Friday, March 6, 2026

Welcoming Shabbat with Ana Bekoach Sung by Cantor Chaim Stern

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 let's listen to Chaim Stern sing Ana Bekoach from the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom! 

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Remembering Neil Sedaka - Singer, Songwriter, and Pianist

The musical world lost one of its brightest stars last week with the death at 86 of Neil Sedaka, famous for his writing and performing many popular hits including Breaking Up is Hard to Do and Calendar Girl.

Sedaka was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Mordechai "Mac" Sedaka, was a taxi driver of Sephardi Jewish descent from Turkey. Sedaka's paternal grandparents came to the United States from Istanbul in 1910. 

Sedaka's mother, Eleanor (née Appel), was an Ashkenazi Jew of Polish and Russian descent. He grew up in Brighton Beach. Sedaka (the name is a variant of the Hebrew word Tzedaka - charity) was a cousin of singer Eydie Gorme.

Here are videos of his greatest hits. Enjoy!

 

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: Auto Photo Machine Captures Reactions - A Candid Camera Classic from 1963

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.

In this classic episode the Candid Camera team rigged a photo machine to give instructions to users on the expressions they should use when posing for the camera. Watch their reactions and the resulting photos.

This Candid Camera episode took place 63 years ago in 1963.  

Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Happy Purim! Today we Welcome This Joyous Holiday with the Kol Kaveret Choir of SAR High School

Today is the long awaited holiday of Purim. We're welcoming this Yom Tov by singing the traditional prayer Al Hanissim together with the SAR High School  Kol Kaveret Choir in Riverdale, New York.

The video was recorded at the American Dream mall in New Jersey. 

Enjoy, and Chag Purim sameach to all of our readers!

Monday, March 2, 2026

A Joke to Start the Week - "Irving, the Talking Dog"

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 to share with you. Here's the setup: Todd took his dog to the veterinarian, Dr. Saul. He said "Dr. Saul, my dog has a problem." And then...

Enjoy! 

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: Shelley Berman - "Don't Hang Up"

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.   

In this classic TV moment, watch Shelley Berman, one of the first and best to do the one-sided telephone conversation, bring his irritable telephone solicitor to The Colgate Comedy Hour stage. 

Berman was an American comedian, actor and writer who was awarded three gold records for his comedy albums. He also won the first Grammy Award for a spoken comedy recording in 1959. The Colgate Comedy Hour revival takes us back to 1967, the year war raged abroad with the Vietnam War and the Six-Day War, while at home Elvis and Priscilla tied the knot and the landmark Monterey Pop Festival launched.

Enjoy!