Lady Gaga's Shul

yours truly has survived quite well all these years without the slightest notion of who Lady Gaga, was, and this blessed state of affairs could continue to her and my mutual satisfaction, I’m sure, if not for my friend Jeff, who used to attend services at the Stanton Street Shul. Far more attuned to pop culture than I am, Jeff discovered that a new biography of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (Lady Gaga for short), titled Poker Face, is about to come out and that she and I, and all of you, re ally, are closely related in Kevin Bacon fashion.

The NY Post excerpted a bit of the new bio, which reads: New to the Lower East Side, Stefani was making quite the impression: One of her neighbors at 176 Stanton St. says that, not long after he moved in, his sister asked him if he knew "there was a prostitute that lives in the building." … She said, "I saw this girl stumbling up the stairs at 4 a.m., wearing, like, nothing, and she was drunk."

My friend Jeff Google-mapped 176 Stanton, which turned out to be two doors away from 180 Stanton, where thousands of God fearing Jews have been praying since 1913. It’s not much, but if this humble mention can increase attendance on those chilly Shabbat mornings, then my work is done.

Happy new season to all of you down here.