Bob is the author of a warm, poignant book, Life Doesn't Get Any Better Than This: The Holiness of Little Daily Dramas
, which The Detroit Free Press awarded four stars and called “a volume of spiritual gems.” Bob (and please call him “Bob” or “Rabbi Alper;” anything other than “Rabbi Bob,” which, he says, is “too nauseatingly cute”) earned a BA, rabbinic ordination, as well as a doctoral degree, and served congregations for fourteen years. All of this, naturally, prepared him for a successful career as a stand-up comic. Bob lives in rural Vermont with his wife, Sherri, a psychotherapist.
Recently "The Standup Comedy Center" had the privilege to interview Rabbi Bob Alper.
The Standup Comedy Center: Are you "The world's only practicing clergyman doing stand-up comedy...intentionally"?
Bob: I actually think I used to be, when I started out in 1986. Now I work with, among others, Rev. Susan Sparks, a Baptist minister (the liberal kind, American Baptist). When we do a show at a church, we call it, "They Went To Seminary for This?" Same show at a synagogue is called, "For This They Went to Seminary?" Pretty subtle, huh?
The Standup Comedy Center: Why does a distinguished Rabbi with a doctoral degree become a stand-up comic? Were there early signs about this transformation?
Bob: I always used jokes and funny stories in my sermons, so I had quite a few years experience performing in front of a hostile audience.
The Standup Comedy Center: Are you still a working as a Rabbi? If no do you miss working as a Rabbi?
Bob: I consider myself still working full-time as a rabbi. There are congregational rabbis, Hillel rabbis, organizational rabbis, etc. I do comedy, a profession with a meaningful, heavily spiritual component when it's clean and unhurtful (and funny). To be succinct: When I give a sermon, I hope I move people spiritually. When I make them laugh, I know I move people spiritually.
The Standup Comedy Center: What is the best thing about being a Rabbi? What is the best thing about being a comedian?
Bob: Touching people's lives in meaningful ways. It happens, happily, in both elements of my dual career.
The Standup Comedy Center: How does a rabbi handle hecklers? Did you ever have to use profanity in you act?
Bob: Early in my career, when I did comedy clubs, I was worried about encountering a heckler, particularly during those infamous late Saturday night shows with booze-fueled audiences. And frequently I'd need to follow a comedian who was filthy, and really revved up the audience. I'm 100% clean, no profanity, so it was a challenge. Thankfully, I quickly transitioned to private events, where the only heckler would be an elderly man slowly walking down the aisle to get a soda.
The Standup Comedy Center: What is the source of your stand-up and book material? Do you ask for approval for the "incidents" you encountered as a Rabbi?
Bob: Most is from real life (e.g., my dog really was born to a single mom.) Some I make up, of course. I doubt that people honestly think that we named our son after my grandfather, and call him, Grandpa.
The Standup Comedy Center: What do members of your family think of your career?
Bob: When my kids were teens they were sometimes cynical and could hardly muster a chuckle at my material. Until I explained that making people laugh is what paid their college tuitions. Now that they are older, they appreciate what I do more, and occasionally suggest some excellent new material. My wife has always been extremely supportive, though not uncritical of my material.
The Standup Comedy Center: Did you ever use humor at a funeral?
Bob: Definitely. When used appropriately and artfully, humor is a very effective way to help people recall the deceased in their vitality. I once reminded the congregation that Rose was a loving wife. A devoted mother. An adoring grandmother. She was not a good cook. People laughed and loved that line, because Rose always joked about what a lousy cook she was.
The Standup Comedy Center: Finish this joke "A Rabbi walks into a bar... "
Bob: stops, and says, Wow. Am I ever lost! I'm even in the wrong joke.
The Standup Comedy Center: Do Non-Jewish audiences get your humor?
Bob: I advertise my shows and DVD and CDs as Gentile friendly. I don't do Jewishly esoteric material but, rather, tailor the material so that people of all backgrounds will understand it. One night in Winnipeg I performed an early show at the JCC and a later show at a mosque. Same material. And two equally hot shows.
The Standup Comedy Center: Explain why some chapters in your book begin:
- My father used to take showers with the lady next door.
- It's a good thing that sexual harassment awareness wasn't around in 1954, because I would have been in big trouble.
- The .38 caliber snub-nosed revolver pointed straight up, one or two inches from my right ear
Bob: No, I won't explain. Buy the book! It's called Life Doesn't Get Any Better Than This, now in its 5th printing. Amazon has it. Or you can buy it on e-bay for $.01 plus postage, advertised as Signed by author. Never read.
The Standup Comedy Center: When and why did you perform for the archbishop of New Mexico?
Bob: Back in the early 1990s. At a synagogue retirement party for their rabbi. The archbishop was in the audience, and every time I mentioned anything about Christians, 300 pairs of Jewish eyes would glance over at the archbishop. As soon as he laughed (which he did, throughout the night), the Jews then gave themselves permission to do the same.
The Standup Comedy Center: Describe your "odd couple" dual show with an Arab-American comedian? Did you ever think about doing this show Israel/Palestine?
Bob: I've been doing The Laugh In Peace Show since 2002, with a variety of colleagues, including Muslims of Egyptian, Indian, and Palestinain backgrounds, as well as an Israeli Arab who is now an evangelical Christian. I honestly live for each show. Way too much fun, and enormously satisfying. We do shuls, churches, mosques, corporate shows, and tons of college events, nearly all of them co-sponsored by the Muslim Students Associations and Hillels. They laugh together, hang out together, and build friendships as part of our totally non-political comedy. All of us Laugh In Peace performers are religious people, respectful of our own and one another's beliefs, creating a very safe, fun environment. One of my favorite stories: Mohammed Amer and I did a show at Congregation Kol Ami, outside New York City. On the way back to our hotel, Mo asked what Kol Ami means. I told him it's Hebrew for Voice of my people. Oh, he replied, because in Arabic, it means Eat my uncle!. We, of course, would adore an opportunity to perform in Israel and Palestine.
The Standup Comedy Center: Any final words of wisdom?
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