Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: "Car Speaks Japanese" - Candid Camera Gold

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

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.

In this Candid Camera classic stunt set in a Toyota car dealership, Peter poses as a car salesman pitching a car that has state of the art alert messages and music. The only problem is that they are all in Japanese. Watch the customer reactions!

Enjoy!

 

Yiddish Word of the Day - "Chess"

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 word for the game of chess and the names of all of the pieces -- the king, queen, bishop, rook, knight, and pawn.

Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week - "Late to Work Excuse"

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 variation on a classic Myron Cohen joke. Here's the setup: Sam Shapiro, the best cutter in a dress manufacturing shop in Brooklyn, was also the most punctual. He was there every morning at 8 am.. And then...

Enjoy! 

Wishing All of Our Readers a Shanah Tovah - Happy New Year 5787

We started Jewish Humor Central on October 5, 2009 and it's been going strong with more than 5000 blog entries and more than 15 million page views over the last 17 years.  

We appreciate your loyalty and we hope to keep bringing you a daily mix of Jewish humor in all of its forms -- traditional, eclectic, musical, unbelievable but true, and just funny, tempered with touches of nostalgia and Yiddishe nachas. 

We'll be observing Rosh Hashanah on Friday evening, Shabbat and Sunday, and we'll be back posting again on Monday.  Here's wishing you a happy, healthy, joyous, prosperous and funny New Year from our family to yours!

L'shanah Tovah Tikatevu v'techatemu!

Rosh Hashanah Greetings from the Worldwide Sephardic Jewish Community

Most of our posts at Jewish Humor Central have focused on Ashkenazic communities. But there is another important worldwide Jewish community, the Sephardic World. In the coming year, we will try to be more inclusive and share more videos from Sephardic Jews.

Sephardic U is a gateway to the vibrant world of Sephardic Jewry. It's mission is to celebrate, preserve, and share the rich heritage, traditions, and culture of Sephardic Jews worldwide. Join us as we embrace chesed, optimism, inclusiveness, and hospitality. By entering this gateway we can explore the tapestry of Sephardic Jewry through science, poetry, cuisine, and music and experience the harmony of tradition and modernity, Torah and science, Halacha, and culture.

This Rosh Hashana, Sephardic Jews from 39 countries around the world came together to share their greetings, traditions, and voices with our global community. From Morocco and Israel to France, Canada, the United States, and beyond, these messages remind us that while our communities may be separated by thousands of miles, our heritage connects us.

Rosh Hashanah Countdown - 3 Days to Go; Let's Start With a Song

Where did the time go? In three days Jews around the world will mark the start of the New Year 5787 as we welcome Rosh Hashanah, the start of the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe). Ten days later we will observe Yom Kippur followed by the holiday of Sukkot.

Counting down to the High Holiday season, let's start with Shana Tova, a song posted by Brian M. Jacobs.

Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week - "Sharing a Meal"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. This week we're posting another joke from Dr. Jay Orlikoff, a retired dentist from Centereach, New York, a community on Long Island in Suffolk County.

After a distinguished and meritorious dental career, he shifted his focus to telling and posting jokes on YouTube. We were fortunate to find some of his jokes and we're sharing one of the family-friendly ones with you today. 

It's an oldie but goodie that you've probably heard before, but like many of these, we find it interesting to see the same joke told in a slightly different way by a different joke teller.

Here's the setup: One evening an elderly couple go out to a McDonald's. The restaurant is packed. It's full of young couples and families. They look for a table and find a table. And then...

Enjoy!

Sunday Comedy Showcase: Animal Impressions with Carl Reiner and Andy Kaufman on the Dick Van Dyke Show

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

In this sketch from Dick Van Dyke's short-lived 1970s variety show, watch as comedy legend Carl Reiner hilariously pushes Dick to the brink to see if he's promotion material. Reiner shows his comedic talent in changing character from a stiff corporate president to a chicken. And just for good measure, Andy Kaufman makes an appearance as the menace who's constantly trying to get TV time on Van Dyke and Company.    

Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week - "Late to Work Excuse"

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. It's a variation on a classic Myron Cohen joke. Here's the setup: Sam Shapiro, the best cutter in a dress manufacturing shop in Brooklyn, was known for his punctuality. He showed up every day at 8 am. But one day...

Enjoy! 

Welcoming Shabbat with a Dolly Parton Influenced Lecha Dodi at Houston's Congregation Beth Yeshurun

Dolly Parton, the American singer-songwriter, actress and businesswoman who died last week in Nashville had a profound impact on the education of Jewish children worldwide. In 1995 she founded the Imagination Library in honor of her father, who never learned to read or write. It mails one book per month to each enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten. 

The idea inspired Jewish philanthropist Harold Grinspoon to take the concept even further by creating PJ Library using Parton's model to mail free, high-quality books directly to Jewish children, adapting it to focus on Jewish stories, values, and traditions for families worldwide. 

The PJ Library team selects an age-appropriate board book, picture book, or early chapter book every month for kids ages 0 to 8. Older readers ages 9 to 12 get to choose their own middle-grade book each month from a selection of fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels.

