Riffing on faith and spirituality

A rabbi, a pastor and a comedian walked out onstage…

No, that’s not the setup for a joke. It’s precisely what a sold-out crowd came to see on Aug. 19 at West Hollywood’s renowned comedy club Largo at the Coronet. 

Temple Isaiah’s Rabbi Joel Nickerson, 37, joined former pastor and best-selling author Rob Bell and comedian Pete Holmes to engage in a lively, open discussion on faith and spirituality. 

Bell, 46, who once led a Michigan megachurch, was featured in Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” list in 2011. Holmes, 37, headlines clubs all over the country and had his own late-night slot on TBS after Conan O’Brien, “The Pete Holmes Show,” for two seasons. 

So how did these three wind up not only performing together but also celebrating Shabbat together?

According to Bell, it started with his friend Nickerson’s recent appearance on Bell’s podcast, “Robcast”; it went so well that they wanted to re-create the segment in front of a live audience. On the episode, the two discussed Hebrew words — their meanings and origins — that have universal application. Holmes, another friend of Bell’s, enjoyed the episode so much he wanted in on the live-audience version. 

A Largo regular, Holmes introduced the Temple Isaiah clergyman to the audience, quipping that the occasion marked Nickerson’s Largo debut. Bell then hugged the rabbi, only to be outdone by Holmes kissing his new acquaintance squarely on the cheek. 

“You hugged. I kissed. Your move, Rob,” Holmes joked. 

Nickerson kicked things off by explaining to the audience that he agreed to the Friday night performance under the condition that he could celebrate Shabbat there. He brought his wife, Julia, onstage to help him light the Shabbat candles and recite the blessing over them — a gesture that was met with applause. 

Reminiscent of the podcast that spawned the event, Nickerson came armed with Hebrew words to discuss. At one point during the evening he unfurled brit (covenant), Tu b’Av (15th of Av, the evening’s date and the Jewish holiday of love), simcha (celebration) and kadosh (holy). 

Bell and Holmes — who didn’t know which words Nickerson would present until they heard the selections onstage — riffed on them after hearing Nickerson explain the meanings for the audience. One highlight was Holmes recapping Nickerson’s explanation of the three biblical covenants involving the flood and Noah’s Ark, circumcision, and the presentation of the Ten Commandments. 

“So if I understand correctly, God got really angry and destroyed everything and apologized. Then God told man to cut off part of his wiener to remember God every time he uses it?” 

Nickerson nodded, chuckling, and Holmes concluded: “OK, God is a woman.” 

Those types of quips punctuated the evening’s serious themes throughout. 

When conversation steered toward freedom of thought within religion, as well as doubt and its role in spirituality, Holmes asked Nickerson, “When people come in and express to you that God is this fabrication, what do you say? I mean, do people say that?”

“Almost every Jew comes in and says that,” Nickerson said with a smile. “I tell people to think more about the why and the how, which entails process. It requires people to go through the process of asking, thinking and talking, which sets up for long gains instead of the short fix.”  

Bell added that in his conversations with Nickerson, he found it fascinating that the rabbi, above all else, prioritized that the rabbi’s two daughters know one thing: how to ask questions. 

Nickerson solemnly nodded, then explained: “To find God, meaning or peace, you have to question, to doubt. You have to embrace the unknown, raise questions that ask you to think. Otherwise, you stunt your spiritual growth.”

Bell said his most memorable experiences as a pastor were in dealing with the doubt-stricken. 

“The people who would come to see me were either people who had everything they wanted and thought, ‘Is this it?’ Or they were people who were completely falling apart. The people who were fine would never talk to me,” he said. 

When talk turned to the rapid pace of life most of us experience in this day and age, Nickerson spoke on the value of unplugging over the 24 hours of Shabbat and the ritual’s ability to soothe the soul with rest. 

After all, it’s not the professional accomplishments that people slave for that we remember at the most critical times, Bell said, drawing from his pastoral dealings with the bereaved. It’s personal matters, our relationships. He quoted David Brooks of The New York Times: “Brooks said that people focus too much on résumé virtues instead of eulogy virtues.” 

Casey Adler, 27, a Jewish Los Angeles-based actor who was part of the diverse audience, appreciated the evening’s light tone, particularly in dealing with what is often heavy subject matter. 

“Comedy should be a more integral part of spirituality,” he said. “Every church, synagogue and mosque should have a designated stand-up comedian. Sitting in pews and being lectured at is one thing but laughter gets to the emotional core of who we are.” 

When questions opened up to the audience, someone asked how people could take action to bring about more human kindness and understanding in everyday life. Nickerson took the lead in responding. 

“Things like this, here tonight,” he said. “Talk to people. Talk to that friend who’s a Trump supporter. Have difficult conversations. Look people in the face and discuss things openly.” 

The evening concluded outside the theater in Largo’s open-air courtyard with samples of three types of challah from the Pico-Robertson restaurant Got Kosher — Kalamata olive, plain pretzel and chocolate chip. 

“And now,” Nickerson proudly declared, “everyone should accept challah into their lives.”