Vus Machs Du, Eric Cosby?

Whaddup, yo?

Eric Cosby is a 6"4, humorous African American with dreadlocks and
very smooth skills in the sales department.

A transaction the other day led to our meeting.

He reached out to shake my hand, and I gently refused and told him,
"I'm Jewish, and very careful with touch."

Eric was like, "yo, that's cool, that's cool."

I jokingly responded, "I know, isn't it? You should try it."

He laughed and said, "Nah, I don't touch a lot of people anyways. I
use a lot of hand sanitizer."

It was my turn to laugh, but wanted to make sure he didn't get the wrong idea.

"Judaism believes that touch is a very sacred thing."

"Aha, yeeeea," He nodded his head slowly, " I dig that, I dig that."

And then, of course, Eric makes the association and asks, "So, do you
like Matisyahu?"

"Of course, are you a fan?"

"Oh yea, I love Reggae as you can see (he points to his dreadlocks). I
love that song...how does it go...Jerusalem, if I fogeeet yoooou...."

And before I know it, I am being serenaded.

"Jerusalem, if I forget yoooouuuuu, fire's just not going to come..."

Okay, so he didn't have the exact lyrics down, but the enthusiastic
hand motions made up for it.

"Oh, and that other one, how does it go....um, something like, young guy..."

After deciding to help him out a little, he starts singing again.

"Yooooung maaan, control it in your hands, slam your fist on the table..."

And he is, well, slamming his fist on the table.

"Yea, man" he tells me shaking his head, "I'm all about that."

I'm grinning from ear to ear. This guy is my new favorite 6"4 African
American with dreadlocks.

And he's not over.

"So, like, I'm trying to think of something Jewish to say to
you...what's that word? Loochem?"

"Hmm, Loochem?" I'm racking my mind, but, as Jewish as the word
sounds, it's not actually a hebrew word.

After Mr. Cosby demands to know a good Jewish greeting, "Shalom" slips
out quickly but then I tell him, if he wants to be extra cool, he can
use Yiddish and say "Vus machs du?"

After a couple of tries, he's competition for anybody walking down
Eastern Parkway.

I'm racking my brain as to where he got this "loochem" word, which
very closely resembles "Lechem - bread", but why would he know that
specific word?

I mention it to him and he starts laughing.

"Yeeea, in Austin Powers, when that guy says it, he's slicing bread!"

So, there ya go.

----------

As I'm leaving, I see him and flash a peace sign.

He waves a hand and yells across the room: "Mazel Tov! Jerusaleeem, if
I forgeeet yoooou...!"

----------

Nothing major came out of this little happening - there's no
punchline. It's just, sometimes I feel like something very powerful
is happening during these little interactions between Jews and
non-Jews. A casual, almost silly, interaction gave me a little glimpse
into the era of redemption, and how the whole world is ready to
embrace the truth and pride in every Jew.