Philip L. Sherman, who died last Wednesday in his home in Englewood NJ at age 67, loved his work and was very very good at it. He was a mohel, pronounced moyle, i.e., he performed ritual circumcisions, around 26,000 of them, according to his website emoil.com, which was also his license plate.
According to his obit in today’s NYT by Sam Roberts, a circumcision would normally take him only 15 seconds and he’d be out the door in about ten minutes, especially if he was illegally parked with a sign on his windshield saying: “Mazel Tov! Bris in progress — please don’t ticket!”
The most he performed in a day was eleven, which included two pairs of twins. That’s a lot considering they need to be performed during the daylight (a requirement I wasn’t aware of). He was an equal opportunity mohel, happy to work for Muslim and Christian infant boys too. He circumcised the son of a man he had circumcised as an infant, and the grandsons of two Israeli prime ministers. He performed circumcisions in Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, and a bar on Third Avenue (for a family who lived upstairs: L’chaim!).
His services did not come cheap. “You pay $800 for a steady hand and a good reputation,” Scott Stringer, the former NYC comptroller, told The NYT after his son was circumcised by Sherman. “It’s not the kind of thing where you’re looking to save money.” But Sherman said he did not turn away families who could not afford his fee.
He also occasionally worked as an actor. He played a judge on Orange Is the New Black and appeared in an episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He was also cast in the Paul Rudd movie Our Idiot Brother. “I played a mohel, but the scene was cut,” he said. [We’ll just tiptoe away from that line.]
When the actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg told him that she hated attending a bris, Sherman offered her a suggestion. “The next time you go to one,” he advised, “do what I do: Close your eyes.” (Just kidding, he added.)
Sherman is survived by a daughter and two sons from his marriage to Naomi Freistat, which ended in divorce; his brothers; and six grandchildren. His marriage to Andrea Raab also ended in divorce. Sherman performed the brises for his sons and his grandsons. Voo den?
He was riding the subway once, late at night, and looked up to find himself surrounded by three knife-wielding thugs who asked him for money. He told them he had to get it from his satchel and then reached into it. [You can finish that story as well as I can — try not to make it too bloody.]
I had to get this photo from the NYT. It’s the only assignment Phil ever turned down from us. He just crossed his legs and said, “Uh-uh.”
Getting back to Seth’s WSJ puzzle from yesterday a bit, here’s a rocking tune from the late John Hiatt for us.
And Seth’s clue for SAX was “Lisa Simpson’s instrument.” Here she is (a short clip):
Today’s NYT puzzle included EFFA MANLEY, the only woman inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. She was co-owner of the Newark Eagles in the Negro Leagues with her husband. I was able to fill in the answer because I have a bobblehead doll of her.
She worked effectively to improve the pay and conditions of Negro League players. She was very active on civil rights issues, staging a major boycott of hundreds of stores in Harlem that wouldn’t hire Blacks (they caved). In 1939 she held an “Anti-Lynching Day” at Newark’s Ruppert Stadium, selling buttons that read “Stop Lynching,” to support efforts to pass federal anti-lynching legislation. Here’s her HOF plaque in Cooperstown:
Today’s constructor was Erik Agard, whose puzzles are always very good. He had a few cute ones: “Wow, that’s upside down!” was MOM (Get it?) And “( and )” was ARCS. That was tough. Each of “(” and “)” is an arc.
Did you know that “Chuffed” means GLAD? Me neither. Last, “Make out sloppily in the library?” was MISREAD. What were you thinking? Does that one jar any memories?
I’m going turn out the lights now and let those two enjoy themselves. See you tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 