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Svetlana Pakhomova
“The following contains references to adult situations and coarse language.
In Yiddish. Viewer discretion is advised. Jewish discussion is inevitable”.
Immediately after these words, a caption appears about the special holiness of Yom Kippur and the severity of fasting on this day. And then we see the pleased face of Chaimie (aka Jamie Elman) eating cubed non-kosher poutine (the national Canadian dish). Opposite this glutton sits his friend since school-time - Leizer, aka Eli Batalion. With a mournful face, Leizer watches the fall of his best friend. He had just returned from the synagogue service, where he once again swore to take the path of a true Jew. All this mute scene of gastronomic seduction takes place under the solemn and sad prayer "Kol Nidrei".
Season 1, Episode 1: Breaking The Fast
Nothing sacred, you will say, and you will be absolutely right. But there is one caveat: all this "disgrace" in the web series by Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion takes place in Yiddish. And even if you don’t know a single word on it, you will definitely smile, or even start laughing out loud at the mere sight of these two charming slobs - Chaimie and Leizer. And in order to make viewing for viewers around the world as comfortable as possible, the creators of the series upload all their videos on Youtube with English, and sometimes with French subtitles, because it happens in Canada. So, in order to fully experience “Yidlife Crisis”, it would be good (but not strictly necessary) to know Yiddish.
Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion went to the Bialik School in Montreal together, where they tried to learn this same Yiddish. Already in adulthood, they decided to make a web homage to good Jewish humor, delicious (and no less Jewish) food and, of course, the same language from the school curriculum.
At the beginning of the project, Eli and Jamie put a lot of effort into making their Yiddish sound more or less decent. With each new season, their language skills improved and the number of mistakes decreased. Quite an inspiring example of the popularization of Yiddish in the media space, which for once appears as an undying language or the language of closed Haredi communities. No piety, longing or universal sadness! In the frame you will find sheer hooliganism and gastronomic provocations. And Yiddish here is also an attractive, mysterious language, sometimes even secret and at the same time quite natural. In several episodes of “Yidlife Crisis”, Yiddish becomes a real lingua franca for modern people. And this amazing and uplifting look at the use of Yiddish today sets “Yidlife Crisis” apart from many other projects.
Season 2, Episode 2: Yingl Belz
Yiddish in "Yidlife Crisis" is the language of communication of quite young and not very kosher heroes, who, nevertheless, were brought up within Jewish traditions. And it is with these traditions that they are not categorically ready to part, although they are also unable to stop criticizing them. Leizer and Chaimie break almost all Jewish laws, but they do it in a very Jewish way and, of course, in Yiddish. They are two shlimazels and opikoires who are constantly arguing about Jewish history, religion and, of course, food. Leizer tries to stay within the framework of the Jewish commandments, but constantly slips on this righteous path like the heroes of American slapsticks, stepping on a banana peel. The role of this same banana peel for Leizer is played by the provocateur Chaimie and delicious food. The latter rightfully occupies a central place in the project of Elman and Batalion. Jewish cuisine is the main fetish of the heroes. By the way, some episodes of the first season were made in memory of the Jewish eateries, which have already disappeared from the gastronomic maps of Montreal. But they remained in the hearts of Elman and Batalion as a memory of their Jewish childhood and youth. Gastro nostalgia as it is! And in general, with an outward declaration of their critical approach to various bobe-mayses absorbed in the lessons at the Jewish school, Leizer and Chaimie, first of all, stayed good Jewish boys! And for this, the viewers forgive them all their misdeeds ... Almost all of them ...
Season 2, Episode 1: Off The Top
Many were impressed by the colossal success of “Yidlife Crisis”, which was made almost on its knee. However, this rollicking web series about Jewish food, identity, and humor is captivating in several ways. Firstly, each new season begins with some important Jewish holiday, after which Leizer is going to embark on a truly Jewish path. However, something always goes wrong. This uncomplicated plot reveals not only an inexhaustible source for jokes, but also an endless love, including love to eternal Jewish soul-searching, self-irony and Jewish food. The creators themselves sometimes define the genre of their series as Food-Porno. And this is sometimes not far from the truth.
Season 1, Episode 2: The Schmaltz
Second, funded by the Association of Jewish Communities of Montreal, “Yidlife Crisis” was originally very Canadian. Batalion and Elman actively involved local Canadian celebrities into the web series and into its endless YouTube offshoots, which gave the show a certain homely atmosphere. However, the success of the series inspired Eli and Jamie to travel to cities and towns, surveying the Jewish global village. Or rather, a global shtetl. This made it possible to invite celebrities of the first magnitude to the show. For example, the star of the American series "The Big Bang Theory" Mayim Bialik hilariously played a female doctor who came on a date with Laizer to a kosher sushi bar.
Season 2, Episode 3: The Double Date
Elman and Batalion also call themselves Comedy Piece Makers. And in this mission, they fearlessly turn to irony as a sure means of debunking myths, stereotypes and other biases that impede dialogue between the warring parties. Language plays an important role here. This seems to be one of the noblest tasks for Yiddish in the 21st century.