Hasidim in Fashion: Comedian Modi as Head of "House of Claideur" During NYC Fashion Week

We've been big fans of comedian Modi Rosenfeld since the early days of Jewish Humor Central. We love his standup comedy and his brilliant satiric sketch comedy.

Modi is at his best when he takes on the persona of a Hasid. Recently he produced and acted in a skit poking fun of fancy runway shows during fashion week. It's a piece about the House of Claideur, an erstwhile fashion industry giant with designers that nobody has ever seen.

In the video it's revealed that the designers are two Hasidim, one of whom is played by Modi. The shtick is that the name of the fashion house, Claideur, is a clever transliteration into French of the Yiddish word cleider, which means clothing.

The video includes cameos by actress Susan Sarandon and other celebrities. We found it to be hilarious and we hope that you will enjoy it too.

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Standish Merriweather III"

For the last Monday joke of October, we turn to our old friend and actress Annie Korzen and an old joke from the days when Jews weren't admitted to country clubs. It's another from the Old Jews Telling Jokes series.

For the last few months, Annie has been performing a one-woman show at The Braid in Santa Monica, California. The show has just been extended to November 19. It's an evening of laughs, tears, music and some gentle prodding by a master storyteller and Moth main stager.  Annie Korzen (Seinfeld's Doris Klompus), knows what she wants out of life until life proves her wrong.

Here's the setup: Hymie Greenblatt wants to join the country club, but they don't allow Jews. So he changes his name to Standish Merriweather III. And then...

Enjoy!

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Funniest Israeli Commercials: Hebrew University Encourages Calls to Grandma

One of the drawbacks of our technologically advanced society is that low-tech bubbes are often left waiting for phone calls from their kids and grandkids who are absorbed in Facebook and texting.

The U.S. branch of Jerusalem's Hebrew University wanted to call attention to the generational technology gap, and to its excellent high-tech reputation. So they came up with this funny commercial to drive the point home.

As Steve Lipman wrote in The Jewish Week,

A video on the website features an octogenarian identified as Judith Cohen who describes the “Would It Kill You to Call?” app she’s developed that will send periodic cell phone reminders to delinquent members of the mishpocha. “Do they ever remember to call their bubbe?” she asks. After seven days without a call, a text message goes out to the offender.

It seems like a great way to reach out and touch forgetful ones.Just one problem — the app isn’t real.

In online comments, many people said they thought the app “was real,” said Eileen Hume, chief marketing officer for the American Friends. Some asked, “where can I find the app?” Others responded with “a lot of laughing emojis and LOLs.”

The video came out of a brainstorming session on new ways to get the word out about Hebrew University’s work. Then came an aha moment. Or, in this case, an oy vey moment. What about a bubbe-centered video? “Everyone has a bubbe,” Hume said. “It’s a shared cultural experience.”

A casting call went out. More than a dozen actresses tried out for the role. Judith Cohen is played by Barbara Malley, an 84-year-old actress whose TV and movie credits include a nurse, a mobster’s mother and a “grandma.”Malley is not Jewish. She “nailed” the Yiddish accent and Jewish inflections, Hume said."

Enjoy!

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Flashback Friday Cantorial Special: London's Shabbaton Choir Sings Oseh Shalom

For the past year and a half we've been joining the many websites that observe Throwback Thursday. Since April 2016 we've been posting a nostalgic video clip to reminisce with you about some of our favorite comedians and their classic comedy sketches.

We think that the same nostalgia should be applied to the musical videos that we post each Friday to welcome Shabbat. So today we're starting a new series that we're calling Flashback Friday.

Not every Friday post will be a flashback. When we come across a new rendition of Adon Olam, Shalom Aleichem, Lecha Dodi, or other liturgical mainstays, we'll keep sharing them with you. But they'll share the weekly spotlight with versions from years past.

We're kicking off the Friday Flashback series with a performance of Oseh Shalom by London's Shabbaton Choir in 2010. The choir sang in concert with the Young Chamber Orchestra of the Jerusalem Conservatory Hassadna together with Chazanim Lionel Rosenfeld, Shimon Craimer, and Jonny Turgel.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Sid Caesar and Company Pantomime Toy Band Music Box

Reminiscent of the better known "Bavarian Clock" sketch from Your Show of Shows, Sid Caesar, Nanette Fabray, Howard Morris, and Carl Reiner perform in pantomime as a child's windup toy band music box.

