Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Catching the Y2K Computer Virus in 2000 - A Candid Camera Classic

Candid Camera was an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947. 

After a series of theatrical film shorts, also titled Candid Microphone, Funt's concept came to television on August 10, 1948, and continued into the 1970s. 

The show involved concealing cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations, sometimes involving trick props, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed or a car with a hidden extra gas tank. When the joke was revealed, victims would be told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera."

Peter Funt joined the show professionally in 1987 when he became a co-host with his father. During this time the show was being broadcast on the CBS television network. In 1993, Allen Funt had a serious stroke, from which he never fully recovered. This required Peter to host the show full-time. 

The show went through a few revivals. During his time on the show Peter was a producer, host and acted on the show. He also produced and hosted over 200 episodes.

Do you remember the universal panic on New Years Eve 1999 as the calendar was about to turn to 2000? The whole world was on edge waiting to see if the Y2000 computer virus was going to wreak havoc with all computer programs. The Candid Camera crew took advantage of this situation by having a staff member pose as a company doctor and offering to vaccinate employees to prevent them from catching the virus. Watch them roll up their sleeves in anticipation.

Enjoy!

Tumbalalaika Around the World: As Sung by ApiChorus, Harvard's a Cappella Group

The Yiddish folk love song Tumbalalaika originated in Eastern Europe in the 19th century, but its exact origin is hard to pinpoint. That hasn't prevented it from being sung and played over and over, not only in places where Yiddish songs are sung, but just about everywhere in the world, in vocal and instrumental versions, in cabarets and in the movies.

Just as we have followed the songs Hava Nagila, Adon Olam, Hevenu Shalom Aleichem, and Abanibi as they took different forms as interpreted by a wide variety of singers, musicians, and dancers, we're continuing the series today that we started back in 2012, sharing our 29th version of this universal courting and love song.

This version is sung by ApiChorus, Harvard's premier Jewish a Cappella Group and an affiliated student organization of Harvard Hillel. Founded in 2023, ApiChorus is a coed group comprised of current students at Harvard University. They sing a diverse repertoire of Hebrew and English classics, represent a broad range of Jewish backgrounds, and perform at venues locally in Cambridge as well as in concerts across the globe. 

Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week - "The Blonde Handywoman"

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

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

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

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one. Here's the setup: A blonde decided she needed to make some money. She was going to go out and hire herself out as a handywoman. She went knocking door to door. She got to one house and she said "Are there any odd jobs you'd like me to do around the house?" And then...

Enjoy! 

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: Milton Berle Heckled by Irving Benson in 1966

Some of the best standup comedy was on TV shows and comedy specials in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Today we continue our Sunday Standup series, sharing some of the classic routines by iconic comedians on Sunday editions of Jewish Humor Central.  

Comedian Milton Berle's career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and television. Born Mendel Berlinger in 1908, he dominated the television screen for most of the twentieth century. 

The Milton Berle Show played Friday night at 9:00 on ABC up against The CBS Friday Night Movie and The Man From UNCLE on NBC. He developed a heckler routine with Berle hosting the Hollywood Palace on March 5, 1966 with Henny Youngman in the audience but it was far funnier with Irving Benson as the heckler. Benson's character on this show was called Sidney Shpritzer.

The character would turn up in the balcony overlooking the stage of Berle's variety show (where the studio audience could see him) and banter with Berle about the host's alleged lack of talent and originality. 

Here's an episode from 1966. Enjoy! 

Welcoming Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh by Cantor Yaki Lauer of La Kehile, the Ashkenazi Community of Mexico City

Yedid Nefesh is the first piyyut sung in the Kabbalat Shabbat service every Friday night. It's a moment when we arrive at the synagogue, pause from the rhythm of the week, enter the Shabbat atmosphere, stand together, and pray from the heart. 

This music video was filmed in the first Ashkenazi synagogue in Mexico City, Justo Sierra, built approximately 85 years ago by the Ashkenazi community. The video showcases the impressive murals and the ancient and majestic Holy Ark (Aron Hakodesh). In this historic synagogue, some of the great cantors of the golden age prayed and sang, such as Zevulun Kwartin, Moshe and David Koussevitzky, Richard Tucker, Shmuel Vigoda, among many others.

In this video Yedid Nefesh is sung by international Chazzan & Singer Yaki Lauer, the Chief Chazzan of the community Ashkenazi in Mexico City (La Kehile).

