Jtube: An Evening with Nichols and May: The Jewish Mother

I hope that my son doesn't think of me that way!!!

I once called the phone company to see if there was a block on my phone from incoming calls

Just like my mother too!

so nowadays it's a simple text on the mobile phone. Nu? It was my birthday and all day I checked my cell to see if the volume was up and vey not one word..

I can really relate to that, even though my 3 daughters live in Israel, i usually call them. when I call my oldest daughter she always says:" I was just going to call you " all thaat time without fail. she rarely calls me except to get something or ask for something. I've become used to it already and don't expect more. The children have busy lives and have little time to call their mom. It is what it is.

I can identify....
the mom looks like Michelle Pfiefer????

Nichola and May were American treasures. The one disadvantage of this routine is that its been edited down. During the few years they performed together, they were wonderful.. They have both gone on to brilliant careers, director, writer, performer. gary

rt on

You will find the full version under Elaine May and Mike Nichols

Aw Boloney ! There is no such thing as a Modern Jewish Mother or for that matter, the sons are all the same ! Life goes on and as time goes on, even those moments on the phone become precious ones in our heart..

I told my son that if he wishes his child to call him to wish him a good Shabbos when she grows up, he would be wise to call his parents each Friday afternoon and to make sure she is aware of his calling. Being the wonderful son he is, he listened to my advice.

It is so true!!!!

I saw them do these skits and others just as wonderful on Broadway in the 19humhums. Thanks for the memories.

I to am a Jewish mother - my son is 32, married, one child and I also comment on the lack of phone calls I receive. I read him the riot act and guess what, he calls a lot more often - but, I know when to push and I know when to pull back. That, is the modern Jewish mother!

If not were for my jewish mother I would not be in the position I have. She push me to the limit knowing in my youth how lazy I was, she knew from the go how important education was, herself college educated and spoke several languages. So jewish mothers keep pushing some good will come out of all this

Ah yes, the Jewish Mother's curse "Your children should only be to you like you are to me, should worry you like you worry me! Oye!

I have one & only son - Oh how I miss not hearing from him... I literally long to hear his voice - telling me how to fix my computer or the toaster or whatever. My son is outstanding in every thing . Please call me & let me hear your voice.

There's nothing like a Jewish Mother.......!!!!

Loved it!! thank you.. crying with tears fromlaughing so hard..

It was ahead of its time, and like it or not its very accurate. And although done in Jewish style, this guilt play is certainly not limited to Jews.

You have no sense of humor.

enjoyed

Pretty sad that folks can't seem to see the humor in this. Lighten up! This is hilarious, and yes I have a Jewish mother and father and love them very much!

I totally agree. We've come to a pretty sad place when people can't laugh at this. It's mother's milk to me.

An offensive stereotypical portrayal of Jewish motherhood. Barely humorous cliché.

Sure it's offensive but it's absolutely true. And it's funny all the same. Human relationships are funny, offensive and true. I guess that's what makes us human. From my perspective; it was my father who was more like these two; my mother was an absent mom which probably was a life saver because getting it from both sides would be very tough indeed. But everyone around me had folks like these. Nevertheless; these two brilliant comics make it funnier than it actually was in real life. That's show biz.

We teach our children to be independent and how to acquire things. But, we do not teach them how to share themselves with us or others.

As a daughter of a Jewish mother, watching this video put knots in my stomach. The aggravation and surrender that the son displayed when the mother started talking about her doctors appointment is very legitimate. Why should the mother feel that her self imposed worrying be the responsibility of her son, she did not even engage him about his life?! Rockets? that sounds important, and she does not ask one question about it. Jewish mothers: please create and or enjoy your own lives, we children of Jewish mothers really want you to be happy without being responsible and heavily tied into your happiness. A Jewish Daughter

You don't want to be responsible and heavily tied to your mother? That is so sad. You must be self absorbed, that you care that little about your mother. I hope G-D changes your heart.

Casting Jewish mothers in a very bad light. Very offensive.

