Jewish Humor Central is a daily publication to start your day with news of the Jewish world that's likely to produce a knowing smile and some Yiddishe nachas. It's also a collection of sources of Jewish humor--anything that brings a grin, chuckle, laugh, guffaw, or just a warm feeling to readers.
Our posts include jokes, satire, books, music, films, videos, food, Unbelievable But True, and In the News. Some are new, and some are classics. We post every morning, Sunday through Friday. Enjoy!
Atara Saracik is an
Israeli singer and musician whose band features a saxophone as well as a
host of Middle Eastern instruments. Together they produce a beautiful
haunting sound that transports the listener to Israel.
Here is Atara Saracik and her band singing Mizmor Shir l'Yom Hashabbat, from the Kabbalat Shabbat liturgy.
Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!
A
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Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah) started at sunset yesterday and is being observed worldwide today. "Zog nit keyn mol" (Never Say; Yiddish: זאָג ניט קיין מאָל) or "Partizaner lid" (Partisan Song)
is a Yiddish song considered one of the chief anthems of the Holocaust
survivors and is sung in memorial services around the world. The lyrics of the song were written in 1943 by Hirsh Glick, a young Jewish inmate of the Vilna Ghetto.
The title means "Never Say", and derives from the first line of the
song. Glick's lyrics were set to music from a pre-war Soviet song.
In this year's commemoration of Yom Hashoah, the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation shared versions of the song by a group of JPEF Partisans, the Ellenbrook and Carmel Schools of Perth, Australia, Seattle Day School, Washington, and the Herzliya School of Cape Town, South Africa. A
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Alex
Edelman grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family and, following high
school, spent a year in a yeshiva in Jerusalem. During his time, he
helped to establish the city's first comedy club -- Off the Wall Comedy.
In 2008,he
moved to New York City to study English at New York University. He
graduated in 2012. During college, he continued to perform stand-up and
later joined Upright Citizens Brigade.
His first show, Millennial, won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best
Newcomer, the first show by an American to do so since 1997.
In
this video clip, Edelman tells about what happened when he walked into a vegan cupcake shoppe in Brooklyn.
Enjoy!
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We've toured Jerusalem many times, but we've never seen it through the perspective of a three-year-old toddler on the run.
Thanks to the use of a special camera stabilizer, Jewlicious founder David Abitbol treats us to a unique visit through Jerusalem.
Follow the 3-year-old toddler as he runs through the alleyways of Nachlaot, the food stalls at the Mahane Yehuda Market, the cobblestone roadways in the Old City, the Jews assembled at the Kotel and the bountiful space at Al Aqsa / Temple Mount.
Enjoy!
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It's Monday
morning and as usual we're starting the week with a new old joke. Here's one we found
from the annals of Old Jews
Telling Jokes. It's told by Joel Leizer, a dentist from New Jersey.
Here's the setup: There's a very wealthy man who likes exotic pets. He goes into a pet store and says "I would like the most exotic pet that you have in the store." And then...
Enjoy!
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One
of the joys of posting videos on Jewish Humor Central is discovering
new versions of traditional Jewish and Hebrew songs as they are
performed around the world, often in unexpected places.
Since we started Jewish Humor Central in 2009 we have posted 104 different versions of Hava Nagila. The song
has shown up in many countries, including some unexpected ones (Scroll
down the left column on this page and click on Hava Nagila in the
Keywords list and you'll see what we mean.) Today
we're posting a version of Hava Nagila that was performed at a Uzbekistan TV Talent Show by Malika Hakimova.
Enjoy!
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Josh Goldberg is a Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, producer, and
soon-to-be ordained Cantor, whose perspective on life, love, faith, and
the world is reflected in his music as well as his personal endeavors.
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Josh studied music from an early age
and is an accomplished pianist, guitarist, and singer, traversing a
variety of musical genres with equal dexterity.
Tamir Tencer is an Israeli rapper. As we celebrate the end of Passover and welcome another Shabbat, Josh and Tamir collaborate in a rendition of Oseh Shalom that expresses the wish that the one who makes peace in the heavens will bring peace down upon us.
This song is dedicated to all those who are suffering in Ukraine or have been displaced from Ukraine, and all whose who are suffering due to terrorism in Israel. It's a prayer that we may collectively raise our voices and do everything in our power to stop this violence so we may all live together as creatures made in the divine image.