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Why Jewish Families Eat Chinese Food on Christmas

The tradition of Jewish people eating Chinese food on Christmas, particularly in the United States, stems from the fact that many Chinese restaurants were historically open on Christmas Day, offering a readily available dining option for Jews who might not have other places to eat on a Christian holiday, often feeling like outsiders during the season.

This video explains the origin of this practice, and how it started on New York City's Lower East Side back in the late 1800s when Eastern European Jewish immigrants and Chinese immigrants lived in close proximity to one another.

Enjoy!

Comedy Showcase: Comedian Elon Gold on Israelis and Jewish Observance

We've been following Elon Gold and posting some of his shtick on Jewish Humor Central for the last 13 years. 

Elon is an American comedian, television actor, writer and producer. He starred in the television series Stacked.  He also starred in the short-lived sitcom In-Laws. 

 

Known for his impressions, including those of Jeff Goldblum, Howard Stern and Jay Leno, Gold was a judge on the ABC celebrity impersonation competition series The Next Best Thing. Gold was also in the movie Cheaper by the Dozen as a cameraman from the Oprah Winfrey show.

Gold attended the Westchester Day School in Mamaroneck, NY and the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (MTA)/Yeshiva University High School for Boys in Manhattan, NY. He is a practicing Orthodox Jew.

Today we're sharing a video clip of Gold in a theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey, talking about the relationship of many Israelis to Jewish observance. 

Enjoy!

Yiddish Word of the Day - "Head Coverings"

In 2020 the Forverts launched a daily series of short informal video clips called Yiddish Word of the Day.

The series, written and narrated by Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter, aims to give non-Yiddish speakers an introduction to familiar Yiddish words and phrases and how they might be used in everyday situations. 

Schaechter, who was appointed the new editor of the Forverts in 2016, is the first woman to helm the paper in its 119-year history, its first editor to have been born in the United States, and likely its first editor who is shomeret Shabbat.

We posted the first of this series in May 2020. Now that the Forverts is continuing the series, we'll continue sharing some of the words and phrases as a regular feature of Jewish Humor Central.

Today we get to learn the Yiddish words for the many different head coverings worn by Jewish men and women and an expression about a powerful person who lost his influence.

Enjoy!

Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Disney's Voices of Liberty Sing a Hanukkah Medley at Epcot Center in Florida

Every December, Voices of Liberty, the resident a cappella singing group at The American Adventure at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center gives a two minute nod to Hanukkah by singing a short medley including I Have a Little Dreidel and Hevenu Shalom Aleichem. 

The singing is exactly the same every year, down to the short introduction to the medley and the Dickens caroling costumes. But what did you expect? Spontaneity? It is Disney, after all, and Jewish visitors will likely be pleased at the inclusion of some blue and white in the otherwise red and green holiday festivities.

This video, recorded last week in Florida, is the conclusion of our annual Hanukkah video series. Tomorrow we'll be back with our usual mix of Jewish humor, music, nostalgia, and Yiddishe nachas.

Enjoy!

"We Are Lights" - A Hanukkah Song by Composer Stephen Schwartz and Sung by Azi Schwartz and Mira Davis

While making this video in the streets of New York City, New Yorkers from all walks of life joined in. Written by the legendary Stephen Schwartz (of Wicked fame), this anthem captures the spirit of Chanukah. 

It is sung by Cantors Azi Schwartz and Mira Davis of the Park Avenue Synagogue and the New York City Children's Chorus.

Enjoy and have a happy seventh day of Hanukkah!

Welcoming Shabbat Chanukah with Al Hanissim by Chaim Stern and the Jewish Amsterdam Chamber Ensemble

The Jewish Amsterdam Chamber Ensemble is Europe's only professional Jewish orchestra. It performs regularly in Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw.

Chaim Stern was born in 1996 to a renowned family of cantors in Jerusalem, with a long-standing tradition in cantorial music. He grew up in a Haredi environment in Beit Shemesh, Jerusalem, and Be'er Ya'akov. Chaim studied cantorial music at the Cantorial School in Petah Tikva and is considered one of the leading students of Maestro Eli Jaffe and Cantor Israel Rand.

Since 2020, Chaim has served as the Chief Cantor of the Great Synagogue in Munich. In addition, he regularly performs in Jewish communities around the world and in major synagogues in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Ramat Gan, as well as in the United States, Australia, and Europe.

