Fiddler Cast Sings "God Bless America" in Yiddish

Lisa Fishman and Ben Liebert, members of the cast of the Off-Broadway hit, "Fiddler on the Roof" in Yiddish, conceived and co-produced a performance of "God Bless America" sung in Yiddish. It features the show's director, Academy and Tony Award-winning actor, Joel Grey, along with Steven Skybell, who starred as Tevye. Yiddish was one of the two native tongues of Irving Berlin, who wrote the iconic anthem.

“God Bless America” was originally written in 1918 for a musical revue by Irving Berlin, a Jewish immigrant born Israel Beilin, while Berlin was in the U.S. Army. Deciding the song didn’t fit the tone of the revue, the song was set aside. 

Twenty years later in 1938 with the rise of Adolf Hitler and fascism, Berlin revisited and revised the song and released it as a prayer for the country and a patriotic song of peace. “God Bless America” was introduced on an Armistice Day broadcast in 1938, sung by Kate Smith. 

The Yiddish version of the song being presented by the cast, entitled “Got Bentsh Amerike,” was originally translated by producer, musicologist, performer and Yiddish Radio Project co-creator, Henry Sapoznik, who worked on Yiddish translations for Mandy Patinkin’s album, Mamaloshen.  

The video features Steven Skybell, the award-winning actor who played Tevye in Fiddler in Yiddish, along with Jennifer Babiak, Samantha Hahn, Ben Liebert, Stephanie Lynne Mason, Rosie Jo Neddy, Raquel Nobile, Drew Seigla, and Rachel Zatcoff. The production also includes a special message by  Joel Grey. 

Additional Fiddler cast members appearing in the video (from both the Museum of Jewish Heritage production along with the Off-Broadway, Stage 42 production) include: Joanne Borts, Josh Dunn, Michael Einav, Lisa Fishman, Kirk Geritano, John Giesige, Lydia Gladstone, Abby Goldfarb, Mary Illes, Josh Kohane, Maya Jacobson, Moshe Lobel, Evan Mayer, Jonathan Quigley, Nick Raynor, Bruce Sabath, Kayleen Seidl, Adam B. Shapiro, Jodi Snyder, James Monroe Stevko, Ron Tal, Bobby Underwood, and Mikhl Yashinsky. 

The video also features Lauren Thomas, who played the titular role in Fiddler, on violin, along with the show’s clarinetist, Zisl Slepovitch, on piano. 

Enjoy!

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A tip of the kippah to Stan Lieberman for bringing this video to our attention.

Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi with a Special Melody for the Days of the Omer

With Pesach in the rear view mirror, we return to our regular Friday posting of liturgical melodies from the Kabbalat Shabbat and Shabbat services. 

This week we came across a version of Lecha Dodi with a melody that's used only for the days between Pesach and Shavuot, the days of counting the Omer. 

It's sung by Hazzan Elisheva Dienstfrey. A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Hazzan Dienstfrey is the cantor at Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia. In addition to her usual cantorial duties at Agudas Achim, Hazzan Dienstfrey has been a member of the Executive Council of the Cantors Assembly, and an enthusiastic leader of the Agudas Achim house band, Ein Lanu Z’man (www.einlanuzman.com), We Have No Time.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Marking Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day - with the Theme from "Schindler's List"

There are very few days in the year when we don't post jokes or funny anecdotes, and today is one of them.  

Tonight and tomorrow we commemorate Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. It's not a day for Jewish humor, but it can be and should be a day to recognize acts of bravery and compassion of Jews and non-Jews who saved lives in those troubled days of the 20th century.

The essence of heroic resistance was captured in Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Schindler's List and the haunting theme that recurs during the film.

This recording of the Schindler's List theme was made for the 2021 Rochester Jewish Federation Yom Hashoah Holocaust Remembrance ceremony. Due to Covid safety rules, the event was moved fully online this year. The performers are Shannon Nance, Assistant Concert Master in the Rochester Philharmonic and Bob Sneider, Jazz Guitar Professor at the Eastman School of Music.  

