Temple Aliyah Presents TONIGHT! A musical for Rosh Hashanah

Take a peek inside Temple Aliyah to see last minute preparations the morning of Erev Rosh Hashanah. 

This parody of West Side Story's Tonight, featuring Rabbi Stewart Vogel, Rabbi Ben Goldstein, Hazzan Michael Stein and Hazzan Mimi Haselkorn, takes a somewhat satirical look at synagogue life from the inside. Some might call it overly utopian... 

But that's just everyday life at Temple Aliyah, a Conservative synagogue in Woodland Hills, California.

Enjoy! 

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Written and directed by Ben Vorspan, Director of Communications.

A Joke to Start the Week - "New Man in the Neighborhood"

In just a few days we'll be celebrating Rosh Hashanah, but there's still time to fit in a quick joke to get the week off to a good start. 

Here's another one from Bob Epstein, the New York City school system assistant principal who gave us a bunch of jokes when we were performing Jewish humor programs at the Eisenberg Berkshire Hills Adult Vacation Center during the summer.

Here's the setup:  This woman is sitting on a bench in Miami and a gentleman walks over and she hadn't seen him before. And then...

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

The Great Israeli Singing Groups: Chocolate, Menta, Mastik Sings "B'Rosh Hashanah"

Chocolate, Menta, Mastik (Hebrew: שוקולד מנטה מסטיק‎‎, translation: Chocolate, mint, gum) was an Israeli female musical trio, active in the 1970s, composed of Yardena Arazi, Ruthie Holzman and either Tami Azaria (1972-1973) or Leah Lupatin. All the girls served in the IDF as part of the Nahal Ensemble. 

The trio performed both in Israel and internationally, especially after being the 1976 entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in The Hague with "Emor Shalom".

In this video they sing B'Rosh Hashanah by Naomi Shemer, her most beloved New Year Song. The Hebrew lyrics and English translation appear below the video.

Enjoy!

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בראש השנה

נעמי שמר מילים ולחן: נעמי שמר
בראש השנה, בראש השנה
פרחה שושנה אצלי בגינה
בראש השנה סירה לבנה
עגנה לה בחוף פתאום

בראש השנה, בראש השנה
ליבנו ענה בתפילה נושנה
שיפה ושונה תהא השנה
אשר מתחילה לה היום

בראש השנה, בראש השנה
פרחה עננה ברקיע הסתיו
בראש השנה כנר נשמה
נדלק בשדה חצב

בראש השנה, בראש השנה
ליבנו ענה בתפילה נושנה
שיפה ושונה תהא השנה
אשר מתחילה עכשיו.

בראש השנה, בראש השנה
פרחה מנגינה שאיש לא הכיר
ותוך יממה הזמר המה
מכל חלונות העיר

בראש השנה, בראש השנה
ליבנו ענה בתפילה נושנה
שיפה ושונה תהא השנה
אשר מתחילה בשיר

On Rosh Hashanah, on Rosh Hashanah,
In my garden bloomed a rose.
On Rosh Hashanah, a white sailboat
Suddenly set anchor by the shore.

On Rosh Hashanah, on Rosh Hashanah,
Our heart responded in ancient prayer:
May the year beginning anew today
Be wonderful and special in every way.

On Rosh Hashanah, on Rosh Hashanah,
In the autumn sky bloomed a first cloud.
On Rosh Hashanah,
Rising like a memorial flame,
In the meadow bloomed the first squill.

On Rosh Hashanah, on Rosh Hashanah,
Our heart responded in ancient prayer:
May the year beginning anew today
Be wonderful and special in every way.

On Rosh Hashanah, on Rosh Hashanah,
Bloomed a melody - new and unknown,
And overnight its strains did resound
From every casement in town.

On Rosh Hashanah, on Rosh Hashanah,
Our heart responded in ancient prayer:
May the year beginning anew today
Be wonderful and special in every way.

Welcoming Shabbat with "Yedid Nefesh" by Los Angeles Cantor Shira Fox

Yedid Nefesh is a piyyut (poem) usually sung on Friday night just before the Kabbalat Shabbat (Welcoming Shabbat) service begins.
 
According to Wikipedia, this beautiful poem is commonly attributed to the sixteenth century kabbalist, Rabbi Elazar ben Moshe Azikri (1533-1600), who first published it in Sefer Charedim (published in Venice 1601), but Azikri did not claim authorship of it and there have been other suggested authors (e.g. Judah Halevi, or Israel Nagara).  
The first letters of each of the four verses make up the four letter name of God, known in English as the tetragrammaton.

The lead singer in this video is Cantor Shira Fox, the daughter of two Los Angeles cantors -- Herschel Fox, the Yiddish stand-up comedian we profiled in 2011 and his wife Judy, the cantor in the Synagogue for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles (where Joseph Telushkin is the rabbi). In this video she is joined by Deborah Jenkofsky.

This version of Yedid Nefesh was sung last month at Beit T'shuvah, a Los Angeles based synagogue community with a mission to guide individuals and families towards a path of living well, so that wrestling souls can recover from addiction and learn how to properly heal.

They also have a band, and in 2015 they recorded a Beatles Shabbat service with all the familiar songs in the Friday night liturgy sung to some of the most popular Beatles songs. We previously posted their version of Lecha Dodi set to Let it Be and V'Shamru set to Hey Jude.
   
