I’ve been to sooo many Bat and Bar Mitzvah’s in my life and there is always one consistent element. A huge party. So I just assumed that was the reason Tiffany Haddish was taking on the deeply religious event and to promote her new Netflix show “Black Mitzvah”. But it’s not!
Tiff read from the Torah in front of family and friends this week, completing a bonafide Bat Mitzvah ceremony — which, of course, was followed by a killer party.
The service was led by Rabbi Susan Silverman, whose sister is comic Sarah Silverman, and joining the two on the bema (elevated podium) was none other than Billy Crystal. Also in attendance were famous faces including Jimmy Kimmel, Wanda Sykes, Chelsea Handler and Kevin Nealon.
Haddish, who was in the foster care system for most of her childhood, discovered her Jewish heritage as an adult after reconnecting with her father. By the time she met him, she was already loosely familiar with Judaism thanks to more than a decade working alongside DJs at Bar Mitzvah parties: “I started learning more and more about the Torah. I could really relate to it,” she told Hey Alma. “And when I met my father, it really resonated with me. I was like: ‘This is what I am.'”
Photos from the ceremony show Haddish reciting prayers as she wears a tallis, the traditional fringed shawl many Jews wear during religious services. After the Bat Mitzvah, Haddish and her guests got the party started, and she even got to hop on a chair for the classic Hava Nagila dance.
