Bordering on Lehavdl: Michael Wex, Performing Yiddish, and a Discourse of Discomfort

This essay examines the work of Michael Wex, novelist, performer, and author of the recent non-fiction book on Yiddish, Born to Kvetch. Wex’s texts and performance style are analyzed with particular attention to the ways his material addresses themes of exile and outsiderness, and contextualized in a tradition that includes Lenny Bruce and Allan Sherman. His unique position as a possessor and transmitter of deep knowledge of Jewish culture and religious practice, and his rootedness in the Yiddish language are also discussed.