At Congregation Beth Yeshurun in Houston last Friday night, Cantor Rachel Goldman paid tribute to Parton by singing Lecha Dodi to her song, 9 to 5.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Sammy Fain Sings His Most Popular Songs in 1931

Songwriter Sammy Fain was born Samuel Feinberg in New York City, to a family that was deeply rooted in the world of show business. His uncle, for instance, Willie Howard (Wilhelm Levkowitz), son of a Silesian cantor, was a vaudeville performer. 

As a young man, Fain taught himself to play the piano. Although he couldn't read music well, he had a natural talent for coming up with memorable melodies in the spur of the moment. In 1925, he composed his first piece: "Nobody Knows What a Red-headed Mama Can Do."

Until 1942, Fain worked extensively in collaboration with Irving Kahal. In the late 1920s, they created works including "Wedding Bells are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine" and "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella." Fain and Kahal also collaborated to write pieces for the play Right This Way, such as "I Can Dream, Can't I?" and "I'll Be Seeing You." The latter was especially popular during WWII, as it perfectly reflected the feelings of many American wives whose husbands were off fighting.

95 years ago a short film was released featuring Sammy Fain singing some of his most popular songs. Enjoy!

 

   #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: "Snail Crossing" - 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.

In this classic stunt set on a highway, Candid Camera staffer Dick was positioned with a sign saying "Snail Crossing".  As each car approached, he waved the sign and told drivers that they could not proceed and had to wait 15 minutes while the snail crossed the road on the way to the mating grounds across the highway. Watch their reactions.

Enjoy!

New Israeli Romantic Comedy "Bloody Murray" Debuts on Chai Flicks Streaming Channel

Move over, Shtisel. Israel has a new romantic comedy for you to stream on its ChaiFlicks channel. As reported by Alan Zeitlin on the Unpacked website, the series centers on two 35-year-old roommates and best friends navigating careers, dating, and the pressure to settle down in Tel Aviv. 

Murray (Naomi Levov) teaches romantic comedies at a university but can’t seem to make one happen in her own life. Her roommate Dana (Rotem Sela), meanwhile, is a successful gynecologist whose romantic life isn’t exactly thriving either. 

Originally released in Israel in 2022, the nine-episode first season premiered on ChaiFlicks on July 19, with new episodes arriving weekly. The streamer has also acquired the second season, which will receive its global premiere on the platform at a later date.

For American audiences, one of the most refreshing aspects of “Bloody Murray” may simply be seeing an Israeli series whose central conflict has nothing to do with terrorism, espionage, or war.

While internationally successful Israeli shows like “Fauda” and “Tehran” revolve around national security, the crises in “Bloody Murray” are wonderfully ordinary: bad dates, complicated friendships, impossible apartment hunts, and wondering whether you’re falling behind while everyone else seems to have figured out adulthood. 

If you're not familiar with ChaiFlicks, it's often described as the “Netflix of Jewish content.” It's a subscription service at $11.99 per month or $99.99 per year, with a free 7 day trial.

Its library includes “Checkout” (“Kupa Rashit”), the hit Israeli sitcom set inside a chaotic supermarket, and “The New Black” (“Shababnikim”), about four yeshiva students who don’t exactly excel at following the rules.

The service is also home to “Shtisel,” the acclaimed drama starring Michael Aloni as Akiva Shtisel, a young Haredi artist trying to find love and his place within Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox community.

Now “Bloody Murray” joins the lineup — and it deserves to find an audience well beyond Israel.

Here's the trailer for Bloody Murray. Enjoy!

 

 

 

A Joke to Start the Week - "The Cardiologist and the Mechanic"

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 mechanic was working on a car when he saw a friend of his, a cardiologist in the shop, evidently waiting for his car. And then...

Enjoy!

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: Gilbert Gottfried on the Inspiration for Moby Dick

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.    

Gilbert Gottfried (1955–2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was best known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York dialect, his squint, and his edgy, often controversial sense of humor. 

His numerous roles in film and television included voicing Iago in the Walt Disney Company's Aladdin franchise, Mister Mxyzptlk in Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Action, Digit LeBoid in PBS Kids' Cyberchase, Kraang Subprime in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Aflac duck mascot before he was replaced by Daniel McKeague in 2011. He also played Mr. Peabody in the Problem Child franchise, the only actor in the series to reprise his role in all three films as well as the animated television series.

In this standup routine at a Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, Gottfried casts light on the inspiration behind Herman Melville's famous book, Moby Dick.

Enjoy! 

Welcoming Shabbat with Oseh Shalom as Sung by Cantor Daniel Mutlu of New York's Central Synagogue

Cantor Daniel Mutlu was called to serve as Senior Cantor of Central Synagogue in 2017. Cantor Mutlu is a first-generation American born to Turkish Jewish parents.

 Raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, Cantor Mutlu attended the Yeshiva Academy Achei Tmimim where he forged a strong Jewish identity and a broad religious perspective.

Cantor Mutlu proudly represented Central Synagogue at the 2019 URJ Biennial in Chicago where he led Friday evening Shabbat services for nearly 5,000 worshippers.

