Thursday, October 31, 2013

Classic Chassidic Comedy: Siddur Finger - A Synagogue Hazard. Is It Covered By Obamacare?


Mendy Pellin is our favorite Chassidic comedian. We've been running his shtick for four years, and he keeps inventing new routines, from his Mendy Report on Chabad TV to the comedy midrash he created on the Jewbellish site that he co-founded recently.

We discovered another one of Mendy's gems from a few years back that may raise concerns about the comprehensiveness of medical coverage. We haven't been able to find out whether the new insurance plans that are in compliance with the Affordable Care Act provide full coverage for treatment of this blood clot disorder.

In this video Mendy focuses on Siddur Finger,or index avascular necrosis, a condition that arises when a synagogue congregant holds the place in the siddur with his finger while also holding a chumash during a Torah reading and rabbi's sermon which can last an hour or more. He explains that keeping the finger in this position for an extended period could leave the finger as flat as gum on the asphalt of the subway system.

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.)  


Wednesday, October 30, 2013

EXCLUSIVE On-Site Report! Best In Show and Unusual New Products From Kosherfest 2013


Hickory smoked beef brisket, beautifully hand decorated wine bottles, breaded chicken fries, flavored panini with grill marks, pizza cones, and a haggadah in the shape of a wine bottle.
 
These are some of the prize winning and unusual products on display yesterday and today for the thousands of visitors representing all aspects of the food industry at Kosherfest 2013 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey.
 
More than 325 exhibitors lining both sides of seven aisles are vying  for the attention of visitors (trade only -- but some kiddush aficionados seem to have found their way into the hall) who try to manage noshing and stuffing literature into the bags provided by some vendors (and rolling suitcases brought by attendees).  And there's plenty to nosh and to stuff.  

Some of the samples are meat, some are dairy, and some are pareve.  But all three types are scattered around the show floor, so anyone trying to keep kosher has to make careful choices.

The vendors are hoping that visitors will make bulk purchases, and some of the newer, smaller, and foreign companies exhibiting for the first time are hoping to find distributors who will bring their wares to your local supermarket.

If you love kiddush, can make a case for being in some kind of food-related business, have a few hours to spare and don't mind walking half a mile to a parking lot, this is the place for you.  It's still open all day today, Wednesday, from 10 am to 4 pm.  The on-site registration fee is $80.

We interviewed a few of the exhibitors and got closeups of some of the more unusual delicacies in this video for you to savor.  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.)


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah Takes New Form With Russian Ballet


One of the most popular songs of Leonard Cohen -- Canadian poet, philosopher, musician, singer, songwriter, and novelist -- is his Hallelujah

The song was released in 1984 and had limited initial success, but found greater popularity in 1991, and since has been performed by almost 200 artists in various languages,

We featured the song a number of times in Jewish Humor Central, as performed in Israeli song contests, by Cohen in a Tel Aviv concert in 2009, and by Yeshiva University's Maccabeats (with different lyrics).

Earlier this year, the song was the basis of a performance by a ballet troupe in the city of Podolsk, Russia. It's this performance that we're posting today.

The song has always been as enigmatic as Cohen himself, and he never gave a detailed explanation of its meaning.  In 1988 interviewer John McKenna wrote about the song after a session with Cohen.in Ireland.

Here is what he wrote about Cohen's background followed by a sort of explanation by the songwriter himself.
McKenna: Leonard Cohen was born into a Jewish family in Montreal in 1934. Yet his influences come also from the Catholic and Protestant communities of that city. And perhaps its that cosmopolitan background that gives him an intriguing angle, particularly on biblical history. In the song Hallelujah, he draws on a wonderfully and subversively passionate passage in the second book of Samuel. It happened towards evening when David had risen from his couch and was strolling on the palace roof that he saw from the roof a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful. David made enquiries about this woman and was told 'why that is Bethsheba, Allion's daughter, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.' Then David sent messengers and had her brought. She came to him and he slept with her. Now she had just purified herself from her courses. She then went home again. The woman conceived and sent word to David - 'I am with child'.