This sketch appeared on an episode of Caesar's Hour on December 17, 1955. So let's turn the calendar back 62 years and watch the intricate movements of the players in the band as the toy goes through fast and slow cycles and finally breaks down.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday, #TBT

Comedian Elon Gold on Israeli Speech Mannerisms at UN Conference

Earlier this year the World Jewish Congress and Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations hosted more than 2,000 dignitaries, public officials, NGO representatives at the UN headquarters for the second Ambassadors Against BDS summit. 

The opening session of the conference was held in the iconic General Assembly Hall of the United Nations.

One of the speakers at the UN conference was comedian Elon Gold, whose performances we have shared with you on Jewish Humor Central.

At this session, after remarks supporting Israel and acknowledging the presence of Natan Sharansky and Israel's permanent representative to the United Nations Danny Danon, Gold launched into a stand-up routine about the unique characteristics of Israeli speech patterns and mannerisms.

Enjoy!

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Chassidic Comedy: A Chasid, Stuck in the 1980s, is Exposed to Today's Technology

 

A badchan (a Hebrew word meaning jester that has been Yiddishized as badchen) is a Jewish comedian with scholarly overtones who entertained guests at weddings among the Ashkenazim of Eastern Europe.  Today they are found in all countries with Chassidic populations, including the United States, doing their shtick at weddings.

The badchanim (plural) probably originated during the Middle Ages where they traveled around Europe like troubadors.  They developed a tradition of wedding entertainment, telling jokes related to scriptural and Talmudic passages.  More recently, in this country, their entertainment has included impersonations of Jewish religious figures and American politicians.

 

Yoely Lebovits is a popular badchan around the Chassidic World. One of his very funny acts is his imitation of Hungarian characters, which earned him the name Pester Rebbe, implying that he is the Rebbe of Pest.

 

He has also made some funny videos that are popular with Chassidic users of the Internet.

But the Internet has not made its way into most Chassidic homes.

 

In this video, The Multimedia Genius, Lebovits is stuck in the '80s, seated at a desk with a portable typewriter, a corded desk phone, and a camera as he tries to keep up his side of a phone conversation filled with the language and technical jargon of today.

 

Enjoy!

 

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Fornication"

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

Once again we dip into the archives of Old Jews Telling Jokes, which we thank creator Sam Hoffman for making available on the Internet. 

Today's choice is another gem told by Neil Elliot, an actor, writer, and psychotherapist. At the age of 50 he went back to graduate school and earned a master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. He then worked in that field for 12 years. 

Here's the setup: Mikey is running home from his first day in the second grade and he comes running into the house and he says "Mommy, Mommy, I learned a new word today." And then...

Enjoy!

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Dinner with Don: A Legacy Comedy Series Tribute to Don Rickles

The original insult comic, Don Rickles was usually introduced with a wink as “Mr. Warmth,” his entrance music a bullfighter’s trumpet fanfare. He was fearless. He publicly taunted the biggest bulls in America—Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Ronald Reagan among them—and left them all howling. 

Born in Queens with the name Rikhters to a Yiddish-speaking family, he began doing stand-up comedy performing in hotels in the Catskill Mountains in New York. He became known as an insult comedian by responding to his hecklers. The audience enjoyed these insults more than his prepared material, and he incorporated them into his act.

Rickles passed away in April, but as a parting gift, the comedian left a YouTube series called Dinner with Don, 13 episodes that feature chats over dinner with talented younger artists and celebs—Snoop Dogg, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Marisa Tomei and others. AARP Studios coproduced the series. 

Today we're sharing an episode with Sarah Silverman in which the two comedians talk about Don's trailblazing approach to standup comedy, Sarah's dream retirement, and Don's idol Milton Berle.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi by Feliza and Or Zohar

Every Friday we try to welcome Shabbat with a new version of one of the popular songs that are sung in the synagogue and at home. It's a pleasure to find new versions ot these traditional parts of the Shabbat liturgy.

