Usually when you think of keeping the Yiddish language alive you think theater and literature—not freestyle rap. Especially not freestyle rap performed by a legendary comic like Jerry Lewis.
Yet thanks to TMZ, the world now has grainy smartphone footage footage of the 87-year-old on the set of his new movie “Max Rose,” engaging in a rap battle with Chris La Vrar, of “America’s Got Talent” fame.
It’s unclear what La Vrar was doing there or how the rhyming got started—or if Lewis’ rhymes are in fact actually Yiddish. Either way, it’s pretty endearing when, after getting rapped at by La Vrar, Lewis shoots back with, “Very good. Very, VERY good … I want to do one now in Jewish.”