We will be celebrating Shabbat and the last days of Pesach so there will be no post tomorrow. We'll be back on Sunday with our usual mix.
Shabbat shalom and Chag Pesach sameach!
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A trio of actors who met while members of the cast of the Yiddish version of Fiddler on the Roof have created a new singing group that brings back memories of The Barry Sisters.
The women who make up the trio, Maya
Jacobson, Raquel Nobile and Jodi Snyder, had gotten together for a night
of fun and to reminisce about the 2018 production of “Fiddler on the
Roof” (“Fidler afn Dakh”) at the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene, where they met as members of the cast.
Jacobson had been listening to The
Barry Sisters — a duo whose Yiddish covers were wildly popular in the
mid-20th century — and realized it was time for the next generation to
carry on the tradition.
“I heard The Barry Sisters’ version
of ‘Abi Gezunt’ and I knew I wanted to record this with these two, my
favorite people and some of the best performers I know, and make a
trio,” Jacobson, 25, told the New York Jewish Week. “I knew people in
the Jewish community would be really into this. Yiddish is such huge
part of Jewish culture stomped on by the Holocaust that is really being
found again.”
Despite acting in Yiddish productions
and singing Yiddish covers, none of the women speaks Yiddish fluently,
though Jacobson bragged that she had a continuous 71-day streak in
Yiddish on the language-learning app Duolingo.
The name of the group, The Mamales, is an homage to the 1938 Polish Yiddish film “Mamele.” It starred Molly Picon, “Second Avenue’s longest-reigning queen and the best-known Yiddish actress/singer later on Broadway,” according to the Milken Archive of Jewish Music. Picon wrote the lyrics for Abraham Ellstein’s melody and performed "Abi Gezunt” in the film, where it became an instant hit.
Enjoy!
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The Houston Texans
football team stirred up a minor firestorm this week by posting two
photos of their players carrying matzos instead of a football.
As Jason Miles wrote for KHOU-11,
Some believe the Houston Texans fumbled by posting photo-shopped images of two players holding Matzah bread instead of footballs to the team's social media.
The post includes the caption “Happy Passover to all who celebrate!”
“I think they’re trying to be funny but I can see how people would take offense to it,” said Thomas Welham of Houston.
"It’s a little jarring to see them photoshopped in there," said Charlie Nater. "But I'm not offended by it.”
“I think there’s too much negativity in the world and people should just live and let live,” said Samantha Sutton.
“I thought it was great,” said Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of the Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston, or TORCH. "People need to lighten up a little."
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Today we continue our week of Passover programming with a rendition of the song When You Believe from the animated film The Prince of Egypt. It's from the Shabbat Shira service at the Park Avenue Synagogue earlier this year.
Cantor Azi Schwartz was joined by his children Daniel and Emmy and Cantor Mira Davis on the Bimah of the synagogue.
The first feature film from DreamWorks to be traditionally animated, The Prince of Egypt (1998) is an adaptation of the Book of Exodus and follows the life of Moses from being a prince of Egypt to his ultimate destiny to lead the Jews out of Egypt.
The song When You Believe, written by Stephen Schwartz, became a commercially successful single in a pop version performed by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, and went on to win Best Original Song at the 71st Academy Awards.
Enjoy!
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Tonight Jews all over
the world will sit down for the first of two seders and retell the
story of the Exodus from Egypt about 3400 years ago. In Israel there
will be one seder.
This year the first day of Passover coincides with Shabbat, so instead of our weekly posting of a Shabbat melody, we are posting a medley of Pesach songs from the Haggadah.
Last year Cantor Azi Schwartz of the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City joined with two of his children to sing a medley of the most popular seder songs, including Ma Nishtana, V'Hi She'amda, and Dayenu.
Tomorrow and Sunday we will be celebrating Pesach with our family at home and in the synagogue, so there will be no Jewish Humor Central posting until Monday.
If you will be unable to attend Passover services this year, many congregations will be conducting services on Zoom and on TV. The Jewish Broadcasting Service will feature Orthodox services from The Hampton Synagogue and Reform services from the Central Synagogue. The Conservative Park Avenue Synagogue will be live streaming its Passover services on their website.
Shabbat shalom and Chag Pesach kasher v'sameach!
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Lea Kalisch is a multi-lingual and multi-disciplinary New York City based performer. Originally from Switzerland, Lea moved to NYC in 2014 to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She earned a BFA in Musical Theater from The New School.