This week we came across a new version of Lecha Dodi, a part of the Friday night service originally written by Rabbi and Kabbalist Shlomo Alkabetz in the mid 1500s.

The liturgical poem, which is now sung in every Kabbalat Shabbat service around the world, is based on the theme, "Come my beloved to meet the bride; let us welcome Shabbat." It comes from the description in the Talmud tractate Shabbat 119a that "R. Hanina robed himself and stood at sunset of Sabbath eve [and] exclaimed, ‘Come and let us go forth to welcome the queen Sabbath.'

The singers are Feliza and Or Zohar, who live in Hararit, a small community settlement in the  western Galilee. Rabbi Zohar is a Reform Rabbi, musician, and teacher of Kabbalah in Tivon and in Misgav Regional Council. Feliza is a teacher of prayer through music and movement in kindergartens and elementary schools for normative and autistic children throughout Tel Aviv.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Classic Standup by Henny Youngman

On this Throwback Thursday, join us as we travel back to the 1980s for a standup routine by the legendary Henny Youngman, king of the one-liners.

Youngman, a British-American Jewish comedian and violinist, was very popular in the 1950s and 1960s, with many appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and on Laugh-in.

Watching one of his classic performances,  it becomes apparent how much standup comedy has changed over the years.

As his biography in Wikipedia reads,

In a time when many comedians told elaborate anecdotes, Youngman’s comedy routine consisted of telling simple one-liner jokes, occasionally with interludes of violin playing. These gags depicted simple, cartoon-like situations, eliminating lengthy build-ups and going straight to the punch line. He was known as the King of the One Liners, a title bestowed upon him by columnist Walter Winchell. A typical stage performance by Youngman lasted only fifteen to twenty minutes, but contained dozens of jokes, delivered in rapid-fire fashion.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Hava Nagila Around the World: A Version by the Georgian Erisioni Ensemble

No, not the Georgia in the southern United States. Georgia, the country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. 

In the late 18th century, the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti forged an alliance with the Russian Empire, which directly annexed the kingdom in 1801 and conquered the western Kingdom of Imereti in 1810. Russian rule over Georgia was eventually acknowledged in various peace treaties with Iran and the Ottomans and the remaining Georgian territories were absorbed by the Russian Empire in a piecemeal fashion in the course of the 19th century. 

Following the Russian Revolution in 1917, Georgia obtained its short-lived independence and established a republic led by the Social Democrats in 1918, only to be invaded by Soviet Russia in 1921 and subsequently absorbed into the Soviet Union as the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.

In recent years, Georgians have shown an affinity for the most often played Israeli/Jewish song, Hava Nagila. Today we're sharing yet another example of world-wide interest in this popular melody to join the more than 50 other versions that we have posted over the years.

It was performed in Israel last month by the Georgian Ensemble Erisioni.

Enjoy!

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Israel Exports English Stand-up Comedy to London

Yohai Sponder and his fellow comedians Yossi Tarablus and Shachar Hasson have just completed two successful appearances in London, performing quick-fire stand-up comedy in English — way out of their usual comfort zone.

Stand-up comedy usually doesn't translate well between countries and languages, because many of the references are locale-specific and unrecognizable to audiences with a different frame of reference.

All three comics specialize in observational comedy, with 41-year-old Hasson — said to be one of the best stand-up performers in Israel — making a virtue out of his slightly less than perfect English, rushing in to laugh at himself as part of the joke.

For those wondering whether Israeli and British audiences laugh at different things, Tarablus, Sponder and Hasson provide a useful litmus test, since their English-language acts appear to be a direct translation of what they do in Hebrew — the difference being that they need to explain a little more about Israeli society for their London audiences.

Enjoy!

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MamaLA and the Mohel - A Funny Interview from the LA Jewish Journal

Rabbi Shalom Denbo of Los Angeles sat down for a funny interview last month with Julia Moss of the LA Jewish Journal. 

Rabbi Denbo is a mohel, and often finds himself telling jokes or being told jokes about  his profession.