As we welcome Shabbat and light the sixth Chanukah candle, let's listen to Chaim Stern and the Jewish Amsterdam Chamber Ensemble sing Al Hanissim.

Shabbat shalom and Chag Chanukah Sameach! 

Here Come the Hanukkah Videos: The Miami Boys Choir Sings "Chanukah Nights"

The Miami Boys Choir was founded in Miami in 1977 by Yerachmiel Begun, a well-known Jewish composer and musician at the forefront of the Orthodox pop genre. 

Begun, a native New Yorker, moved the whole operation to New York City in 1980. MBC concerts are major events in the Jewish community, and in 1995 the group made Jewish music history when 15,000 people attended one of their shows at Nassau Coliseum.

Chananya Begun says his father composes all of the group’s songs – more than 500 and counting, including 32 full-length albums. 

In this video the Miami Boys Choir sings Chanukah Nights. Enjoy!

Walt Disney World's Epcot Center Celebrates Hanukkah Around the World

Every year Epcot Center at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida celebrates Hanukkah as part of its Festival of the Holidays. 

This year Hanukkah Storyteller Zachary dramatized the Hanukkah story and illustrated it with a medley of traditional songs including the Ladino song Ocho Candelas as sung in Argentina.

This presentation started on November 28 and will continue until December 30. 

Enjoy! 

Here Come the Hanukkah Videos: Dancing With the Stars Celebrates Hanukkah with Matisyahu's "Miracle"

Dancing with the Stars recently featured its first-ever Hanukkah-themed dance in a holiday special, choreographed by Jewish pro Alan Bersten to Matisyahu's "Miracle", incorporating menorahs, dreidels, and hora steps for a powerful moment of Jewish representation that resonated with viewers. 

Bersten, along with fellow Jewish dancer Val Chmerkovskiy and other pros, created the routine to make Jewish kids feel seen and proud, receiving praise as a milestone for the show's history. 

The dance included spinning oversized dreidels, formations resembling a menorah, and steps inspired by Jewish folk dances and Fiddler on the Roof.

IDF Rabbinate Band Welcomes Chanukah with a Medley of Israeli Chanukah Songs

The

IDF Rabbinate Band, officially known as the IDF Military Rabbinate Choir (or Ensemble), is a musical group that is part of the IDF Orchestra and the Military Rabbinate. It primarily performs at military ceremonies and events to strengthen the connection of soldiers, especially religious ones, to Jewish life and culture. 

The ensemble performs at various military functions, such as swearing-in and track-ending ceremonies, particularly in combat units with a high percentage of religious soldiers and commanders. It also visits wounded soldiers in hospitals to lift spirits.

The band maintains an active presence on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where videos of their performances, including covers and holiday-themed medleys, are shared. 

Yesterday they posted a medley of songs to celebrate the first night of Chanukah.

Enjoy!

Lighting the First Chanukah Candle with Maoz Tzur by Hila Ben David

Hila Ben David is an internationally acclaimed vocalist whose powerful voice transforms ancient prayers into contemporary soul-stirring music. Bridging the gap between Celine Dion-style vocals and spiritual Jewish melodies, she creates a unique sonic experience that resonates with audiences across 191 countries. 

Following a profound spiritual awakening in 2020, Ben David embarked on a bold musical journey, reimagining traditional prayers through modern arrangements. Her distinctive blend of pop vocal prowess and sacred texts has earned her millions of organic views and a devoted global following. 

Often compared to Enya and Celine Dion, her music serves as a bridge between worlds - where contemporary pop meets timeless wisdom and personal prayer meets universal emotions. Each song is crafted as a spiritual experience, designed to open hearts and elevate souls through the power of music.

Let's join Hila in welcoming the first candle of Chanukah with the traditional song Maoz Tzur.

Enjoy, and Chag Sameach!

Welcoming Shabbat with Cantor Michelle Teplitz of Marlboro Jewish Center in New Jersey

The journey that brought Cantor Michelle Teplitz to Marlboro Jewish Center began more than 25 years ago when her childhood cantor asked her to sing with him on the High Holidays. From then until her ordination in 2010, it seemed like only a matter of time until Cantor Teplitz would bring her love of Jewish music and nusach to the bima.