In this video she is accompanied on guitar by Rabbi Tobias Divack Moss, a rabbi at Temple Israel of Minneapolis, in Mu Asapru, a Yiddish version of the classic seder song Echad Mi Yodea (Who Knows One). It's a version made famous by folksinger Theodore Bikel in his record albums and personal appearances.
Enjoy!
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The
world of Jewish comedy lost one of its shining stars yesterday with the
death of Gilbert Gottfried at the age of 67. Gottfried's specialty was crude humor and delivering punch lines in an annoying, grating voice.
His numerous roles in film and television included voicing the parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin animated films and series, Digit LeBoid on PBS Kids's long-running Cyberchase, and Kraang Subprime in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Gottfried was the voice of the Aflac Duck until 2011. He appeared in the critically panned but commercially successful Problem Child in 1990.
He was a cast member of Saturday Night Live's 6th season. Gottfried's persona in SNL
sketches was very different from his later characterization. He rarely
(if ever) spoke in his trademark screeching, obnoxious voice and never
squinted.
In this video clip from a Just for Laughs Festival appearance in Montreal, Gottfried tells the audience of how he was the inspiration for Herman Melville when he wrote his classic Moby Dick.
Enjoy!
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No
collection of Jewish holiday music videos would be complete without an
entry from Six13, an a cappella group that has produced videos for
Chanukah, Rosh Hashana, Purim, and Passover. In previous years we posted many of their Jewish music videos.
Now, with the Passover seder only three days away, Six13 has released a video with parodies of some of Billy Joel's greatest hits.
This year they have outdone themselves with very creative parodies of Piano Man, Movin' Out, We Didn't Start the Fire, and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.
Enjoy!
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A few years ago, Toronto's Koerner Hall was the site of a performance of Jewish Folks Telling Jokes, a night of comedy to benefit Jewish Family and Child, one of the foremost Jewish service agencies in North America. Jewish Family and Child supports the healthy development
of individuals, children, families, and communities through prevention,
protection, counseling, education and advocacy services, within the
context of Jewish values. We previously posted a few jokes that were told at the event, a Canadian contribution to the world of Jewish humor, probably inspired by the off-Broadway show Old Jews Telling Jokes, still touring around the USA. We
were lucky to discover a few more jokes from these talented
Toronto joke tellers, and we'll be sharing some of them in future posts
of A Joke to Start the Week. This week's joke is told by Chas Gordon. Here's
the setup: A guy goes into shul with his Saint Bernard dog. Instead of the usual cask of rum, this dog has a tallis bag. And then... Enjoy! A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: THE VIDEO IS NOT
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With
the first (and in Israel, the only) seder only five days away, we're
getting ready by posting some Passover music to get into the mood.
Yisroel Leshes,
Assistant Cantor at Lincoln Square Synagogue, has released Go Down, Moyshe - a video of
the African-American spiritual “Go Down, Moses” in Yiddish – with a
jazzy twist.
As reported by the staff of The Forward,
Leshes has previously infused Yiddish songs with jazz elements, as in his release of the song “Younger World”. In this video, he performs “Go Down, Moses” during a live performance of Yiddish jazz at The Mansion, a private venue near Union Square, that is open once a month for Jewish music.
“Go Down, Moses” was sung by African-American slaves as a song of
freedom, beginning in the 1800’s. The words, quoting the Bible,
re-interpreted Moses’ calls for freedom for the Israelites, as demands
for freedom by enslaved Black people. It was first published as sheet
music in 1861 after Reverend Lewis Lockwood heard runaway slaves singing
it. The song became well-known across America since its widespread
popularization during and after the Civil War.
For years, many American Jews have taken the song as emblematic of
the Pesach story, and sing it at their Seder. Now Leshes’ clip may
encourage some of them to sing it in Yiddish as well.
Enjoy!
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A versatile musician who plays guitar, zanfona (hurdy gurdy), gaita
(Galician bagpipes) and countless other folk instruments, Paco Díez
curates a musical instrument museum adjacent to his home in Mucientes,
Castile.
He is not only a performer, but also a scholar of Spanish folk
music, and has collected songs, melodies, and rhythms from all over the
Iberian peninsula, the Mediterranean, and northern Africa.
He is especially well known as a performer of Sephardic music, the
heritage of Jewish people who were expelled from Spain in 1492 and
dispersed into a diaspora where they maintained the Ladino language
(closely related to modern Spanish). He performs all over the world, and
in 2016 he was nominated for Spain’s highest honor in the arts, the
Premio Princesa de Asturias de las Artes.