In the song there's the baffled king, David, and there's the baffled singer, Leonard Cohen, in search of the lost chord that certainly pleased the lord and might possibly please the woman. And there's the original story too, reduced now to the domestic and physical situation that it was and always is. Bethsheba may have broken the throne, but she also tied David to a kitchen chair. Delilah did something similar. There's more to be learned from the bible than God's dealing with the human race. There's also the dealings of women with men. There's the hard fact that nothing can be reconciled - at least not here.
Cohen: Finally there's no conflict between things, finally everything is reconciled but not where we live. This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled but there are moments when we can transcend the dualistic system and reconcile and embrace the whole mess and that's what I mean by Hallelujah. That regardless of what the impossibility of the situation is, there is a moment when you open your mouth and you throw open your arms and you embrace the thing and you just say 'Hallelujah! Blessed is the name.' And you can't reconcile it in any other way except in that position of total surrender, total affirmation.
We enjoyed the ballet performance and hope that you will, too.

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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.)


Monday, October 28, 2013

A Joke to Start the Week - "Fiddler"


Here comes another Monday, and another joke to start the week. 

Richard Levine, an 80-year-old retired label printer for clinical drug studies, is a prolific joke teller. He has participated in many joke telling competitions and is well represented in the Old Jews Telling Jokes collection.

Today Richard's joke takes us to the Broadway stage. Here's the setup: 

Murray takes his 90-year-old mother to see Fiddler on the Roof. She's never seen it before. She's from the old country. So he takes her in a limousine and then...

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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.)

Sunday, October 27, 2013

90-Year-Old Jewish Holocaust Survivor Makes Symphony Debut With Yo-Yo Ma


A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor made his orchestral debut with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma last week to benefit a foundation dedicated to preserving the work of artists and musicians killed by the Nazis.

As reported by the Associated Press, Ma and George Horner received floral bouquets and a standing ovation from their audience of about 1,000 people in Boston's Symphony Hall. They appeared to enjoy their evening, chatting briefly between numbers and walking off the stage hand-in-hand after taking a bow together.

Before the performance, Ma and Horner met and embraced ahead of a brief rehearsal. Ma thanked Horner for helping the Terezin Music Foundation, named for the town of Terezin, site of an unusual Jewish ghetto in what was then German-occupied Czechoslovakia. Even amid death and hard labor, Nazi soldiers there allowed prisoners to stage performances.

They played music composed 70 years ago when Horner was incarcerated.

"It's an extraordinary link to the past," said concert organizer Mark Ludwig, who leads the foundation.

Horner played piano and accordion in the Terezin cabarets, including tunes written by fellow inmate Karel Svenk. On Tuesday, Horner played two of Svenk's works solo — a march and a lullaby — and then teamed up with Ma for a third piece called "How Come the Black Man Sits in the Back of the Bus?"

Svenk did not survive the genocide. But his musical legacy has, due in part to a chance meeting of Ludwig, a scholar of Terezin composers, and Horner, who never forgot the songs that were written and played in captivity.

Still, Ludwig found it hard to ask Horner to perform pieces laden with such difficult memories.

"To ask somebody who ... played this in the camps, that's asking a lot," said Ludwig.

Yet Horner, a retired doctor who lives near Philadelphia, readily agreed to what he described as a "noble" mission. It didn't hurt that he would be sharing the stage with Ma — even if he thought Ludwig was joking at first.

"I told him, 'Do you want me to swallow that one?'" Horner recalled with a laugh. "I couldn't believe it because it's a fantastic thing for me."

Ma said before the performance that he hoped it will inspire people to a better future.


In this video, NBC's Brian Williams introduces a short summary of the event.

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Friday, October 25, 2013

An Unorthodox Shabbat-by-the-Sea in Tel Aviv


Shabbat is observed around the world in many ways, traditional and untraditional. For the past seven years, about 1,000 people have gathered on the beach in Tel Aviv at sunset each Friday evening in the summer months for a joyous Kabbalat Shabbat (welcoming of the Sabbath) celebration with music and song.