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Language App Duolingo Gives Free Bagel and Schmear to Customers Who Order in Yiddish

In celebration of the addition of Yiddish to their popular most downloaded education app worldwide—Duolingo partnered with bagel shops in five cities to offer a free bagel yesterday to anyone who attempted to order the Jewish dietary staple in the Yiddish dialect. And of course, these bagels came with a free schmear because, just like the word bagel, the term schmear also comes from Yiddish.

To order, customers had to give their best attempt at saying 'Ken ikh hubn a baygl mit shmirkeyz' or in English, 'I would like a bagel with schmear,'" the announcement explained. But even customers who were close enough were given a free breakfast from Duolingo.

The five participating shops were:

• New York City: Katz's Deli (205 E Houston St.)
• Los Angeles: Factor's Famous Deli (420 W Pico Blvd.)
• Chicago: Manny's Cafeteria & Deli (1141 S Jefferson St.)
• Miami: Zak The Baker (295 NW 26th St.)
• Pittsburgh: Pigeon Bagels (5613 Hobart St.)

Yiddish is the 40th language Duolingo offers, and the company says that though Yiddish was once spoken by as many as 13 million people, around 600,000 still speak the traditionally Ashkenazi Jewish language to this day. "Yiddish is spoken all around the world, and even if you've never heard of the language before, we bet you probably already know some Yiddish words," the company wrote.

Here's a report from a local New York TV station on the morning action at Katz's Deli.

Enjoy!

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Yiddish Comedians Walk into a Zoom: Allen Lewis Rickman and Yelena Shmulenson in a Classic Comedy Routine

Last July the Forward posted some Jewish comedy in their series #ForwardFocus: Talks in Trying Times. Hosted by Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter, the session included a sketch by Yiddish actors Allen Lewis Rickman and Yelena Shmulenson. 

The setup for the sketch: A Jewish immigrant who is fond of cantorial music overhears a conversation about a new cantor named Yankel who is performing in the Bronx. He rushes onto the subway to hear his concert. Of course there is no cantor -- what he thought he heard as Yankel was really the Yankees who were playing a baseball game in Yankee Stadium. 

Rickman acts out the role of the immigrant who knows nothing about baseball and is excited to be swept up in what he thinks is an enthusiastic crowd for the cantor but is just Yankee fans headed for the stadium. He spins his story entirely in Yiddish, with Shmulenson translating sentence by sentence into English.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Real Estate Empire"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one to share with you. Here's the setup:  Morris Schwartz is on his deathbed. He's with his nurse, his wife, his daughter and his two sons. And then...

Enjoy!

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Moroccan Jews Celebrate the End of Passover with Mimouna Festival

This weekend marks the end of Passover. In Israel this Shabbat is the last day of the holiday, and in the rest of the world Pesach ends on Sunday night.

If you're like us, you'll spend the night putting away Pesach dishes and restoring the kitchen to the way it was before five pound boxes of matza and all the other Passover stuff found its way into the house.

But Jews of Moroccan and North African origin have a fun way of ending the holiday by celebrating the Mimouna festival just as Passover ends, continuing into the next day. With singing, dancing, and a dazzling array of sweet pastries, it's catching on in Israel and spreading into mainstream Israeli culture.

In Morocco, neighbors travel to each other’s houses, and it is customary to leave all doors open to welcome any possible guests. Tables are laden with symbols to ensure a good year: blossoming spring flowers, fish for abundance and fertility, and dates sweetened with honey to inspire an equally sweet life. The next day, festivities continue with barbecues, picnics, and large gatherings.

Let's join a Mimouna festival that Israel TV reported on last year. We wish you a happy ending to the week of Pesach. We'll be observing two days of Yom Tov so Jewish Humor Central is taking a break until Monday when we'll be back with our usual mix, including a Joke to Start the Week.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Smith and Dale Argue About a Bargain on The Ed Sullivan Show

It's another Throwback Thursday and today we're turning the clock back 69 years to 1952 for a skit that Smith and Dale performed on The Ed Sullivan Show.