Today we're welcoming Shabbat with Paco Diez's interpretation of Adon Olam.
Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!
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Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish) was a Russian-born American singer, comedian,
actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of
comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers
in the U.S. during the first half of the 20th century.
During the 1930s, Tucker brought elements of nostalgia for the early
years of the 20th century into her show. She was billed as "The Last of
the Red Hot Mamas" as her hearty sexual appetite was a frequent subject
of her songs, unusual for female performers of the day after the decline
of vaudeville.
In 1911 she introduced what would become her signature song, Some of These Days. She included this song in all of her performances until her last TV appearance in 1965 on the Ed Sullivan Show.
In her later years she waxed nostalgic about the song and often didn't sing the whole song but delivered emotional poems about the song and what it meant to her career. In this video clip from 1953 she pays tribute to the song and ends with singing a few bars.
Enjoy!
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Robert Merrill (born
Moishe Miller in Williamsburg, Brooklyn) was an American operatic
baritone and actor, who was also active in the musical theatre circuit.
He received the National Medal of Arts in 1993.Victor Borge (born Borge
Rosenbaum in Copenhagen, Denmark) was a Danish-American comedian,
conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and
television.
So what did these musically talented and successful Jewish boys do when they got together? Comedy shtick, of course. In this undated video clip, Borge plays the introduction, Merrill starts to sing, and then the leaves begin to fall. Borge carries on while Merrill keeps a straight face. Hilarious.
Enjoy!
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Alex
Edelman grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family and, following high
school, spent a year in a yeshiva in Jerusalem. During his time, he
helped to establish the city's first comedy club -- Off the Wall Comedy.
In 2008,he
moved to New York City to study English at New York University. He
graduated in 2012. During college, he continued to perform stand-up and
later joined Upright Citizens Brigade.
His first show, Millennial, won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best
Newcomer, the first show by an American to do so since 1997.
In this video clip, Edelman tells the comedy club audience about his experiences in attending and paying for his studies at New York University.
Enjoy!
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It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with one that we haven't heard before.
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: Abrams and Corman were best friends. They went to medical school together. They had their residencies at the same time. When they graduated and they were ready to set up their individual practices, they decided to rent office space together. And then...
Enjoy!
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Comedians Yohay Sponder and Shahar Hason
got their start as comedians in Israel catering exclusively to
Hebrew-speaking audiences.
As the two became more and more well-known to
Hebrew speakers throughout Israel, they noticed a huge demographic in
the country that was missing out on the laughs.
Sponder and
Hason took the risk of crafting and re-writing their material from
Hebrew to English (and from Israeli humor to American humor), all the
while unsure whether or not they would even get a laugh out of an
English speaking crowd. Their hard work and dedication to broadening the
audience of one of Israel’s most unique cultural elements has launched
the growing scene of Israeli Stand-up in English.
Sponder, Hason, and some of their friends performed regularly on Monday nights in a Tel Aviv bar and restaurant until the start of the COVID pandemic. We're watching for a notice of a re-opening. In the meantime, here's a clip from one of their shows.
Enjoy!
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Today we welcome Shabbat with a beautiful rendition of Yedid Nefesh, which is sung at the beginning of the Kabbalat Shabbat service on Friday night. The singers are Rabbi Motti Feldman and his son Menachem Feldman, both Chabad emissaries in Sydney, Australia.
The song was originally performed by Yehoram Gaon. The musical arrangement is by Raymond Goldstein.
Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!
