi Named ‘Manny Shevitz’ in an Indie Film

Image by Youtube

By Lior Zaltzman February 3, 2016

Looking for a movie to watch tonight? How about this indie flick starring Bernie Sanders as a rabbi!

Yes, you heard that right. The Vermont senator and current presidential hopeful used to moonlight as an indie actor.

He had a role in the 1999 indie romantic comedy “My X-Girlfriend’s Wedding Reception,” directed by Argentinian born Martin Guigui.

Sanders starred as Rabbi Manny Shevitz. Please take a moment to fully appreciate that pun.

In the film, Sanders as Rabbi Shevitz officiates at a Jewish-Italian wedding. Yes, he does interfaith weddings too!

In the middle of the wedding speech, the rabbi goes off on a tangent about baseball.

“I remember when the Dodgers played the Yankees, and you bought a ticket — that ticket was good for ten years,” Bernie rants as Rabbi Shevitz, “Now you go to the stadium and you look out on the field: You see the Red Sox, the Orioles, the Cleveland Indians, but you don’t see the Yankees versus the Red Sox.”

He finishes the wedding speech in a traditional Jewish way:

“Now, let’s thank God, you have your arms, you have your legs, let’s eat.”

While Sanders was not nominated for an Oscar for that groundbreaking role, his tone, cadence and his flair for grumpy, tangential rants do remind us of some rabbis we know. A missed career opportunity perhaps?

We were also surprised to find that aside from this iconic role, Sanders also once co-starred in a movie opposite Susan Sarandon, Jeff Daniels and Don Johnson. Sanders’s character name is Bernie, and here you can see him dolling out candy to some trick-or-treaters.

Pretty convincing, right?

The Bern just keeps surprising us all.

Watch the full two minute Rabbi Manny Shevitz speech below:

Lior Zaltzman was the Forward’s Digital Fellow. Follow her on twitter @liorca.

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