The hilarious and ironic thing about this video is that it is absolutely true from both perspectives.. the son's and the mother's. I have 3 sons and they will all see me in this. Yet I also see myself in it and in every other mother I know, Jewish or not. I could say it is just a fact of life but on a more serious note, I do see that families are growing apart much more these days both physically,in location and socially where it is encouraged to be independent of your parents. Also, there is a disconnect in that seniors( usually understood as people who's kids have left home) have HAD their lives and are not "with it " in this new "highly advanced" technological age.. (tongue in cheek)

I work at an assisted lving community that is primarily Jewish .I would love to be able to share this with the residents here - is there anyway this could be shown on the television through a DVD

Sounds just like me. I should send it to my son. He will enjoy this for sure.

It's not only about a mother worrying. It's about being thought of. Even though this was a comedy routine one can still feel the hurt a mother feels when she has given her heart and soul to her child and only wants a call on a regular basis to see how she is feeling or to be updated on her child's activities. It can be a one minute call to say "I love you, I'll get back to you later when I have more time". That call is the fuel we parents need to feel that we are included in our children's lives.

Nothing like the JEWiSH Guilt ..... Loved it.

My Mother was a loving Mother, her saying was, I may not always be right but I'm never wrong. I called my Mother, when I go up, before I went out for the day, and in the evening. My Husband picked here up every weekend so she would not be alone. She lived only a half hour from me. I miss her very much. I also miss my Husband who also passed. My Son is out of the country, but My Daughter lives only 10 min. Away. I do not make any demands on my Son. It is what it is.Brenda B.

My mother was a Quaker; when I grew up, left home and was married, I was wearing a leaden coat of guilt for "deserting her". Yet, if I called her during the TV show General Hospital she did not wait for me to greet her because the message to anyone who rang her was the same: "I can't talk right now. My show is on!" In my mind's ear, I can still hear the receiver being slammed down. Mom was every bit as funny as Ms. May (Mom's name was Mae). She has been gone now for 30 years and not a day goes by that I do not think of her, not a day goes by that the thought of her does not bring a smile to my lips.. Thank you, Mom, I still love you and hope you will allow this message to get through to you.

also Italian, Russian, Greek, Spanish, Mothers who will give their lives for their children whom they adore. A little guilt may be useful,t, so go ahead call your Mother. I wish I had mine to still call ..

Call your mom! She gave you life. I wish I had my mom to call her and her to call me. It was 23 years yesterday she crossed over. There is not one day that I do not think of her. She is my mom no matter what! I miss and love her.

this is so much fun

Although this is toted as a Jewish mother, I feel that all mothers can be concerned about their children regardless of that grown "child's" age.

I used to call my mother, may she rest in peace every week just before shabbott. It took awhile for me to realize that she was no longer with us. Unfortunately we realize it to late that she is the best friend you have in this world.

Omg! Word for word from Jewish Russian mother! And how! Good to know I am not the only one suffering ! "oh I haven't slept in days waiting for your call!". And when I ask her why she did not pick up the phone and call me she says, "what? I have to call you? You are busy! I don't want to disturb you. And you can't pick up the phone for a second and call me?" Yep! This is how it goes! I am 46 years old!!!!!

I am a child of Jewish Russian mother and I am the one also. I am 55. My daughter calls me every day. My son does it every other day. But at least twice a week they call Grandma to check if she needs anything. I call my 80-years old parents a few times a day because their English is limited and they need help. I think I am blessed!

Funny,funny video but some of the comments are even funnier .

I am so happy that I have wonderful boys. I am so happy that I am not like the mother depicted.

Oy gevalt, that sounds like my mother, I live 12,000 miles away and I have had to live with the guilt of leaving my home for the past 25 years. With every phone call you hang up with heavy heart, yet you always keep calling!!!!!

They did a great job. And by the way, you don't have to be a Jew, to be like that. Any mother can be a nagging mother. Oh!! So funny. Loved it.

it has been a week since I heard from one of my sons

What about months at a time. Time for everything else. Still cant get use to it nor accepted

My parents took my brother and me to New York many years ago to see these two doing a "2-man show". They were a great comedy team. Seeing this brought back a lot of memories.

I did not follow the same religious ideas and would go to hell, I dared to get married after college and not come back home to find a job and live with her, I had the wrong political viewpoints, I did not dress properly, I used nasty words in my conversation ( someone tells a lie, when a lady would say they tell a story, darn! as I am thinking a much worse word, mention parts of the body that denote male or female, etc.,). And, she kept saying she would go to hell if she did not cahnge my ways-so she kept trying.