In this skit Smith and Dale argue about a $2.85 bargain radio on sale at Gimbels department store.

Joe Smith (originally Joseph Seltzer) and Charlie Dale (originally Charles Marks) grew up in the Jewish ghettos of New York City. Many of the famous comic performers of vaudeville, radio and movies came from the same place and the same era, including Gallagher and Shean, George Burns, Eddie Cantor, George Jessel and The Marx Brothers. 

Seltzer and Marks met as teenagers in 1898 and formed a partnership. They named their act "Smith and Dale" because a local printer gave them a good deal on business cards reading "Smith and Dale" (intended for a vaudeville team that had dissolved). Joe Seltzer became Joe Smith, and Charlie Marks became Charlie Dale.

During the 1920s, they became famous for their signature sketch "Doctor Kronkheit and His Only Living Patient," which like "Who's on First?" for Abbott and Costello, became one of the famous comedy sketches of the 20th century. The name of the doctor is an inside joke: Smith and Dale, both being Jewish, named the physician Kronkheit, which is Yiddish and German for "sickness". Thus we have a doctor named "Dr. Sickness". Indeed a hospital in German is called a Krankenhaus, or literally "sick house".

Enjoy!

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Chicken Soup: The Story of Jewish Penicillin

Now that we're into the fourth day of Passover, have you had your fill of chicken soup with matzo balls? Probably not, since this quintessential Jewish dish has found a place in American cuisine far beyond its original presence on the Pesach table. 

This week CBS Sunday Morning had a special segment on Chicken Soup: The Story of Jewish Penicillin that traced its origins and validated its place as a treatment for colds and other ailments.

For centuries chicken soup has been prescribed by grandmothers and doctors alike for all manner of ailments, but many believe there really is evidence to support the prescription. Correspondent Nancy Giles talked with food historian and cookbook author Joan Nathan, and with New York's 2nd Ave. Deli owner Jack Lebewohl and executive chef David Teyf about the universal love for chicken soup.

Enjoy!

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Mix a "Passover in a Glass" Cocktail with Maggid Jhos Singer

After two days of Passover feasting we bet you've enjoyed a delicious variety of Pesach meals and culinary delights, but have you tasted a cocktail made from matza, Manischewitz wine, and karpas?

Maggid Jhos Singer of San Francisco's Jewish Community Center is a mixologist who created a special kosher cocktail that combines key elements of the seder.

Maggid Jhos Singer received ordination/semicha from Rabbi Gershon Winkler in 2002, and has served the Coastside Jewish Community in Half Moon Bay, California, as their rabbi/maggid since 2000. Jhos holds a degree in music from UCLA and when he isn’t preaching to the flock he is playing and singing with them.

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Welcoming Shabbat with Shalom Aleichem by Central Synagogue's Rabbi and Cantor

As we welcome the last Shabbat before Passover, we're interrupting our series of Pesach videos to make room for a new version of Shalom Aleichem, sung by Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Cantor Julia Cadrain of New York City's Central Synagogue.

 This year in the Diaspora we are experiencing a three-day holiday weekend with Passover and its two sedarim coming right after Shabbat. We'll be with our family attending the sedarim Saturday night and Sunday night and remote services on Sunday and Monday. Jewish Humor Central will be back on Tuesday with more Passover videos.

Wishing you and your families a Chag Kasher v'Sameach!

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Passover Videos: The Maccabeats Take Us Through the Seder Finale

In 2010 The Maccabeats, an a cappella group from Yeshiva University, released their first Hanukkah music video, Candlelight, and every Hanukkah (and other holidays) since then we've seen many more videos by them and lots of other groups.