As Moss, also known as MamaLA, wrote in the Journal,

Jokes? Denbo has heard them all. Years ago, as part of a marketing campaign, he ran an ad in the Jewish Journal that read, “Tell me a mohel joke I haven’t heard, and you’ll get a bris for free.” There were no winners. Not even: “Do you work for tips?”

Born in New Jersey, trained in Israel and now living in Pico-Robertson, Denbo is the author of “7 Traits: How to Change Your World” and has traveled as far as Tahiti, performing more than 1,000 brises, the ceremonial circumcision covenant that connects Jewish boys to their heritage on the eighth day of life.

Enjoy! 

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A Joke to Start the Week - "The Genie"

It's hard to believe that the month of holidays is over and that the next Jewish holiday is Chanukah in December. So for the next couple of months our posts will be holiday-free, but full of jokes and funny material, both old and new.

But today is Monday, and you know what that means. Time for a Joke to Start the Week. Once again we dip into the archives of Old Jews Telling Jokes, which we thank creator Sam Hoffman for making available on the Internet.

Today's choice is another classic told by motion picture producer and manager Mike Marcus. Mike was the President of MGM from 1993 to 1997.

Here's the setup: A guy is walking along the beach and he kicks something in the sand. He looks down to see what he just kicked, and lo and behold, it's a lamp. It looks just like Aladdin's lamp. And then...

Enjoy!

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Israeli Wonder Woman Actress Gal Gadot Starts Saturday Night Live with Hebrew Monologue

Last week Gal Gadot, the Israeli actress who plays the lead role in the Wonder Woman movie, took a star turn hosting Saturday Night Live. The show was broadcast in Israel for the first time and Gadot opened her monologue with a special message in Hebrew.

After a shoutout to her Ema and Aba, Gadot told her Israeli listeners that the writers here know nothing about Israel and had her eating hummus in every sketch. The American audience ate it all up.

Enjoy!

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Today is Hoshanah Rabbah, Last Chance for a Lulav Shake This Year, So Let's Make it a Big One!

Well, our month of holidays is finally coming to an end. Today is Hoshanah Rabbah, the fifth day of Chol Hamoed Sukkot, and the day before Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

Whether or not you got a chance to shake a lulav with the etrog, myrtle and willow branches this year, we thought a video of the festivities in Jerusalem yesterday would bring a satisfying closure to this holiday period.

Here's a video of the throngs gathered at the Western Wall yesterday morning to say Hallel with their Sukkot symbols.

One lulav shaker somewhere in the world (we haven't located the place yet) couldn't make it to the Western Wall and did his shaking in a synagogue. This has to be the biggest lulav and etrog that we have ever seen. We'd like to see the carrying case for this giant palm frond. Watch the short video clip below the video of the scene at the Kotel.

We'll be celebrating Sukkot and Shabbat for the next three days and we'll be back with more Jewish humor on Sunday.

Chag sameach and Shabbat shalom!


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Sukkot in Jerusalem: The Joy of Simchat Beit Hashoeivah in a Chasidic Yeshiva

When the Temple in Jerusalem stood, a unique service was performed every morning throughout the Sukkot holiday: the Nisuch ha-Mayim (lit. "Pouring of the water") or Water Libation Ceremony. 

According to the Talmud, Sukkot is the time of year in which God judges the world for rainfall; therefore this ceremony, like the taking of the Four Species, invokes God's blessing for rain in its proper time. The water for the libation ceremony was drawn from the Pool of Siloam (Hebrew: Breikhat HaShiloah‎‎) in the City of David and carried up the Jerusalem pilgrim road to the Temple. The joy that accompanied this procedure was palpable. 

Afterwards, every night in the outer Temple courtyard, tens of thousands of spectators would gather to watch the Simchat Beit HaShoeivah (Rejoicing at the Place of the Water-Drawing), as the most pious members of the community danced and sang songs of praise to God. The dancers would carry lit torches, and were accompanied by the harps, lyres, cymbals and trumpets of the Levites. According to the Mishnah, (Tractate Sukkah), "He who has not seen the rejoicing at the Place of the Water-Drawing has never seen rejoicing in his life." Throughout Sukkot, the city of Jerusalem teemed with Jewish families who came on the holiday pilgrimage and joined together for feasting and Torah study. A partition separating men and women was erected for this occasion. Nowadays, this event is recalled via a Simchat Beit HaShoeivah gathering of music, dance, and refreshments. This event takes place in a central location such as a synagogue, yeshiva, or place of study. Refreshments are served in the adjoining sukkah. Live bands often accompany the dancers. The festivities usually begin late in the evening, and can last long into the night.

