A Joke to Start the Week - "Locker Room Cellphone"

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

Here's the setup:

There are a few guys in the locker room of a golf club and they just finished showering when a cellphone on a bench starts to ring. Sheldon picks it up and says "Hello." And he hears a woman's voice, and then...

Enjoy!

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Comedian Steve Solomon's Jewish Grandmother Teaches Kosher Laws to His Italian Mother

Steve Solomon is one of America's best story tellers and dialecticians. He delivers his comedy built around the premise that his mother is Italian and his father is Jewish. That's the perfect setup for delivery of a barrage of nonstop jokes and situations involving multiple dialects.

We saw his show My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish, and I'm in Therapy in Florida in February. The show originally opened off-Broadway in 2006, and he has been performing it in many locations ever since.
 
His show has been called one part lasagna, one part kreplach and two parts Prozac. Solomon wrote and stars in this one-man show, combining comic voices, sound effects and astounding characterizations to tell stories of the wacky side of the human condition.

In this excerpt he tells about how his Jewish grandmother tried to teach his Italian mother the rules of keeping kosher.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Shalom Aleichem by Georgian Folk Group

Geo Folk Tour is a music and touristic project which hosts musical tours around Georgia,

accompanied by Georgian Polyphony. How they came to sing Shalom Aleichem is anybody's guess, but we accept it as another example of Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places.

They posted it on YouTube to mark recognition of Georgians' and Jews' relationship

as a subject of intangible cultural heritage with wishes to Israel for a Happy Independence Day.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

 

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Caesar's Writers Remember Picking the Funniest Number

Caesar's Writers was a two hour reunion of writers from Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, that took place on January 24, 1996 at the Writer's Guild theater in Los Angeles.

In this clip from the reunion, Neil Simon explains why he titled his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor, and Carl Reiner recalls the writers trying to come up with the funniest number for a roulette wheel sketch with Imogene Coca.

Enjoy! 

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Hevenu Shalom Aleichem Flashmob Greets Birthright Arrivals in Tel Aviv

On May 24, 2018, 2,000 young Jews from around the world arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv as part of Birthright Israel's 18th year.

Marking 85 years of activity, the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance decided to celebrate Israel's 70th anniversary and surprise them with a very warm welcome.

And they were surprised and happy to see the dancers and singers rejoice in Hevenu Shalom Aleichem. 

Enjoy!

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The Jewish Roots of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head

Did you ever hear of Henry, Herman and Hillel Hassenfeld? The three Polish-Jewish immigrant brothers were legendary in the world of toys back in 1952 when they sold the first of millions of Mr. Potato Head, and later, his mate, Mrs. Potato Head.

The Hassenfeld Brothers formed a company that they called Hasbro, now the world's third largest toy company. 

As Avishay Artsy wrote in Jewniverse,

Hassenfeld Brothers sold the first Mr. Potato Head as a kit of facial parts. It came with a Styrofoam head and instructions that suggested using real vegetables and fruits instead. After parents complained about rotting vegetables and new government safety regulations restricted toys with sharp pieces, Hasbro began selling the plastic potato body in 1964.

Mr. Potato Head was the first toy to be advertised on television, and it sold more than a million units in its first year. The next year Mrs. Potato Head was introduced, followed by Brother Spud and Sister Yam, along with cars, trailers and other accessories.

Mr. Potato Head has become an American cultural staple. And it all started with vegetables in a Brooklyn kitchen.

Here is one of the first black and white TV commercials for Mr. Potato Head.
 
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A Joke to Start the Week - "The Anniversary Wish"

It's a new Monday, and time for another joke to start the week. 

Here's the setup: Sheldon and Marlene are both 65 years old and they're celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. They have a big party in their back yard, and then...

Enjoy! 

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OU Certifies Kosher Impossible Cheeseburger, But Where Can You Find It?

According to the website of the Orthodox Union, the kosher certification agency has given its certification to the Impossible Burger, a meatless creation that mimics the taste and look of a beefburger and even "bleeds" like the real thing.

The OU website says:

As kosher Jews, the cheese burger, or even eating dairy following a burger, have always been off limits. That is, until Tuesday, May 22, when Impossible Foods partnered with the OU to certify their Impossible Burgers as OU Kosher’s newest kosher products.
The Impossible Foods Company differentiates itself from other vegetarian companies by making especially authentic tasting meat, cheese and fish that can fool even the sharpest tongues.

The Impossible Burger, their first kosher product, is made using wheat, coconut oil, potatoes, and special ingredient, Heme, a molecule that gives the burger its meaty taste. Heme contains iron and can be found in every single plant and animal. The Heme molecule in plant based Heme is identical to the Heme molecule found in meat. That’s what allows for the richness of the Impossible Burger.

What chefs say differentiates the Impossible Burger from other veggie burgers is simple: the Impossible Burger really does bleed like a meat-based burger.

“Getting Kosher certification is an important milestone,” said Impossible Foods CEO and Founder Dr. Patrick O. Brown. “We want the Impossible Burger to be ubiquitous, and that means it must be affordable and accessible to everyone–including people who have food restrictions for religious reasons.”

With this meat free technology, kosher Jews can finally enjoy a burger with whatever toppings they want, including cheese!

It sounds great, but where can you find it? It's not yet available in supermarkets -- only in select (so far not kosher) restaurants. According to Dani Klein, creator of the YeahThat'sKosher website, the only kosher restaurant that carries the product is Shilo's in Los Angeles.

The downside?
Shiloh’s is a meat restaurant.

Much of the excitement for the Impossible Burger was to mimic the taste and texture of real meat and add real cheese for a near-authentic cheeseburger. Shiloh’s can’t offer that unfortunately.

Numerous kosher restaurants around the country are testing the Impossible Burger in their restaurants, and YeahThatsKosher will be updated as more kosher places add this hot new item to the menu.

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Welcoming Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh with Psalm 104 by the Yamma Ensemble

On this Shabbat, we say Birkat Hachodesh, the blessing for the upcoming month of Tammuz, which falls on Wednesday and Thursday. On these days it is customary to add the Borchi Nafshi prayer at the end of the morning service.

To get into the mood, today we're sharing a musical version of this prayer performed by the Yamma Ensemble, Israel’s leading delicate world music ensemble. They present original contemporary Hebrew music that remains true to the character of the Middle East, the region where they were born and raised. 

The soulful, exotic music is accompanied by ancient musical instruments (kopuz, duduk, hand drums), which are typical of the Middle East.

In addition to this unique art, Yamma also performs the traditional music and material of the various Jewish diasporas. Songs of the Jewish communities from Yemen, Babylon, and Sepharad, as well as Hasidic music, with the fascinating forms and rhythms that have been preserved by generations of Jewish traditions. 

The song begins with a long instrumental introduction, with the lyrics and subtitles coming in around the two minute mark.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom. 

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Throwback Thursday Special: Groucho Marx Steals the Show on "What's My Line?"

Today we're turning the clock back 60 years to 1958 when Groucho Marx was 68 years old. He was a panelist on the popular show "What's My Line?" with Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, and Dorothy Kilgallen.

Host John Daly introduced a guest named Judy Grable whose line was professional wrestling. Cerf started off by observing that she was a blonde and that got Groucho started. And he kept going strong throughout the segment.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday   #TBT