A trained vocalist, Cantor Teplitz is a graduate of the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford where she received her degree in Music Education and was a co-founder of L’Shir, the first Jewish a capella group at UH.

After a career teaching music in both public and private schools, Cantor Teplitz decided to pursue her cantorial career at Gratz College in Philadelphia. While there she had the honor of learning from and collaborating with some amazing mentors including Marsha Bryan Edelman, Saul Wachs, Cantor Arlyne Unger and Hazzan Alisa Pomerantz Boro.

In this video from October 19, Cantor Teplitz sings Lecha Dodi at a Kabbalat Shabbat service.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Comedian Elon Gold Explains Hanukkah to His Non-Jewish Friends

We've been following Elon Gold and posting some of his shtick on Jewish Humor Central for the last 13 years. 

Elon is an American comedian, television actor, writer and producer. He starred in the television series Stacked.  He also starred in the short-lived sitcom In-Laws. 

 

Known for his impressions, including those of Jeff Goldblum, Howard Stern and Jay Leno, Gold was a judge on the ABC celebrity impersonation competition series The Next Best Thing. Gold was also in the movie Cheaper by the Dozen as a cameraman from the Oprah Winfrey show.

Gold attended the Westchester Day School in Mamaroneck, NY and the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (MTA)/Yeshiva University High School for Boys in Manhattan, NY. He is a practicing Orthodox Jew.

Today we're sharing a video clip of Gold on stage at The Laugh Factor in Los Angeles in a short bit about explaining the Hanukkah holiday to his non-Jewish friends.

Enjoy!

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Pulling Your Leg - Candid Camera Gold from 1962

Candid Camera was a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes, and initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947. 

The show involved concealed cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations, sometimes involving trick props, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed or a car with a hidden extra gas tank. When the joke was revealed, victims were told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera." The catchphrase became a song with music and lyrics by Sid Ramin.

Today we're sharing a classic episode from 1962 in which a Candid Camera cast member has a real (but removable) cast on his leg and gets unsuspecting passers-by to help him carry packages before he removes the cast to their amazement.

Enjoy! 

Tumbalalaika Around the World - Klezmer Tanz Plays at the Bath Inn in Nottingham, England

The Yiddish folk love song Tumbalalaika originated in Eastern Europe in the 19th century, but its exact origin is hard to pinpoint. That hasn't prevented it from being sung and played over and over, not only in places where Yiddish songs are sung, but just about everywhere in the world, in vocal and instrumental versions, in cabarets and in the movies.

Just as we have followed the songs Hava Nagila, Adon Olam, Hevenu Shalom Aleichem, and Abanibi as they took different forms as interpreted by a wide variety of singers, musicians, and dancers, we're continuing the series today that we started back in 2012, bringing you many interpretations of this universal courting and love song.

This 28th rendition of Tumbalalaika is by Klezmer Tanz, A group of English musicians playing the beautiful tunes and songs of the klezmer repertoire at the Bath Inn in Nottingham.

Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week - "Hiroshi and Takashi"

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

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

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

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one. Here's the setup: Hiroshi and Takashi had met as undergraduates at Tokyo University. They became fast friends. And now, decades later, the highlight of each of their weeks  was the Friday hot bath. And then...

Enjoy! 

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: Andy Kaufman's First Appearance on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show

It's hard to believe, but Andy Kaufman has been gone for 41 years. Kaufman, for all the funny characters he portrayed, insisted on being known as a song-and-dance man. 

According to his Wikipedia biography, Kaufman "was a popular and eccentric American entertainer, actor and performance artist."

"Elaborate ruses and pranks were major elements of his career. His body of work maintains a cult following and he continues to be respected for his original material, performance style, and unflinching commitment to character."

Kaufman came to prominence with his "Mighty Mouse" routine on the first Saturday Night Live show. He portrayed a garage mechanic from an unidentified European country on the sitcom Taxi, which also starred Danny DeVito and Jewish actors Judd Hirsch (Alex) and Carol Kane (Simka) and featured Dr. Joyce Brothers as herself in this episode.

The character he played on Taxi, Latka Gravas, had a Jewish and Eastern European feel to it even though it was never specific. The dialect, language and rituals were all made up, but whatever your ethnicity, they made it seem that they captured some of the flavor of the "old country", whatever it was.

Kaufman was born in New York City and grew up in a middle-class Jewish family in Great Neck, Long Island. He died at the age of 35 from a rare form of lung cancer. For years his fans thought he was faking his death as another elaborate prank. 