I am the baby in the family born in '55 to survivors. I speak with my mom on average 10 times a week. Sometimes the 10-20 calls will happen in two days. Sometimes it takes me a couple of days to recover from these calls. While the video had me laughing no true Hungarian holocaust survivor mother would give such a light dose of guilt. I got off easy. I live 1400 miles away. This is not by accident. I can't go any farther south than this and still be in the USA. I love my mom. But it is my brother who lives a block away who will go to heaven. Me? I'm the good son. My brother Mr. Block away is the one she dumps on. Go figure. Unless you have a Hunky holocaust survivor mother with one oar in the water you will never understand. God bless my mother and god have mercy on my brother.

My mother with her mother came to Mexico in 1936 from Poland and she and her mother were the replica of this video she make my life a living hell,being a survivor is not excuse to be like this,is a stereotipe of the european mother of those days,thankx god im not like this with my children

now i worry am i so bad ? or even worse ? who do i make suffer the most ? my son or daughter i should keep heary this 10 time a day ....hungarian polish jewish mama....

Pure fun from two absolute comedy talents. Meant to enjoy and laugh at and not to be taken seriously. There is nothing wrong with this send-up of the overly protected mother - sometimes we can see our own weak points, recognize them, and then laugh about them. He who laughs lasts!

Very nice it made me laugh

As I watch the " daily calling adult children" I conclude the following: True adult children always find THE time, THE mature adult children. The one who do not "have time" so to speak are the immature and ignorant one at any age. It doesn't take a lot of time, it takes a lot of maturity to call a mother who would understand how busy and HOW loving you are. Make a short and frequent call to your mom! What mothers do not understand is how foolish it is to blame THE time.. Hello, dial the CELL phone.... we called our mothers from the booth phones...

I was born in 1956. My mom and grandma were not like this so much. But I do know the stereotype

I laughed at this when it first came out on a 78 record around 40 or 50 or 60 years ago. They were terrific.

I'm Italian and I sounded somewhat like her about putting the guilty feeling on them when they become parents themselves. I say it now and my grandkids are small yet. When my son complains I say, you were the same way. You needed to be watched every minute even when you slept, you moved around so much. So this is true of most mothers. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM OUR CHILDEN. It makes us happy. SO DO IT.

I had a good laugh. But I'm wondering, what's so difficult about showing parental respect and picking up the phone? I call my mom every day. We speak for 2 minutes and she feels great that I keep in touch. It's no big deal for me and it makes her feel good. What's the big deal? ('Course my son rarely calls me LOL).

Jewish mother...

This was my Mother-In-Law perfectly. If you didn't call her every day she would drive you nuts. She expected a call for every card she sent and evry gift, even if it cost a quarter at a yard sale and was someone's used dirty clothing.

IT'S WONDERFUL TO BE ABLE TO LAUGH & APPRECIATE HAVING A WONDERFUL MOTHER--I LOST MINE AT THE AGE OF 4---BE THANKFUL!!!!

Thebest clip ive seen in a long time, Im still laughing.

I'm a Scottish mother and although I don't sound that whiny (I hope) I think many mothers fall into this category. Why shouldn't we! Look what our bodies had to put up with for nine months!

I am happy when my children call me or talk online every week. After all they spend a fortune on cell phone, IPod, IPad, etc. they might as well use it to talk to their parents. If I don’t hear from them for more than a week (which is very rare) then my mind start buzzing and searching for answers. I have a son who lives in Australia, we talk almost every day on Messenger now Skype, My daughter lives close by so every day and my oldest son lives in Manhattan we speak few times a week or not depending… We love and care deeply about our children no matter how old they are but we have to give them space. Lots of people complain of neglect and abuse from their parents, then, others complain of too much attention and huggings. Such is human nature. I believe that today the stereotype of a Jewish mother described in this story is irrelevant thanks to the new technology.

