Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Henny Youngman Heckles Milton Berle on Hollywood Palace

The year was 1966. Yes, that's 54 years ago. Milton Berle was hosting on The Hollywood Palace when Henny Youngman started to heckle him from the balcony.

Heckling Berle was a regular activity during the 1960s and 1970s, starting when Berle hired comedian Irving Benson to look down from the balcony overlooking the stage of Berle's variety show and banter with Berle about the host's alleged lack of talent and originality. 

Youngman and Benson heckled on Berle's shows The Hollywood Palace and The Milton Berle Show. The heckling routine was picked up years later by the muppet characters Statler and Waldorf on The Muppet Show.

Enjoy! 

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The Richness of the Yiddish Language: 46 Ways to Call Someone an Imbecile

Last week The Forward held its first Come As You Are Gala as an online streaming event.

Comedians, celebrities, politicians and Forward journalists gathered on screen for a light-hearted evening in these uncertain times.

A highlight of the evening was a presentation by Yiddish actors Yelena Shmulenson and Allen Lewis Rickman on how we can learn a lot about Jewish culture by looking at the Yiddish language and how many words there are for the same thing. 

For example, in Japan there are many words for snow, and French has many words for romance. So what about Yiddish? In Yiddish there are eight words for son, and eight words for unfortunately. But where the Yiddish language shines is with its 46 synonyms for the word imbecile!

Enjoy!

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Yelena Shmulenson and Allen Lewis Rickman at the Forward's 2020 gala from The Forward on Vimeo.

A Joke to Start the Week - "Hearing Test"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. This week we're posting a joke from Dr. Jay Orlikoff, a retired dentist from Centereach, New York, a community on Long Island in Suffolk County.

After a distinguished and meritorious dental career, he is shifting his focus to telling and posting jokes on YouTube. We were fortunate to find some of his jokes and are sharing one of the family-friendly ones with you today. 

Here's the setup: A guy goes to his doctor and says "Doc, I need your help. My wife is losing her hearing." And then...

Enjoy!

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Yiddish Word of the Day: Stinginess

As people continue to spend their days and evenings at home, due to coronavirus social distancing restrictions, the Forverts has launched a series of short informal video clips called Yiddish Word of the Day.

The series, written and narrated by Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter, aims to give non-Yiddish speakers an introduction to familiar Yiddish words and phrases and how they might be used in everyday situations. 

Schaechter, who was appointed the new editor of the Forverts in 2016, is the first woman to helm the paper in its 119-year history, its first editor to have been born in the United States, and likely its first editor who is shomeret Shabbat.

We posted the first of this series in May. Now that the Forverts is continuing the series, we'll be sharing some of the words and phrases as a regular feature of Jewish Humor Central.

Stinginess must have been rampant in the shtetls of Eastern Europe where the Yiddish language flourished. There are four (and maybe more) words that express stinginess and miserliness, not only with money but also with words and praise. Learn the differences and how to pronounce them in this video.

Enjoy! 

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Welcoming Shabbat with Ein Keiloheinu by Congregation Bnai Keshet in Montclair, NJ

Congregation Bnai Keshet, a Reconstructionist synagogue in Montclair, New Jersey, like many synagogues around the world, isn't letting coronavirus concerns getting in the way of community singing on Shabbat, even though it has to be done remotely via Zoom sessions. 

Bnai Keshet values both the unique individual backgrounds and beliefs of its diverse members and its shared historical traditions. They are an informal and respectful community moved by prayer, fired by lively discussion, and enlivened by laughter and song.

In this video, Bnai Keshet members sing a version of Ein Keiloheinu, the liturgical poem sung toward the end of the Shabbat Shacharit service.

Enjoy, and Shabbat Shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Political Commentator Ben Shapiro, at Age 12, Plays Theme from Schindler's List

Ben Shapiro is an American conservative political commentator, media host, bestselling author and attorney. At age 17, he became the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the United States.   

He writes columns for Creators Syndicate, Newsweek, and Ami Magazine, serves as editor emeritus for The Daily Wire, which he founded, and hosts The Ben Shapiro Show, a daily political podcast and live radio show. 

But at age 12 he seemed headed for an entirely different career. In 1996 he was featured at an Israeli Bonds banquet as a violinist. In this clip, Shapiro is introduced by Larry King and plays the theme from Schindler's List.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Sacha Baron Cohen Returns as Borat in New Movie

Have you been waiting for Sacha Baron Cohen to revive his Borat character from Kazakhstan in a new movie, or have you been hoping not to see any more of his outrageous but hilarious antics again?  

Well, the wait is over. This Friday, October 23 will mark the debut of Cohen's new movie streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The title is Borat Subsequent Movie Film: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

As Rebecca Rubin wrote in Variety,

The movie — a direct sequel to Cohen’s 2006 film “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” — was secretly filmed and completed during the pandemic. Cohen was recently spotted in Los Angeles dressed in character as Borat Sagdiyev, a Kazakh journalist who was first introduced to audiences on “F2F” and “Da Ali G Show.” He also made a secret appearance in June at a political rally, where he pranked the conservative audience into singing racist song lyrics.

In the film, Borat and his daughter carry on conversations in what's supposed to be the Kazhak language, but Borat is speaking in Hebrew while his daughter is speaking in Bulgarian.

Enjoy! 

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Meir Kay Takes His Positivity to the Streets With "Great Day" Music Video

Meir Kalmanson has been posting funny Jewish videos on YouTube under the name Meir Kay. An Orthodox Jewish filmmaker from Brooklyn, his aim is to spread "happiness and positivity."

We've already featured six of his videos on the Evolution of Chassidic Dance, High Fiving Strangers in New York, Dancing Behind People in Jerusalem, How to Lift the Torah Like a Boss, Looking for a Leader in the Park, and A Hugging Spree in New York City.

In his new Great Day music video, Meir leads a group of dancers in a high energy demonstration of positivity. The song's message is all about having the choice to make the best of our day - to not allow whatever comes our way to have a say on how we will show up, but rather we can make a decision to make this day a great one! 

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Sign Language"

 

It's another Monday, and time for another Joke to Start the week. Here's another one from author and lecturer Michael Krasny.

Krasny has been telling Jewish jokes since his bar mitzvah, and it’s been said that he knows more of them than anyone on the planet. He certainly states his case in his latest book Let There be Laughter.

In promoting the book, Krasny has been giving lectures and interviews in which he tells some of the classic Jewish jokes, explaining the cultural expressions and anxieties behind the laughs.

We found some videos of these lectures, and today we're sharing another oldie but goodie.

Here's the setup: A man goes for a walk with his grandson. They see a sign that says in huge block letters: "NO SWIMMING ALLOWED." And then...

Enjoy!

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Yiddish Word of the Day: Lokshn (Noodles)

As people continue to spend their days and evenings at home, due to coronavirus social distancing restrictions, the Forverts has launched a series of short informal video clips called Yiddish Word of the Day.

The series, written and narrated by Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter, aims to give non-Yiddish speakers an introduction to familiar Yiddish words and phrases and how they might be used in everyday situations. 

Schaechter, who was appointed the new editor of the Forverts in 2016, is the first woman to helm the paper in its 119-year history, its first editor to have been born in the United States, and likely its first editor who is shomeret Shabbat.

We posted the first of this series in May. Now that the Forverts is continuing the series, we'll be sharing some of the words and phrases as a regular feature of Jewish Humor Central.

Noodles (lokshn in Yiddish) are more than just an ingredient in a sweet kugel and in chicken soup usually served at the Shabbat table. They appear as a metaphor in a variety of clever phrases and expressions that can be used on many occasions.

Enjoy! 

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