Vampire Weekend's Surprising Jewish Stories
6 min read
Ami Kozak is entertaining the world, one joke at a time.
In a video on Instagram, Jordan Peterson is at The Home Depot, asking an employee about how to construct something.
“Look, if I’m looking for a specific tool to precisely target areas of my home to get my house in order, let’s say, and, the first thing I’d want to do is exam the various substructures of the foundation of the home so that I can lay a certain framework around which I can organize my hierarchal substructure as well,” he says.
“You need like wood and pipes and nails and hammer?” the off-screen employee asks.
The person in this video sounds exactly like Peterson, nailing – pun intended – his complicated way of discussing topics, but it’s Ami Kozak, a master impressionist and Modern Orthodox Jewish comedian and musician. The video has been viewed more than 180,000 times on Instagram; Ben Shapiro’s reaction video racked up 1.6 million views.
@aj_comedy @dr.jordan.b.peterson at @homedepot ⚒🔩⚙️🦞 #jordanpeterson #comedy #parody #impressions #impersonation ♬ original sound - Ami Kozak
“The key to doing a good impression is looking in a mirror, but instead of seeing yourself, you see the other person,” Kozak said. “A lot of people think impressions are about sounding like the person, but it’s also the visual, like the subtlety of how they move their eyes and mouth.”
The Jordan Peterson video isn’t the only video of Kozak’s that’s gone viral. This past Purim, he put out a video called “If Adam Sandler Wrote a Purim Song,” which was a parody of Sandler’s “The Chanukah Song.” Kozak’s version went like this: “Sandler told us who was Jewish with the Festival of Lights. So here’s a list for Purim of all the antisemites: Henry Ford, David Duke, no one can deny it. Prince Harry wore a swastika, but he claimed it was unconscious bias. Nick Cannon, yeah he had to admit it. But Nick Cannon has like 12 kids – might as well be Hasidic!”
@aj_comedy If Adam Sandler wrote a Purim song! 🎉🎭🎶 #adamsandler #funnysong #purim #purim2023 #comedy #parody #musicalcomedy
Kozak makes funny videos online, does standup comedy and creates music for TV, movies and commercials with his band Distant Cousins. He also hosts the BuckleUp podcast with Michael Weber, where they discuss being part of the creator economy, and he’s one third of the Jewish comedy sketch group J-Sketch, alongside fellow comedians Eli Lebowicz and Mikey Greenblatt.
The comedian and musician grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, where he attended the local Jewish school, Torah Academy of Bergen County. At the same time, he was playing music, starting at 13 when he picked up a bass guitar.
“I did band in high school and began writing original music when I was 16,” Kozak said.
After graduating from high school, he spent a year learning in Israel, and then went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, a renowned and competitive institution. Upon graduation, he entered the world of music, where he formed the pop band Distant Cousins and got their music into the movie “This Is Where I Leave You,” as well as “American Idol,” “Teen Mom,” ESPN and a Macy’s commercial. He spent 10 years in Los Angeles building up his musical portfolio with his band.
“When we were in LA, we developed relationships with show runners, directors, music supervisors and companies that represent our catalogue and pursue those opportunities for us,” he said.
Two years ago, Kozak and his family moved back to Englewood, where he began focusing on using social media as an outlet for his comedic ideas.
“I’d always been funny socially and with friends,” he said. “I hadn’t pursued it professionally until I began using social media as a tool to broadcast it.”
Since deciding to make videos for TikTok and Instagram, he’s built up a sizable following on both platforms: 233,000 on the former and 117,000 followers on the latter.
Along with the Jordan Peterson impression, Kozak does a scarily accurate Dave Ramsey impression – folded arms, headset, and all. In one video, he’s talking with a caller who claims to have run over a person because he was driving on the sidewalk. Kozak, as Ramsey, responds: “Well, let me ask you this: Is the car paid off? Is there any debt on the vehicle?” He continues to ask the caller about his annual income, who replies that it’s $45,000 a year. “You can possibly make bond or bail if they lock you up... and once it goes to trial, you can at least afford an attorney. If you can’t, you’re gonna get a public defender, and that is just a disaster.”
@aj_comedy @Dave Ramsey Why income is your most powerful tool! 🚗 💥 💀 #ramseyreacts #daveramsey #daveramseytiktok #daveramseywouldntapprove #daveramseybabysteps #comedy #parody #impressions #impersonation #moneytips #moneytok #moneysavingtips
Kozak, who puts out several pieces of content every week, is now working on an impression he’s going to premiere on stage soon: Bernie Sanders.
“Here’s Bernie Sanders eating for the first time at a kosher meat restaurant: Why is there sushi?” he said. “Now, he’s Bernie Sanders eating for the first time at a kosher dairy restaurant: Why is there sushi?”
Kozak is grateful for all the success he’s had thus far, but he stays humble and puts the important things first: his faith and his family.
Distant Cousins: From left, Dov Rosenblatt, Duvid Swirsky and Ami Kozak
“As much as I value all of my professional accomplishments, having what to come home to and a place to root myself keeps things in check,” he said. “No matter what happens with comedy or what goes on in my professional life, I stay grounded. I have a community I can tap into.”
The comedian, who does standup at NYC clubs and for Jewish organizations, combines his personal and professional life by talking about issues that are important to him as a Jew, and even more specifically, as an observant Jew.
“There’s a shortage of authentic Jewish comedy,” he said. “It’s few and far between. That aren’t many jokes that are specific to Orthodox and affiliated Jews. There are cultural Jews in comedy, but they don’t make too many jokes about their Jewish experience.”
Kozak is motivated to make funny videos and perform comedy because, he said, “Life is hard. It’s a grind. As things get happier, they can also get darker. People are born, and people pass away. That makes it all the more important to add levity and joy to that experience.”
