Bar mitzvah video makes a splash for Toronto 12-year-old
CBC News
Posted: Mar 15, 2013 12:03 PM ET
Last Updated: Mar 15, 2013 7:40 PM ET
Jorel Hoffert has yet to become a man but he's already become something of an internet sensation with his online bar mitzvah invitation.
The video features Jorel, a 12-year-old from Toronto, singing his own words over the music to Queen’s We Will Rock You.
"A few days ago it just went viral ... the views are skyrocketing," Jorel told CBC News.
To the song's familiar opening drum beat, Jorel sings: “I’m half a Jew, I learned Hebrew. Still half Asian, I’m proud of that too.”
The second half of the video — which has more than 115,000 views and 700 likes on YouTube — features Hoffert dancing to Gangnam Style, the first YouTube video to surpass a billion views.
"We certainly didn't make it with that in mind," his father David Hoffert tells CBC News. "We sometimes joked, 'What if it went viral?' But we really did not take it that seriously."
In his video's three and a half minutes, Jorel also solos on air guitar, plays piano and appears with his family members.
His video drew the attention of CBC's George Stroumboulopoulos, who linked to the video on his show's website.
Stroumboulopoulos also mentioned the video on Twitter:
If you only watch one mind-blowing bar mitzvah invitation video today, make it this one: tiny.cc/8z0xtw
— G. Stroumboulopoulos (@strombo) March 14, 2013
Jorel comes honestly by his flair for music and video production.
His father, David Hoffert, is a TV director and his mother, Mei Lei, is an opera singer. Jorel's grandmother is a lyricist, and his grandfather, Paul Hoffert, is part of the band Lighthouse.
Both parents, and Jorel’s grandparents, make appearances in the video that invites partiers to his big day, which is set for April 27.
His grandmother, Brenda Hoffert, said she hopes just the 130 official guests show up to Jorel's big day — and not hundreds of thousands of revellers, inspired by their festive video invite.
"We'll have to get a bigger space!" she says.
With files from the CBC's Genevieve TomneyShare Tools
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