A porn star and ‘Jew forts’ on Sukkot

When I went to Las Vegas to write about Christians reaching out to porn stars, I met a heavily-tattooed and pierced woman about my age named Joanna Angel. She’s an “alt-porn” performer and entrepreneur, and thanks to Luke Ford I just learned that Angel grew up an Orthodox Jew.

Curious, I searched Wikipedia and learned that Angel’s mother was Israeli and her father American. It sounds like Angel still identifies as Jewish; Luke greeted her by phone two years ago with a “Shabbat Shalom.” This is not unusual. Ethnic Jews are prevalent in the porn industry, a story I will get around to one of these days.

But what I found interesting was a Q&A Angel had with a smutty British lad mag called Bizarre. (The link was on her Wikipedia entry, I swear.) Today, it turns out, is the beginning of Sukkot, the Feast of Booths, on which occasion Jews eat and sometimes sleep under tents they have erected outside their homes, and the interviewer asked Angel about the holiday. Sort of.

Can you explain to me the deal with Jew forts?

Jew what?

Jew forts. You know, once a year the Jews build these treehouse things.

OK, there’s this holiday called Sukkot. And you build these little huts next to your house and you’re supposed to eat in them for eight days. You’re supposed to appreciate nature on that holiday or something.

They’re kind of crazy-looking.

Yeah, well, some people think Christmas trees are weird. A tree you decorate is really weird. Lights and balls and a big star on top of a cut-down tree; that’s weird. You’re just accustomed to seeing them that’s all.