As Tzofia Hirschfeld wrote in Ynet News, the online website of the newspaper Yediot Aharonot,
"It started out as a small event of several people seeking to welcome Shabbat in the nature, facing the sea," says Iris Bertz, marketing and development director and a member of the port's executive committee.
They asked us for permission to welcome Shabbat with song and interpretations for the children, and hold the ceremony at the port. It soon became very clear that people were starting to gather round.
"And then the mats were replaced with chairs, songbooks were printed – and the number of participants today reaches 1,000. Beit Tefilah is responsible for the content, and we're in charge of the logistic side. The result is a peaceful ceremony, accompanied by melodies."
As almost everyone loves Shabbat, the crowd is very diverse. "It's the type of event that almost everyone can relate to," explains Bertz. "And because it takes place in the summer, when there are many tourists around, they usually join in and often add their own version of the prayers."
Does this reflect a social change?
"No. I think that many of us believe in a secular way. I believe that this need always existed, and we just found a place for it. People want this gathering, and our Shabbat welcoming ceremony is an event one can easily identify with and connect to.
"Apart from people who observe Shabbat, this event relates to any other level between secularity and Reform Judaism, and to those who simply enjoy the Shabbat rest, which is most of us.
"Just like on Yom Kippur many people who are not religious fast, on Shabbat people want something different to happen to them once a week, which will take them to a more festive and emotional place.
"We take Shabbat and the prayer, bring them closer to people and let them enjoy it as it is. We are just allowing it to happen, and in front of the sunset and sea – it's the perfect place."
Whichever way you welcome Shabbat, we wish you a Shabbat shalom. Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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.)


Thursday, October 24, 2013

Doctors and Medical Staff in Jerusalem Hospital Rap and Breakdance for Cleanliness


The doctors and medical staff at Shaarei Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem wanted to show they're serious about the importance of hand washing in all areas of the hospital. Hand hygiene is critical for fighting infections. 

So to illustrate their point graphically and musically they created a rap and breakdance video in a parody of the popular Israeli song Hafinali by the group called Subliminal

We've been sitting on the video for a few weeks because originally it was all in Hebrew with only Hebrew subtitles. English subtitles were just added and we're publishing it here today to share with you.

In the video, a staff member playing the role of a germ that infiltrated the hospital and is running rampant is tracked down and captured by everyone who washes their hands with water, soap, and sanitizer.

The singers and dancers include an infectious disease specialist and head of pediatrics, epidemiology nurses, members of infections disease and women's medicine departments and the intensive care unit.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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 tip of the kippah to Sheila Zucker for bringing the original video to our attention.)

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Steve Solomon Plays 20 Roles in "My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish, and I'm Home for the Holidays"


Steve Solomon is one of America's best story tellers and dialecticians. He delivers his comedy in the form of three shows 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.

His shows are all one-man shows, but he takes on the persona of 20 different characters, including his parents, his sister, his daughter, and his doctor. 

Solomon's first show was titled My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish, and I'm in Therapy. His second show continued the theme with ... and I'm Still in Therapy. His latest show, ... and I'm Home For the Holidays picks up where they other two left off and continues his hilarious impressions and stories.

In this show, Steve’s headed home to celebrate the holidays with his wildly dysfunctional family but he’s stuck at the airport with all flights canceled due to a storm….the phone calls begin–the chaos begins. We get to attend holiday dinner at Uncle Paulie’s where, if you’re under 55 you get to sit at “the children’s table.”  Thirty five over-fed people and one toilet. Peace on Earth, Good will towards men and Where’s the plunger?

Here's a nine-minute clip with some of the funny bits from the show. It will be playing at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania from November 6 through November 17, and at the Smith Center in Las Vegas from December 5 through December 8.

Enjoy!

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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Fun With Food in Jerusalem: Nightly Flipping Ceremony in Eucalyptus Restaurant Courtyard


Moshe Basson, chef and owner of the popular Eucalyptus restaurant in the artist colony near the gates of the old city of Jerusalem, has been called a food historian and culinary story teller. But he's also a showman, and almost any night you dine there, you will witness and maybe even participate in Eucalyptus' ma'aluba flipping ceremony, which many tourists have captured on video.