OMG!!! THIS IS SOOOOOOOO accurate. When I lived in Los Angeles, I forgot to call my mother and this is the truth....I worked for a company that gave me an old pager and they would page codes to it. No problem. They paged these codes and I knew what to do. I gave her the number to the pager (big mistake) I am in the mountains in snow (more sleety I guess) and she pages me her own telephone number. I was in the mountains. I could not call back. Within a coupe of hours the texts got more urgent and finally I got her number followed by 911 911 911. No one had a cell phone (don't ask me why) and so we had find a little spot heading down the mountain (on slick roads nonetheless) that had a pay phone. I kid you not, I called and said "WHAT?!" and she said "I paged you and you didn't answer" "I said I am really busy right now and I am in the mountains and the weather is bad. WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" and she said, "It has been a while since you called your mother". THEN when I lived in Tucson I worked nights so I turned off my phone. My mother tried to call and could not get me all night. She called the police who came to my door to do a welfare check. They woke me up and basically said "Call your mother" So I did and she said...."You moved out there a few days ago I was worried. You didn't call your mother" I said I was busy getting a job and I worked nights and now I was awake, she needed to stop. She said "I will stop when you remember to call your mother". II have more stories but seriously....this was SOOOO typical of those conversations (except the baby talk at the end) ROFL ROFL

I think the mother is like the Lord God of Israel looking in on our lives, he wants almost the same relationship with his family of humans and sometimes is misunderstood too. How odd the Jewish mothers approach is, but also it's a reach out in a caringly obligatory way. It is oddly and peculairly unique. No other mothers in this world can be defined in this way or it's not Jewish ! ! Perhaps it is a fault of the son ! ! ?? He could assuage his Mother too, by leading a conversation in a differing thought pattern or concept. But the humor here is inescapable in this case, because we are not family ! ! And a good Jewish family in God is unbeatable ! ! Ahh a moment extra, with sincere kindness will span the Heartache River of a oddly caring mother who loves to labour the obligations..God cares for Israel in a motherly way at times ! !

I think, contrary to what the previous comment maintains, this video attempts to highlight the fact that there are some people who control others through manipulation,passive aggressive, abusive tactics - when one sees it depicted here, it uncovers the motivations behind such manipulation, since when one is inside a power struggle it isn't as easy to spot the manoeuvres. It helps one ot see the destrcutive nature of such relationships. The video employs sardonic humour and satire to show this; sometimes satire can simply look cruel rather than being understood as the tool it is meant to be.Unfortunately, i've met some people like this - it helps to see the mechanism of abuse clearly, helps one to find a more objective view (when one has abuse thrown at one, it can be overhwelming) and perhaps one is motivated to seek out some form of advice or counselling in order to help oneself, which may in turn assist in changing the balance in a poisonous relationship such as this. I too could not laugh simply because I've had this sort of manipulation put onto me - it's too close to the bone. By the way, I don't think the video says that all Jewish women are like this - it's not making a sweeping statement. I think it highlights the fact that there are women (and men) who enjoy controlling others.

Amen! I could not really laugh, and this video made me feel anxious and tense.

This is 100% MY MOTHER! SPOT ON!

Her motto was "No angst, no thanks."

Too funny !! Sometimes I wonder if this is how I sound ....

Funny and true! But to me, the nagging Jewish mother doesn't make Jewish moms "special" in a good way.

Jewish mothers are special because they not just nagging they are carrying and loving and would give their lives for their children . That is why they are SPECIAL.

I consider myself a person with a great sense of humor but not only did I find this skit not funny, I was surprised that this offensive piece found its way to aish.com. Neither my Jewish mother, mother-in-law, nor grandmothers were like this; nor am I like this with my own children (really1). Jewish women may be strong but that does not mean they are manipulative, controlling, passive-aggressive, abusive or mentally ill! This video attempts to present a very sick and false image that does a disservice to Jewish women everywhere.

you obviously dont have such a Jewish Mother in your family, because if you would you find this hilarious and nowhere near offensive. For those of us who have been blessed with the old world, Jewish stereotype mother (grandmother etc), we know that it only comes from the deepest love for us and as we make fun of the nagging, we secretly relish special connection it is indicative of.

when i would call her, the first thing, the FIRST THING, she would say is: "Nu? So how come you don't call?" and then of course she would go on to say things like: "So your old Bubbah isn't so important anymore? Didn't matter if I had called her the day before; that was the response. I loved her to bits! And I miss her to this day!

I feel sorry for your children, lady. The worst part is that they are learning or have already learned now NOT to have a sense of humor.

My grandmother and mother are just like this. I love them both and I would not trade them. This is not offensive. This is the ability to laugh at ourselves. Do you really take yourself so seriously you cannot laugh at things in our own culture? I found this the opposite of offensive. I have watched it several times and its great. Does it help to know that both Elaine May and Mike Nichols are Jewish? They are not poking fun at US but at themselves as well.