Here is a video of Kaufman's first appearance on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show in 1977 when he was only 28 years old.

Enjoy!

Welcoming Shabbat with Ana Bekoach by the Central Reform Congregation

Tonight we welcome Shabbat with Ana Bekoach, a liturgical poem from the Kabbalat Shabbat service that appears in the siddur just before Lecha Dodi. It's a Kabbalistic prayer composed by Rav Nehunia Ben Hakannah. It is also sung at weddings.

Known as the 42-letter Name of God, Ana Bekoach is a unique formula built of 42 letters written in seven sentences of six words each. Each of the seven sentences correspond to the seven days of the week, seven specific angels, and to a particular heavenly body. The letters that make up Ana Bekoach are encoded within the first 42 letters of the book of Genesis.

The kabbalists explain that this combination of letters takes us back to the time of Creation, and each time we meditate on a particular sequence, we return to the original uncorrupted energy that built the world. By performing the Ana Bekoach meditation, we enrich our lives with unadulterated spiritual Light and positive energy.

This version of Ana Bekoach is sung by the Central Reform Congregation based in St. Louis, Missouri with a thriving online community across the globe.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Eddie Fisher Singing "If She Walked Into My Life" on The Ed Sullivan Show

Today we're turning the calendar back 58 years to 1967 when Eddie Fisher sang If She Walked Into My Life, the hit ballad from the Broadway musical Mame on the Ed Sullivan Show.

The Ed Sullivan Show was a television variety program that aired on CBS from 1948-1971. For 23 years it aired every Sunday night and played host to the world's greatest talents. 

We remember Eddie as a giant (although he was short) of the pop music world after he was discovered by Eddie Cantor at Grossinger's in the Catskills where he was working as a bus boy. 

Fisher was born in Philadelphia in 1928 and was the fourth of seven children. He was the son of Russian-born Jewish immigrants, Gitte Winokur and Joseph Tisch. His father's surname was changed to Fisher by the time of the 1940 census.

He was not an observant Jew, but returned many times to sing at Grossinger's, and that's where he and Debbie Reynolds were married.  

Enjoy!

 

  #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: "Too Much Security" - A 25-Year-Old Candid Camera Classic

Candid Camera was an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947. 

After a series of theatrical film shorts, also titled Candid Microphone, Funt's concept came to television on August 10, 1948, and continued into the 1970s. 

The show involved concealing cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations, sometimes involving trick props, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed or a car with a hidden extra gas tank. When the joke was revealed, victims would be told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera."

Peter Funt joined the show professionally in 1987 when he became a co-host with his father. During this time the show was being broadcast on the CBS television network. In 1993, Allen Funt had a serious stroke, from which he never fully recovered. This required Peter to host the show full-time. 

The show went through a few revivals. During his time on the show Peter was a producer, host and acted on the show. He also produced and hosted over 200 episodes.

How would you react if, when checking out of a hotel, you were asked to walk through a security checkpoint to see if you were stealing a pen, a hanger, or a washcloth? That's what Peter and his crew did to these guests as they were leaving a California hotel. 

Enjoy!

Comedy Showcase: Modi's Standup Routine on Being a Guest and Host in the Hamptons

We just can't get enough of Modi. His standup routines always hit the mark as he satirizes Jewish life in all of its aspects. Here is a recent set filmed on location before a live audience of host and guests about weekend hosting in the Hamptons on Long Island. 

Mocking the wealthy lifestyles of multimillion dollar home owners, he skewers both the hosts and their guests as they navigate the hazards of spending the weekend in homes equipped with excessive alarm systems but lacking plungers in the bathrooms.

Enjoy! 

A Joke to Start the Day - "The Eulogy"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. This week we're doing something a little bit different. We're sharing a joke told entirely in Yiddish, with English subtitles. 

It’s widely known that Eastern European Jews have a traditional, ironic brand of humor.

You can hear it clearly in this anecdote told by Ruth Kohn, a professional Yiddish translator and interpreter, at a talent show held at the annual “Yiddish Vokh” in Copake, NY. 

Here's the setup: Long ago in a shtetl, a man passed away, who happened to have been very nasty. No one liked him, he didn't have any family, was all alone in the world. But someone needs to eulogize him. And then...

Enjoy!