There’s always been a healthy, productive relationship between Jews and Chinese food–from Christmas dining to a mutual love for sweet & sour flavoring.
L.A.-based comedian Seth Front (who’s also a rabbi’s son) took the relationship one step further. In his Jewish Zodiac–a website with accompanying t-shirts and other fun items–you won’t find a Year of the Boar or Rabbit, but instead a Year of the Bagel and a Year of the Latke. According to Front’s explanations, each gastrological sign reveals the nature of people born in that year. If you were born in the Year of the Bagel, for instance (1960, 1972, 1984), you “always bounce back, although you feel something’s missing in your center.” And those people from the Year of Chicken Soup (1955, 1967, 1979) are “healers, nourishing all whom they encounter.”
Front has adapted his Jewish Zodiac into a full-on stage show called “The Culinary History of Jews in America,” as well as a line of accessories (we prefer the Zodiac placemat, which shows the entire pantheon of pickles and egg creams). Or you can just visit the website and teach yourself some new Jewish astrology.
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