Basson, cheerful and confident in his chef's outfit, with braided hair trailing behind, emerges from the kitchen carrying a large tray laden with his signature dish, ma'aluba. to the accompaniment of waiters banging copper trays and pot covers with sticks. It's a real production, in the courtyard outside the restaurant, and diners are encouraged to leave their tables to watch it. 

Basson selects one of the lucky diners to wear his chef's apron and instructs him or her in the ceremony: Seven wide waves around the circumference of the huge pot followed by a brief meditation, and with great fanfare and deliberation lifting the upside-down pot to reveal the dish on its serving tray. As cameras click, everyone oohs and ahhs at the tower of rice with embedded chicken and vegetables. Everyone gets a taste.

On one of our trips to Israel last year we were lucky to get the job of flipping the ma'aluba (photo above), which appears on the menu as NaHafouch-Hou, literally turned upside down, a reference to the events of the Purim story.

The restaurant's menu focuses on foods indigenous to the land of Israel, and includes Jacob and Esau's Biblical Red Lentil Stew and Biblical Couscous From the Days of King Solomon.

If you want to try this recipe and make your own ma'alubah, click this link to a website where Karen Selwyn posts it with ingredients, detailed instructions, and traces it to a demonstration that Moshe Basson presented at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The video below is one of many on YouTube showing a typical ma'aluba ceremony. Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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.)

Monday, October 21, 2013

A Joke to Start the Week: "Citizenship Test"


When we started the "Joke to Start the Week" series about 15 months ago, we didn't know how long we could keep it going, but we seem to have found an endless supply of clean (or relatively clean) jokes to share with you every Monday.

We've been relying on the Old Jews Telling Jokes collection for most of the jokes, and supplementing them with the videos we made of readers like you who attend our comedy shows at hotels and clubs and volunteer to have their versions of oldies taped for sharing on the internet.

Today we dip into a new batch from the Old Jews collection for a gem told by Don Sherman, a 78-year-old retired insurance executive. 

Here's the setup: Sol is a refugee in this country for six years. Today he's going to the courthouse to become a naturalized citizen. He's never been to a courthouse before. On this particular day the judge is going to give the test orally. And then...

Enjoy!

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Sunday, October 20, 2013

My Parents Brainwashed Me - A Student's Wise Response


"One day I was in school, in class, explaining my Judaism when one student had the audacity to exclaim 'You're only Jewish because your parents forced you to be. You don't pray to God because you want to.'

'You only pray to God because your parents made you think you have to. You don't keep the laws because of your own free will...your parents just made you feel guilty if you didn't keep them. Your parents brainwashed you your whole life...You don't really know anything about anything.'"

That experience motivated student Ethan Metzger to write a poem about it and read it aloud at a poetry session in the Bronx earlier this year. In the poem, Ethan agreed that his parents did brainwash him. As early as he can remember, his parents brainwashed him to have respect for other people. They contaminated his childhood with lessons about faith and love and character and yes, religion too.

Ethan ended his poem with "You can call it brainwashing if you want. I call it teaching."
 
The first annual Bronx Youth Poetry Slam took place in the Kingsbridge Library and was organized by the local community board. Ethan didn't win the poetry competition, but his words resonated with many of the attendees. But his real audience was the internet,and the thousands of people who agree with him and are forwarding the video to their friends. 

We think it's a worthy message and we join in the distribution of Ethan's message to the world.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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 tip of the kippah to Sheila Zucker for bringing this video to our attention.)

Friday, October 18, 2013

Israeli Comedy Showcase: Meet Under-Dos, a 100% Kosher Comedy Group


Under-Dos is the name of an Israeli orthodox comedy group which specializes in irreverent sketches on aspects of Jewish life that are hilariously and immediately recognizable to "insiders", that is, religious Jews. "Dos" is an Israeli slang term for someone who is religiously observant.

As Elad Benari and Yoni Kempinski reported in Arutz Sheva,
“Our sketches are religiously oriented,” group member Yair Ya’akobi told Arutz Sheva. “This means we take every day situations from the typical religious milieu, we try to take them to extremes and see what happens.”

