What’s so funny about this? This wonderful little joke came from A.O. Scott reviewing the new remake of the old movie, “Exodus”., based on the story in the bible. Scott pretty much pans and ridicules the movie for many reasons. If you are interested you can read his review online. But for our purposes I’m quoting a joke he came up with as he complained about the actor Christian Bale’s performance as Moses (the irony of his name is notable). For some strange reason, Scott says that when Moses discovers that he’s really Jewish, his accent changes and he sounds more like a Borscht Belt comedian. This in itself requires an explanation. Borscht is a beverage made from beets that is very popular in Eastern Europe, especially with Jews. In the middle of the last century, so many Jews from New York went to vacation in the Catskill Mountains north of the city, that the area became known by the nickname, “the Borscht Belt.” In this case, “belt” means a geographic area. There were many hotels an