Today we join Cantor Mutlu in welcoming another Shabbat with Oseh Shalom.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Georgia Gibbs (Born Frieda Lipschitz) Sings "The Birth of the Blues"

Today's Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase takes us back to January 1959 when Georgia Gibbs sang The Birth of the Blues on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Georgia Gibbs, born Frieda Lipschitz in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1918, was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs achieved acclaim and notoriety in the mid-1950s copying songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later became a featured vocalist for many radio and television variety and comedy programs.

Gibbs was the youngest of four children of Russian Jewish descent. Her father died when she was six months old, and she and her three siblings spent the next seven years in a local Jewish orphanage.

In 1943, with her name changed to Georgia Gibbs, she began appearing on the Camel Caravan radio program, hosted by Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore, where she remained a regular performer until 1947. It was Moore who bestowed upon her the famous nickname "Her Nibs, Miss Georgia Gibbs," ironically using the title to describe the singer of diminutive stature who had an enormous "authoritative" prominence in American pop music.

Enjoy!

 

   #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: Dolly Parton Appears in Candid Camera Stunts in 1975

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.

Dolly Parton, the musician, songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman who died yesterday in Nashville, was a special favorite among Allen's team when Candid Camera moved its production to Nashville in the 1970s. Dubbed the "Queen of Country," Dolly was fun, witty and enormously talented. 

Here are two of her Candid moments from 1975 when she took part in two elaborate Candid Camera Classics pranks. One involves faking an injury to get assistance in a parking lot, while the other features a disruptive musical performance in a grocery store designed to confuse and provoke reactions from unsuspecting shoppers.

Enjoy!

Israeli Standup Comedy Special -- Shahar Hason Jokes with Audience About Italian Waiters

Shahar Hasson is one of the leading stand-up comedians in Israel, appearing on Israeli stages for over 25 years, He is a graduate of Yoram Levinstein's acting school. 

Shahar is an entertainer who paved his way through the best entertainment programs in Israel: Eretz Nehederet, Zahirut TV, TV at its best, Laughter from Work, Limited Edition, Fun Night, Express Hearts and more.

In this performance before a live audience, Shahar carries on about his experiences with Italian waiters in restaurants during a trip to Rome.

Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week - "Flower Show"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. This week we're posting another joke from Dr. Jay Orlikoff, a retired dentist from Centereach, New York, a community on Long Island in Suffolk County.

After a distinguished and meritorious dental career, he is shifting his focus to telling and posting jokes on YouTube. We were fortunate to find some of his jokes and we're sharing one of the family-friendly ones with you today. 

Here's the setup: Two old ladies are sitting on a park bench across from the town hall where a big flower show is going on. One of the old ladies says to the other "Boy, life is so boring. For five dollars I'd tear my clothes off and run through that flower show and streak them all" And then...

Enjoy!

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: Lenny Schultz "In The Beginning"

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.   

Lenny Schultz was an American comedian who performed during the 1970s on television and at comedy clubs in New York City. His madcap style of improvisational comedy influenced other comedians such as Robin Williams, Gallagher, Carrot Top, and David Letterman. 

Throughout his comedy career he continued working as a high school gym teacher and was known to leave clubs early on school nights. Schultz said that both principals and fellow teachers would ask him for autographs after seeing him on TV the night before. Schultz was known among his fellow comedians as a "hard act to follow". 

In this routine from 1977 Schultz tells the story of how it all began--the planet, life, everything-- complete with realistic sound effects.  

Enjoy! 

Welcoming Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh at Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus in North Miami Beach

Today we welcome Shabbat with Annie singing Yedid Nefesh at Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus, a Conservative synagogue in North Miami Beach, Florida. 

There is a custom to sing Yedid Nefesh between Mincha (afternoon prayer) on Friday and the beginning of Kabbalat Shabbat (literally: receiving or greeting the Sabbath—a collection of psalms usually sung to welcome in the Shabbat Queen. This custom is believed to have begun in the second half of the 20th century. 

Shabbat shalom!

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Dinah Shore Sings "Something Wonderful" on the Ed Sullivan Show

Dinah Shore, born Frances Rose Shore (1916–1994) in Winchester, Tennessee,  to Russian-Jewish immigrant shopkeepers Anna Stein and Solomon Shore, was an American singer, actress, television personality, author, and talk show host. 

Raised in Nashville, she rose to prominence as a recording artist during the Big Band era. She achieved even greater success a decade later in television, mainly as the host of a series of variety programs sponsored by Chevrolet. 

In 1966 she appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and sang Something Wonderful from The King and I by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Enjoy!

 

  #Throwback Thursday       #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: "Faucet Fiasco" - Candid Camera Gold

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. 

In this classic episode, the Candid Camera crew rigged the sinks in a public restroom in Gulfport, Mississippi so that they could control the flow of water from the faucets. 

Enjoy!

Yiddish Word of the Day - "Losing"

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.

In Yiddish, the verbs for losing a game, losing your glasses and losing your way are all different.Today we get to learn the Yiddish word for losing and some of the words and expressions associated with loss.

Enjoy!