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Just Published: The Kustanowitz Kronikle - 35 Years of Purim Parody
Every Purim for the past 35 years we have published a Purim parody edition of The Kustanowitz Kronikle, covering virtually every aspect of Jewish life, and including parodies of hundreds of popular movies. This year we decided to retire the series and capture all the fun in a book that's just been published and is available at Amazon.com. It has every Purim issue of The Kustanowitz Kronikle from 1988 through 2022 in a full-color, full-size paperback book with hilarious headline stories and parody movie picks. Here are a few examples: TRUMP, NETANYAHU SWAP ROLES, COUNTRIES; NEW TALMUD VOLUME "VOTIN" FOUND IN IRAQ; JOINS "FRESSIN", "NAPPIN", TANTZEN","PATCHEN"; "JUDAICARE" PROGRAM PLANNED TO ENSURE THAT ALL JEWS HAVE SYNAGOGUE MEMBERSHIP; RABBIS CREATE TALMUD AMERICANI; NEW LAWS EXTEND HALACHA TO THANKSGIVING AND JULY 4; JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS WORLDWIDE UNITE TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING; FOCUS ON REDUCING HOT AIR; RABBIS TO REQUIRE SHECHITA FOR MANY FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Jewish Humor Central Staff
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief:
Al Kustanowitz Food and Wine Editor:
Aviva Weinberg Israel Food and Wine Consultant Penina Kustanowitz Reporter and Photographer:
Meyer Berkowitz Reporter Phyllis Flancbaum
Now You Can Book Program and Lecture Dates for 2024 and 2025 in Person and Via ZOOM
Now is the time to book our Jewish humor programs and lectures for your 2024 and 2025 events in person and via ZOOM anywhere in the world. Book any of our 22 popular programs including "The Great Jewish Comedians", “Israel is a Funny Country”, and "Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places." Click above for details and videos. To book a program with Al, e-mail: dan@hudakonhollywood.com
"Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places" is now available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions
This book presents 150 anecdotes and associated video clips that reveal the myriad ways that Jewish culture, religion, humor, music, song, and dance have found expression in parts of the world that, at first glance, might not seem supportive of Jewish Life. It includes 50 videos of Hava Nagila being performed from Texas to Thailand, from India to Iran, and from Buenos Aires to British Columbia. Also highlighted are 34 international versions of Hevenu Shalom Aleichem, Adon Olam, Abanibi, and Tumbalalaika. Whether you’re reading the print version and typing in the video URLs or reading the e-book version and clicking on the links, you’ll have access to 150 video clips totaling more than 10 hours of video. Enjoy!
"Israel is a Funny Country" is now available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions
This book explores the multifaceted nature of humor in Israel, some of which is intentional and some of which is unintentional. Either way, the quirks of Israeli life contribute to making that life interesting and fulfilling. In the pages of this volume, we take a look at humorous slices of Israeli life, Israeli comedy, satire and parody, funny TV commercials, unusual stories about food, surprising rabbinic bans on daily activities, simchas as they can only be celebrated in Israel, and endearing aspects of Israeli culture. There are more than 120 anecdotes and links to video clips totaling more than six hours of video. We hope that these anecdotes and video clips give you a new and different insight into life in Israel, and encourage you to join in the fun by planning a visit to the land flowing with milk and honey.
Now is the time to book our Jewish Humor Shows and Lectures in person or on ZOOM.
Bring Al's Jewish humor lectures and comedy programs with the funniest videos on the Internet to your community and your synagogue, club, JCC, organization or private event in person or via ZOOM. We're taking reservations now for 2024 and 2025 dates in your community. Click above for details. To book a program with Al, e-mail: dan@hudakonhollywood.com.
Now Open: The Jewish Humor Central Gift Shop
Jewish Humor Central logo merchandise is now available. Click on the image above to see the complete collection -- More than 100 items from tote bags, baseball caps, mugs, aprons, drinkware, T-shirts and sweatshirts, to pajamas and underwear.
The Best of Jewish Humor Central - Now Available in eBook and Paperback at Amazon.com
The Best of Jewish Humor Central - More than 400 video clips, including music and comedy videos for all the Jewish holidays. View them on Your PC, Mac, Kindle Fire, iPad, iPhone, iTouch, Android Tablet and Smartphone. Click on the image above to peek inside and download a free sample. And now, a paperback edition for anyone who prefers a traditional book and doesn't mind typing the URLs instead of clicking on them.
About the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
A long-term devotee of Jewish humor, Al Kustanowitz has been collecting and sharing it even before there was an internet. In 2009, after a 36-year career at IBM managing new technology projects, he founded Jewish Humor Central (jewishhumorcentral.com. Through the blog he brings a daily dose of fun and positive energy to readers who would otherwise start the day reading news that is often drab, dreary, and depressing (subscribing is free). He has published 12 books on humor based on his more than 4,000 blog postings, each of which includes a video clip and his commentary.
He has presented more than 100 programs in South Florida and the Northeast on topics that include the great comedians and entertainers of the 20th century, funniest moments in film and television, flash mobs around the world, and composers and lyricists of the Great American Songbook.
He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the City University of New York and taught computer science courses at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the International Association of Yiddish Clubs.
You can contact Al via email at akustan@gmail.com.
Shanah Tovah
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