Ya’akobi emphasized that while many comedy groups essentially make fun of religion, Under-Dos makes sure not to push the limit and not to make fun of the values in which its members and religious viewers believe, but just of the situations that can arise in their lives.

“What we try to do is to be 100% kosher, because it’s easy to push the limits and then you find yourself making fun of the values that you stand for, and we really don’t want that,” he said. “We just look at things from different angles and with a wink.”
Most of the sketches are in Hebrew, spoken so fast that they have Hebrew subtitles. The video below is an exception, because in it no words are spoken. Here's the scene: A young man is headed for shul on Shabbat morning. He gets dressed, then absent-mindedly puts his cellphone into his shirt pocket. 

When he realizes that he has handled a muktzeh (forbidden on Shabbat) object and is about to carry it into the street in his shirt, he panics and tries to remove it without touching it again. In the process he accidentally turns on the TV and from there the situation steadily goes downhill.

So why does he try to turn off the TV with his elbow? He's following the laws of muktzeh, in which the rabbis permit forbidden actions if they are performed in an awkward and unusual manner, as described on the Chabad website:
Many objects have been designated by our sages as Muktzah--we are forbidden from moving them, in some cases, even for activities permitted on Shabbat. Muktzah may not be moved directly with one's hand or even indirectly with an object (such as sweeping it away with a broom). However, Muktzah may be moved in a very awkward, unusual manner, with other parts of the body, e.g.: with one's teeth or elbow, or by blowing on it.
Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Thursday, October 17, 2013

Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Sofia, Bulgaria Celebrates Jewish Life


The first Festival of Jewish Culture was held outside the National Palace of Culture in Sofia on September 15 2013. The festival featured Jewish music, dance, art, cinema, literature and learning in 18 sukkah-shaped stalls. One of the presentations was on Jewish humor.

Bulgarian television celebrity chef Uti Buchvarov prepared a huge Shakshuka (one of the most popular egg dishes in Israel) for the visitors. The event was, organized by Shalom, the organization of the Jews in Bulgaria, with the support of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and a number of other organizations, including the Sofia municipality. 

The concept of the event was to give Bulgarian society the opportunity to better acquaint themselves with Bulgaria’s Jewish community in a way that organizers hope will become an annual tradition.

Especially popular was the opportunity to join in learning to make challah. Guests also had the chance to visit a replica of part of the Western Wall, and place papers with prayers, as is done in the original in Jerusalem.

Israel's ambassador in Sofia, Shaul Kamisa-Raz and leading members of the Jewish community attended the event. Musical attractions included performances by the Amsterdam Klezmer Band.


Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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.)



Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Comedy Showcase: The Kosher Comedy of Robert Cait


Whenever we find a really funny Jewish comedian who tells clean jokes, we consider it a very good day. So today's a very good day since we came across the comedy of Robert Cait, a Canadian actor and comedian who is fluent in Hebrew and Yiddish and is very aware of the Jewish scene. 

A graduate of The Associated Hebrew Day Schools Talmud Torah in Toronto, Cait has talents beyond stand-up comedy. You've  probably heard his voice in documentaries and TV commercials

From the unaffordable, high cost of Jewish education, to what makes Israelis tick, to bizarre holiday foods, Cait connects with Jewish audiences at their deepest and most hysterical levels. 


Audiences have enjoyed Cait on A&E’s Evening at the Improv and on MTV’s Half Hour Comedy Hour. He has played at The Laugh Factory and The Comedy Store and was the opening act for headliner Dennis Miller’s Las Vegas show. 

In this stand-up segment, Cait includes his observations on how Chabad selects its emissaries, the difference between Christians and Jews, Ronald McDonald and gun use in Israel, how the electrical security fence gets activated on Shabbat, and memories of going to his bubbie's house as a youngster.

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.)


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Amazing Haredi Rabbis Sing Simon and Garfunkel on New Israeli TV Show


Back in July we posted a video clip of two Haredi musicians playing the Beatles' Nowhere Man at the Mamilla Mall in Jerusalem. We discovered them while doing some late night surfing on YouTube to find a suitable post for the next day. But we didn't know anything about them, not even their names. 