 Originally formed in 2007 as Yeshiva University’s student vocal group, the Maccabeats have recently emerged as both Jewish music and a cappella phenomena,  with a large fan base, more than 20 million views on YouTube, numerous TV appearances, and proven success with three albums, 2010′s Voices From The Heights, 2012′s Out Of The Box and 2014′s One Day More.

Many of the songs are parodies of pop hits, but this Pesach we're sharing their latest hit, a musical trip through the seder finale with traditional seder melodies. Starting with Chasal Siddur Pesach (Nirtzah) we revisit L'Shana Ha'Ba'ah BiYerushalayim, Ki Lo Naeh, Adir Hu, Echad Mi Yodeah and Chad Gadya.

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Passover Videos: "Red Sea Shanty: A Pirate Passover" by Six13

Six13 is a groundbreaking, six-man a cappella vocal band that brings an unprecedented style of Jewish music to the stage, with songs ranging from hip-hop dance tracks to rock anthems. The members of the New York City-based group sound like a full band – while using nothing but their voices.

They’re driven by a mission to connect Jews around the globe with their heritage through music, anchored by a strong Jewish identity, and fueled by thumping beatbox, intricate arrangements, and soulful harmonies.

Last Pesach we shared Six13's  A Lion King Passover, in which they harmonize singing original Pesach-related lyrics to Circle of Life, I Just Can't Wait to be King, and Hakuna Matata, hit songs from The Lion King.

This year they're giving us Passover​ on the high seas, diving right in to the sea shanty craze -- and dropping anchor and celebrating freedom with a hearty round of sailing songs including The Wellerman, Drunken Sailor, and the theme from Gilligan's Island.

Enjoy! 

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(A tip of the kippah to Mannie Young, who brought this video to our attention.)

Here Come the Passover Videos: Aish HaTorah Breakdances into The Weeknd

No, we didn't leave out the letter "e" in Weekend. The Weeknd is the name of a Ethiopian-Canadian pop singer who has won many music awards. We had never heard of him until he showed up as the halftime act in the Superbowl last month.

But Aish HaTorah did hear his music, and adapted it into a Passover video released just yesterday.

Aish HaTorah, the Israel-based outreach organization, has been using breakdancing as a vehicle for spreading their message. Ten years ago they collaborated with a professional breakdance group to record a popular Rosh Hashanah video greeting. This year it looks like they've learned the moves as they create a new breakdance video set to music by The Weeknd.

Headquartered in Jerusalem near the Western Wall, Aish.com is a division of Aish HaTorah, an apolitical network of Jewish educational centers in 35 branches on five continents. This partnership enables Aish.com users to experience the richness of community at an Aish branch.
 
The name Aish HaTorah literally means "Fire of Torah." As Elie Weisel said: "Aish HaTorah means to me the passion of teaching, the passion of learning. The study of Torah, the source of Jewish values, is the way to Jewish survival."

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Day - "Special Diet"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. This week we're posting another 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 we're sharing one of the family-friendly ones with you today. 

Here's the setup: A doctor comes in to his patient and says "I"ve got bad news for you. The tests came back and you've got COVID, TB, and leprosy.  And then...

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Passover Videos: Marcus Freed in The Hebrew Hamilton - A Biblical Epic

We're in a six day countdown until the Passover seder, so expect some Passover videos this week. Today we're starting with The Hebrew Hamilton - A Biblical Epic by Marcus Freed.

A trained actor, Marcus performed his Biblical comic plays in over 20 countries and appeared in the movie Saving Lincoln. His latest production is based on the Broadway show Hamilton and retells the Pesach story in choreographed rap.

A student of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l, Marcus dedicates this production to his late teacher.

Enjoy!

Havdalah with Congregation Beth Sholom of Teaneck

On Fridays we usually post a musical welcome to Shabbat with a version of Shalom Aleichem, Lecha Dodi, or Adon Olam. But this week we're skipping to the end of Shabbat and continuing the series of Havdalah services that we started in 2017. 

