In incredibly exciting news, Tiffany Haddish will soon be having a bat mitzvah. Mazel tov!
In a conversation with USA Today about her new hosting gig for ABC’s revival of Kids Say the Darndest Things, the comedian and actress also talked about her upcoming Netflix comedy special called Black Mitzvah.
Haddish has called herself a “Jew-Jo” — her mother was a Jehovah’s witness, and she learned later in life that her father is an Eritrean Jew. As she explained to USA Today, “My ‘Black Mitzvah’ is about my journey and my discovery of who I am as a woman. I call it ‘Black Mitzvah’ not just because I’ve done so many bar and bat mitzvahs, but because I got to meet my father not too long ago and found out that he’s an Eritrean Jew. I’ve explored that and I’m connected even more to the Jewish culture.”
By “done so many bar and bat mitzvahs,” Haddish is referring to her time as a bar/bat mitzvah dancer. As she once told Jimmy Fallon, her moves may have literally killed an elderly man at one of her gigs. (Haddish is not the only celebrity who got her start on the b’nei mitzvah circuit: Lin Manuel-Miranda was also once a dancer, and Paul Rudd was a mitzvah DJ.)
If Haddish had just named her Netflix special “Black Mitzvah,” dayenu. But she’s taking it a step further by actually having her own bat mitzvah on the day it’s released. As she said in the interview, “That’s why on the day that my special comes out (Netflix has not yet announced a release date), I’m also going to have my own bat mitzvah. So I’m learning Hebrew now. It’s a lot. I’m going to read from the Torah and everything. The hardest part is reading another language. Oh my goodness. I’m (working on a) movie at the same time. I like to expand my brain, I like to learn.”
Tiffany. Haddish. Is. Learning. Hebrew!!!!
That is a seriously impressive feat for anyone, let alone someone working on a television show and movie at the same time. And while of course you don’t need to have a bat mitzvah to be Jewish, it’s really beautiful that Haddish is diving into her heritage and taking it so seriously.
Meanwhile, I’d give all my money (it’s not a lot) to attend Haddish’s bat mitzvah ceremony and party. What dress will we she wear? What will the party playlist be? Will she be giving away sweatpants?? If you need some help planning, Tiffany, our friends at Kveller have the ultimate guide just for you. And if you need help figuring out a theme, we have a quiz for that (obviously).
Tiffany, we love you and can’t wait to see you up there on the bima. Your $36 check is in the mail.
Photo of Haddish by David Livingston/Getty Images