In August we found another clip of the same musicians playing the Pink Floyd song Wish You Were Here on Jaffa Road, and this time the comments revealed their first names -- Arie and Gil, and that they are Breslover Chasidim. But that's all. We thought they were very good, and so did you, from the reactions that we got to the blog posts. We wondered who they are, where they live, and when we would see more of them.

Well last week, they appeared on the new Israeli TV show "Kochav haBa (Rising Star) and when they played and sang Simon and Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence, the audience and the judges went wild. Thanks to the captions, we know they are brothers, Aryeh and Gil Gat. Aryeh, the older brother, is 48 and lives in Beit Shemesh. Gil, the younger brother, is 38, and lives in Jerusalem.

We'll keep an eye out for more of their appearances, especially when we visit Jerusalem in November, and share them with you when we find them.

Until 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.)



(A tip of the kippah to Nancy Weisberger for bringing this video to our attention.)

Monday, October 14, 2013

A Joke to Start the Week - Jerry Lewis Tells a Rabbi and Priest Joke


Rabbi and Priest jokes are in a class unto themselves. In almost all cases, the priest is the straight man and the rabbi is either a punster, a wise guy, or a comedian. 

Maybe it's because of the way we approach these jokes, but as we saw two weeks ago, where the joke teller was a minister, the result was the same. 

In any case, the rabbi always gets the best line and seems to be the wiser of the two (or three, if the joke includes a minister).

Today's joke to start the week is an oldie but goodie. We don't know how old, because we don't have a date or location. But the joke teller, veteran comedian and actor Jerry Lewis, is older than we remember him as he delivers the punch line to a burst of applause from the audience.

Here's the setup: A rabbi and priest are seated together on a plane. And the flight attendant is checking to see if people would like a drink after takeoff. 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.)




Sunday, October 13, 2013

Chasidic Wedding Welcomes a Special Guest - an Upside Down Polar Bear!


Celebrating a wedding is one of the happiest occasions in Jewish life, and over the last four years we have been a fly on the wall at many Jewish weddings and shared many videos with you.

The most joyful, and sometimes funny ones have involved jubilant dancing and singing among Chasidim. 

Here's a wedding video posted just last week that had us laughing. Please bear with us for the duration of the performance to see the polar bear fall down twice and do a complete flip to dance on its head. 

You'll have to take our word that this was really a wedding, as there's no trace of any women, including a bride, in the video.
 
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.)




Friday, October 11, 2013

Ha'am Sheli: A Musical Tribute to the Unity of the Jewish People


Lazer Lloyd, an Israeli guitarist and singer/songwriter, wrote a song entitled "Ha'am Sheli" (meaning "My People" or "My Nation" in Hebrew) in response to the frictions and tensions between different groups of Jews - especially in Israel. 

Lazer explains, "Before the Jewish people make peace with the world we first have to learn to love each other with all of our differences while not forgetting the unbelievable place of the Jewish people in the history of the world".

Other Israeli musicians heard the song "Ha'am Sheli" as Lazer sang it with his acoustic guitar. They were moved by the message of love for all of the Jewish people and believed that the song has power to open hearts and bring about greater unity. A generous sponsor financed a recording of "Ha'am Sheli" at Supersonic Studios in Jerusalem with Lazer on electric guitar and vocal, plus the great voices of Gad Elbaz, Shlomo Katz, Naftali Kalfa, and Aaron Razel, a full band, and rich orchestration (composed and arranged by Aaron Razel). 


All the artists donated their efforts to the song as part of the "Ha'am Sheli" (My People) Project aimed at fostering a dialogue and educating the various people of Israel to love and appreciate each other and accept their differences with understanding.

The video takes the viewer on a moving journey to meet the real folks that make up the loving face of the Jewish people. The guitarist visits a study hall, restaurant, kitchen, construction site, playground, city street, shuk, music store, and wherever Jews gather.

The song is in Hebrew with English subtitles. There are also subtitles in the closed caption section on the youtube video in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian, all prepared by volunteers. Click CC to choose the subtitle you prefer).


Enjoy, and 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.)