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FEBRUARY 13, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
By Tzvi Dear
A Mi Sheberach for Rush? love Rush Limbaugh. I’ve been listening to him on and off for around 25 years. There are times when I listen to him every day and there are times when I go for months without listening much. It’s like that old friend who you don’t talk to for a long time and then for some reason or another you get in touch and talk to three times in two days. Even then, you know that the bond of your friendship is no different during that time than when you are not in touch at all. Inherently, you feel close, and it’s not dependent on a metric of verbal communication. Now, perhaps you find it funny or even naive for me to talk of Rush as a close friend – after all, I’m just one of 20 million listeners. More cynically,
some may say, “You think Rush cares about you? You’re nothing to him. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself, trust me.” I get it, blah, blah, blah. The truth is that it is probably somewhere in between. Radio is intensely personal. There are no visual aids, lures, or distractions. When a broadcaster speaks on the radio, he or she is speaking directly to you in your car, when you’re driving down a highway, sitting in traffic during the rain, waiting for a meeting, etc. It’s you and him – on good days and bad days. The most successful broadcasters use that intimate medium to build a connection with you – a bond that keeps you coming back. Parenthetically, I recently saw a clip of Jerry Seinfeld talking to the world’s most famous shock-jock – the
name of whom I would never mention on these pages – as the two sat in a vintage car. The shock-jock ran his finger over the old radio— one of those radios with the red pin that moves up the dial with big silver preset buttons underneath. The shock-jock turned to Jerry and said, “You know what’s amazing about this?” Jerry, with his snarky half-smile, replied, “No, I have no clue. Why don’t you tell me?” The shock-jock replied, “This was the only way I ever got my father to pay attention to me.” He went on to explain that, when he was a kid, his father was always listening to the radio and never paid any attention to him. So he resolved at a young age that he would one day talk
on the radio – this way he would be able to talk to his father through it. I am proud to say that I never once listened to this shock-jock, but I know one thing about him: he did not have a healthy upbringing and he is a pretty torn up guy inside. Even so, he is successful at what he does because he understands the intimacy of radio. Radio is that personal. I can listen to Rush for two minutes and get his vibe. I’m not just talking about his political vibe; I’m talking about his general vibe about life and the world. I joke with my wife that we can’t be on the phone at noontime because at 12:06 p.m. I have to hear Rush for two minutes. That’s it – two minutes. I catch his drift; I get the vibe and, if I want, I can shut it for the day. I know