Beit T'shuvah is led by Rabbi Mark Borovitz, described on the synagogue website as "spiritual leader, author, Senior Rabbi, ex-con, recovering alcoholic, and overall anomaly."

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Jeffrey Ross at Montreal Just For Laughs Festival

It's another Throwback Thursday, and today we're revving up the old time machine and driving it back to 1998 when Jeffrey Ross appeared at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal.

Jeff Ross (born Jeffrey Ross Lipschultz to a Jewish family in Springfield, New Jersey) is a stand-up comedian, actor, and author. His skill in doing high-profile celebrity roasts and his appearances in Comedy Central's Roasts, have led him to be dubbed "The Roastmaster General."

He has appeared in various film, television, and cartoon projects. He has made appearances at events for U.S. soldiers and directed a documentary film covering his experiences touring U.S. bases in Iraq. 

Enjoy!

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 #Throwback Thursday     #TBT
 

The Great Jewish Entertainers: Hermione Gingold - "I Remember it Well"

Continuing our series on The Great Jewish Entertainers, we're heading "across the pond" to  reminisce about one of our favorite British character actresses, Hermione Gingold.

Watching the movie musical Gigi, we especially enjoyed I Remember it Well, the spoken/sung repartee between Gingold and Maurice Chevalier.

According to Wikipedia, Gingold was born in London to a prosperous Vienna-born Jewish stockbroker James Gingold and his wife, Kate, who came from a "well-to-do Jewish family". Although she was descended from the celebrated Solomon Sulzer, a famous synagogue cantor and Jewish liturgical composer in Vienna, Gingold grew up with no particular religious beliefs.
 
After a successful career in England as a child actress, Gingold later established herself on the stage as an adult, playing in comedy, drama, radio, and revue.  From the early 1950s Gingold lived and made her career mostly in the U.S. where she played formidable elderly characters in such films and stage musicals as Gigi (1958), Bell, Book and Candle (1958), The Music Man (1962) and A Little Night Music (1973).

Here is the memorable I Remember it Well number with Chevalier. Enjoy!

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Rosh Hashana Video Countdown - Afikei Tikshoret Apple Passing

Afikei Communications is an Israeli company that specializes in guiding children and youth in various media media: animation, film, television. The company also specializes in producing films for children and youth films, while giving the children experience in filming and directing.

They also have a knack for producing funny Rosh Hashana videos. In this one, they show the journey of an apple through 33 steps before it gets dipped into honey and eaten to symbolize a sweet New Year.

Wishing you a Shana Tova u'Metukah !

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A Joke to Start the Week - "The Candle" (Yiddish with English Titles)

A month of holidays is almost here, starting with Rosh Hashanah. We're going to be lighting lots of candles for the next four weeks, and the candles will burn out on their own. But there are other times when we have a lit candle that we want to extinguish. 

This Yiddish story, The Candle, from the archives of Old Jews Telling Jokes, is less of a joke and more of a special treat. The performer, Suzanne Shepherd, is a renowned character actress and acting teacher. She is best known for her portrayal of Karen's overbearing mother in the film Goodfellas, Carmela Soprano's mother Mary De Angelis in the HBO television series The Sopranos, and the assistant school principal in Uncle Buck.

This special piece of Jewish humor is spoken entirely in Yiddish, with English subtitles.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

"If There Weren't Any Jews" - An Original Tribute to Jewish Achievement by David Zasloff

David Zasloff is a stand-up comedian, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. He has performed in a wide variety of venues throughout the United States including comedy festivals and conventions, prisons, nightclubs, universities, theaters, retirement homes, corporate events, private parties, temples, weddings, funerals, birthday parties, affairs of state, spiritual living centers, a few churches and one bris.

David has perfected the art of playing the shofar as a musical instrument. We have featured him three times before on Jewish Humor Central, playing Hatikva on the shofar, in a standup comedy routine where he plays Christmas songs written by Jews on the shofar, and as part of a Cuban Jewish ensemble in a Cuban Jewish Jazz Shabbat. 

After reading lists of Nobel Peace Prize winners and Pulitzer Prize winners David noticed that  almost all the winners were Jews. This made him proud to be Jewish. So he wrote a song about it called If There Weren't Any Jews.
 
Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Welcoming Shabbat (and Getting Ready for Rosh Hashana) with Adon Olam by the Boys Town Jerusalem Singers

As we were searching for a musical video to help us welcome Shabbat this week, we took a closer look at the calendar and realized that Rosh Hashana is only 12 days away. 

We found another new version of Adon Olam that not only gets us in the mood for Shabbat but also serves as the first in a series of Rosh Hashana music videos that we will post as soon as they come in.

This Adon Olam is sung by the Boys Town Jerusalem choir on their Jerusalem campus. Over the years we've been posting their music videos for Pesach, Rosh Hashana, Sukkot, and Chanukah.

Boys Town Jerusalem is a high school in Jerusalem, Israel which has over 900 boys from grades 7 to grade 12 and a 2 year post high school engineering program. Once the boys graduate they continue on to enlist in the IDF ( Israel Defense Forces)

More than 75% of the boys come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and require substantial scholarship assistance. No student is ever turned away from Boys Town Jerusalem due to inability to pay tuition.
We hope you enjoy their vocal and musical talents. Shabbat shalom!

  A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.