 

Because we don't post on Shabbat, we haven't been paying much attention to the closing minutes of Shabbat, when beautiful melodies are sung as part of Havdalah, the ceremony marking the transition from the holiness of Shabbat to the work week.

But there's a rich lode of musical endings to Shabbat, and Havdalah ceremonies around the world reflect the traditional and local musical tastes of each location.

Here's a video to save for tomorrow night at the conclusion of Shabbat. Playing it after dark will give us a reminder of the sweet taste of Shabbat and energize us to face the challenges of the coming week.   

For this Havdalah service we don't have to travel far. This version comes to us from Congregation Beth Sholom in Teaneck, New Jersey. The lead singer is Cantor Ronit Wolff Hanan.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Nostalgia: Mel Brooks as a Waiter at the Last Supper

One of Mel Brooks' funniest bits is a scene from his 1981 film A History of the World: Part 1, in which Brooks, in the role of a waiter, is assigned to serve a group attending a private supper in Jerusalem.

He enters the room to find Jesus and his disciples sitting around a long table. Oblivious to the background of the diners and unsuspecting of the significance of what would later be seen as a seminal event, he asks for their dinner orders and whether the diners want separate checks.

When Leonardo da Vinci enters to capture the Last Supper in the famous painting, Brooks manages to insert himself into the picture.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Israel's Comic Renny Grinshpan Sends a Love Letter from Tel Aviv

We're holding on to our airline tickets to Israel, just waiting for the pandemic to be over so we can once again fly to one of our favorite places. In the meantime, we're sharing a love letter from Tel Aviv sent by Israeli comic exploring the city that never sleeps. 

Let's visit Tel-Aviv's authentic shuk and enjoy the city's stunning shores with this comic sensation as our guide. And find out just how much Israel is missing its visitors.

Enjoy!

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Yiddish Word of the Day: Righteous People

Last year the Forverts launched a daily 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 2020. Now that the Forverts is continuing the series, we're
sharing some of the words and phrases as a regular feature of Jewish Humor Central.

Today we'll look at the Yiddish words for righteous people and some proverbs based on them.
 
Enjoy! 

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Split Decision"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one to share with you. Here's the setup: Four rabbis are arguing about a very obscure point in the Bible. They go on for an hour, two hours. Then they finally call a vote. And then...

Enjoy!

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Comedy Special: Yoely on the Meghan Markle Mishegas

We've been following the career and shtick of comedian Modi Rosenfeld ever since we started Jewish Humor Central in 2009. Whether it's his standup comedy or clever skits and short films, he always leaves us laughing. With comedy clubs closed during the coronavirus lockdowns, Modi has had to find new ways of reaching his audience.

As Brianna Kovit wrote in the Long Island Press, 

Since 1999 when he left his position as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch to pursue comedy full time, Modi has been constantly booked for shows across the country.

Like many performers right now, the stay-at-home order has forced Modi to remain home in New York City for longer than he has in the last 20 years. Without a face-to-face audience, Modi has turned to social media to fuel his creativity and engage with his followers.

Modi’s breakout quarantine success came from a new character he created called “Yoely.” In this character, Modi appealed to his niche Jewish following with a comedic take on a Hasidic man reacting to mainstream trends while in quarantine.

With a new administration in place in Washington, Yoely has been appointed (or appointed himself) as Secretary of Simcha, In that role, Yoely has reacted to the Oprah Winfrey interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Here's his take on the Meghan Markle Mishegas.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Veshamru by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried and Atalya Lavi in Tel Aviv

Rabbi Esteban Gottfried is the rabbi, co-founder and director of Beit Tefilah Israeli (BTI), a fast-growing community in Tel Aviv that is renewing and revitalizing the notion of prayer. Services at BTI combine live music, modern poetry and literature with the traditional prayer book. 

