Religious women perform stand-up comedy on Father’s Day

This Father’s Day, a group of Jewish women celebrated by defying stereotypes: performing stand-up comedy.Comedian David Kilimnick of Off the Wall Comedy hosted the show, called Religious Women of Stand-up, at the King Solomon Hotel Sunday night.The show featured Joan Weiner Levin, Hani Skutch and first-time comedian Chava Ewa Darski Kovacs, all women who immigrated to Israel.They performed sets inspired by their daily lives in the cities they now live in — be it a religious settlement or Rehovot.Kovacs, who performed for the first time Sunday night, is a mother of seven children, and spoke about the challenges of raising such a large family and living in a yishuv (rural residential community).She said she originally got started in comedy when her friend organized an open mic night, which she saw as an opportunity to get out of the house.“I think sometimes a lot of my friends don’t live in the same world that I do,” Kovacs said. “I’d like to reaffirm to them that moms still have interesting and funny things to say.”The theme of “mom jokes” was a recurring trope throughout all three sets, with jokes revolving around husbands, kids and life as a mom.Skutch, the second to perform, joked about her appearance, her lack of Hebrew vocabulary and her relationship with her husband – with whom she was celebrating a wedding anniversary.“We call it our anniversary, the kids call it the Nakba,” Skutch said in her set.Long-time comedian Weiner Levin served as the shows headliner, and spoke about her past living in New York, buying a second home and being an Orthodox Jewish woman.“I can bring home the bacon, I just don’t eat it,” Weiner Levin said during her set.Throughout the evening, the sets were tied together by bits in between by Kilimnick, who emphasized that even moms can be funny.“It’s important for women to break down barriers,” Kovacs said.