Join us for a few minutes of Sukkot rejoicing at a Simchat Beit HaShoeivah at the Toldos Aharon center in Jerusalem.  The Toldos Aharon sect, based in Jerusalem's Meah Shearim neighborhood is one of the most extreme in the Haredi world, but certainly one of the most fascinating as well as devout.

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A Joke to Start the Week: "Kleptomaniac"

Another Monday, another Joke to Start the Week.

Here's another oldie but goodie from the archives of Old Jews Telling Jokes. It's told by real estate developer Harry Macklowe.

Here's the setup: A couple is in a supermarket. She has a problem. She steals. She's a kleptomaniac. She steals a can of fruit and she's taken before the magistrate. And then...

Enjoy!

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: The Muslim Gatekeepers of Synagogues in Kolkata, India

For generations, the caretakers of Kolkata's Jewish synagogues have been Muslims. For a case study in communal harmony, we need look no further than Kolkata's Jewish Synagogues. At one point as strong as 6000, the Jewish community has dwindled to less than 20 members in the city of Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta.

Muslim caretakers have maintained the three main Jewish synagogues in Kolkata. Anwar and Rabbul manage the Maghen David and Beth El Synagogues, a role that has been in their families for generations. With communal tensions in the country raised, this is a shining testament to the bonds that hold the communities together.

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Wishing You a Happy Sukkot with the LEGO Sukkot 101 Movie

The Lego Movie franchise is a computer-animated adventure-comedy film series based on Lego construction toys. The franchise started in 2014 with The Lego Movie, which was directed and written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

The film quickly expanded into a franchise, including two spin-off films, The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie, both with 2017 release dates; a sequel; and a third spin-off, The Billion Brick Race, scheduled for release in 2019.

The LEGO toy animation style was an inspiration for Bimbam (formerly G-dcast), the new media studio making Jewish videos, apps and animated series for kids and adults to create a film with Lego characters and props to provide a full explanation of the Sukkot holiday.

The LEGO Sukkot Movie is a thorough description of the holiday in a very entertaining style. We hope you enjoy it as we head into the week of Sukkot celebrations. We'll be celebrating Sukkot and Shabbat for the next three days and we'll be back with more Jewish humor on Sunday.

Chag sameach and Shabbat shalom!

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This video was made possible with generous support from The Koret Foundation, as part of its Initiative on Jewish Peoplehood.
LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this video.

What Do Los Angeles Cantors Sing When They're Not Singing on the Bimah? Karaoke, Of Course!

What do cantors do when they're not singing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgical compositions? If they do their cantoring in Los Angeles, they let their hair down and sing some popular karaoke.

In this video, Los Angeles cantors sing a cover of "Stand By Me" in the style of Ben E. King. It's the first of a series of Cantor Karaoke videos produced by the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles.

It features Cantor Nathan Lam of Stephen Wise Temple, Cantor Joseph Gole of Sinai Temple, Cantor Chayim Frenkel of Kehillat Israel, Cantor Shira Fox of Beit T’Shuvah, Cantor Yonah Kliger of Temple Judea and Rabbi Cantor Alison Wissot of Temple Judea. 

Enjoy!

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*Track used with permission by www.karaoke-version.com and www.tencymusic.com

A Joke to Start the Week - "A Trip to Miami"

We're in the middle of a month of holidays, and this year none of them fall on Monday. So we're happy to be able to continue our tradition of bringing you a joke every Monday to get the week off to a funny start.

Once again we're dipping into the archives of Old Jews Telling Jokes to bring you another classic old joke. This one is told by Alan Kessler, the president of an American subsidiary of a Japanese construction company.
  
Here's the setup: Irving is sitting at home reading The Forverts, and he sees a little ad that says "Round trip cruise to Miami - $35." And then...

Enjoy!

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