In recent years BTI became famous for its Summer Kabbalat Shabbat service at the Tel Aviv port, which attracts up to 800 worshippers each week. This phenomenon—attracting many secular Israelis who once felt marginalized by the Jewish community—is now being replicated in Jerusalem and throughout Israel.

In this video, Rabbi Gottfried and Atalya Lavi sing Veshamru, from the Shabbat service. 

Atalya has been singing from a very young age. When she was in the army she was chosen as the lead singer in the IDF orchestra. After her military service she continued on to major in music in Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. Since 2009 she has been performing all around Israel and abroad. 

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Groucho and Chico Marx in Password Scene from "Horse Feathers"

It's another Throwback Thursday and we're going back to 1932 (that's 89 years ago!) to laugh at the password scene from Horse Feathers, a Marx Brothers comedy starring Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo.

Horse Feathers, a wacky comedy about college football and and how eligibility rules are stretched by collegiate athletic departments. The film has many references to Prohibition. Groucho plays a college president and Chico plays an "iceman", who delivers ice and bootleg liquor from a local speakeasy.

The term "horse feathers" was a colloquial American expression for "nonsense" in the 1920s and 1930s but is now archaic.

In this scene Chico is guarding the speakeasy and Groucho is trying to get in. The password for entry is "Swordfish". This sequence degenerates into a series of puns.

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.

  

   #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Buddy Hackett Pays a Surprise Visit to David Letterman

Whenever we hear the word "wacky" the first name that comes to mind is Buddy Hackett. Probably the funniest comedian to hit the nightclub and TV circuit, Buddy had a way of making you laugh by just making eye contact.

Buddy's video clips are getting harder to find on the internet, but over the years we've managed to share 18 of them with you that don't go into blue territory.

We're ever on the alert for unshared moments and we have one for you today. In 1984 (that's 37 years ago) Buddy did a surprise walk-on in the middle of David Letterman's late night TV show and the audience loved it.

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.

 

YidLife Crisis Meets Elon Gold at Montreal Airport for "ADARABLE" Funny Jewish National Fund Commercial

ADARABLE is a special presentation in honor of the festive Jewish month of Adar and a world in quarantine. YidLife Crisis comedians Chaimie and Laizer (Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion) start out doing a commercial for the Canadian Jewish National Fund. 

They end up meeting fellow comedian Elon Gold in an empty Montreal airport.In their opening sequence and later at the airport they have fun with Amazon, JNF blue boxes, paper tree certificates and Bar Mitzvah certificates, with lots of puns.

With Gold they have some Jewish National FUN with comparisons of Israel and Disneyland.

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.

A Joke to Start the Week - "Home Therapy"

It's Monday again, and time for another Joke to Start the Week. 

We're always surfing the internet and looking for new jokes. Of course we know there are no new Jewish jokes, but there are different ways of telling the old ones, and each joke teller has a unique way of getting to the punch line.

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need for humor to put us in a better mood as we gradually find our way back to normalcy. The rise of Zoom and other live streaming technologies have made it easier for organizations to present humorous programs to reach large audiences. 

Last September the Gold Coast Arts Center in Great Neck, New York sponsored a book talk with author Joseph Telushkin about his book Jewish Humor: What the Best Jewish Jokes Say About the Jews.

Rabbi Telushkin, named by Talk magazine as one of the 50 best speakers in the United States, is the prolific and scholarly author of many books that have been hailed by leading figures in politics, religion, ethics, values, social action, and humor, among the topics that he has covered in his writings. He has written for television, including programs for PBS, CNN, ABC TV; as well as film. He appeared in a CNN eight-part documentary on The History of Comedy in America broadcast in early 2017. In that same year, he was the featured speaker before a live audience of 1,800 people speaking on The Best Jewish Jokes and What They Show About the Human Condition.

Here's Rabbi Telushkin, in an excerpt from his talk, telling a classic Jewish joke. 

Here's the setup: Goldstein has been in therapy for ten years, seeing his therapist an average of twice a week. 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.