This creative musical mashup celebrates Jewish tradition with a playful twist, uniting voices from near and far to uplift and inspire. Whether you’re a fan of Jewish music, baseball, or simply love seeing communities come together through song—this performance will make you smile.
Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!
As Shiryn Ghermezian wrote in The Algemeiner,
The Grammy-nominated Jerusalem singer plucked the matzah ball directly out of a container of soup, presented to him by fellow Jew and star of The Flash, actor Ezra Miller, before throwing the opening pitch from the mound to Miller at home plate. A video that Matisyahu shared on Instagram shows the matzah ball breaking apart into millions of pieces when Miller tried to catch it with his baseball glove.
The matzah ball used in the pitch was made by Miller, who adjusted a family recipe to make a “denser ball” for Sunday’s game, according to the New York Post.
A reporter for MLB.com who covers the Mets recounted the scene on social media: “The Mets are going all-out for Jewish Heritage Day at Citi Field. Matisyahu threw a ceremonial first pitch and performed live between innings. Ike Davis, Ty Kelly, Art Shamsky and Josh Satin were recognized on a scoreboard feature. The organist even played The Chanukah Song.”
Enjoy!
A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS. YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.
Phil Foster (1913-1985)was born in Brooklyn, New York as Fivel Feldman. He took his stage name's
surname from Foster Avenue in Brooklyn.
He had his first taste of
performing when he was a child, when he and his pals began singing and
dancing in front of movie theatres. Then he began appearing in amateur
shows, competi
ng for prizes. With him on occasion was another beginner
named Jackie Gleason.
Foster
made his debut as a night club comic in Chicago in the late 1930s when
he was pushed out on the floor suddenly to fill in for a stand-up comic.
"I just got up and talked," he says. "I didn't know you were supposed
to have an act. But I was offered the job at $125 a week."
He always intended to go back to acting, but, staying with the money,
he rapidly made a reputation in night clubs and found himself in
constant demand from New York to Birmingham to Seattle.
During World War II, Foster served in the United States Army.
Upon his discharge, he returned to New York and become a variety show
favorite with an act comprising stories based on his curious childhood
in Brooklyn.
Enjoy!
A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS. YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.
Most of the more than 40 members of the team are Jewish Americans who played in the big leagues. They got their citizenship and passports and qualified to represent Israel in the games.
As Cody Williams wrote in the New York Post,
Amid a group of stalwarts in the world of baseball, Israel has been a nation on the rise in the sport in recent years. They have shot up into the top 25 of the world rankings in recent years, including making a run in the World Baseball Classic back in 2017. However, this will be the country’s first appearance ever in the Olympics.
The major factor differentiating the 2017 WBC squad from the group heading to Tokyo is that the Olympics have stricter eligibility requirements, essentially requiring all players to be naturally born Israeli citizens or to have made aliyah (Jewish return to Israel to become a citizen). For the WBC, The Law of Return allowed virtually any Jewish baseball player to join Team Israel.
The first game between Israel and the USA is scheduled for 6 am on Friday.
Play ball!
A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS. YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.
“While we agree with you that girls are certainly as capable as boys, and no doubt would be an attractive addition on the playing field, I am sure you can understand that in a game dominated by men a young lady such as yourself would feel out of place in a dugout.”
As Julia Gergely wrote yesterday in The Forward,
Although it wasn’t the response she had hoped for, a note with the Yankees letterhead was still exciting, and Goldman remained a fan.
She never expected the Yankees to reach out after all these years to right their wrong.
Brian Cashman, the Yankees GM since 1998, reached out to Goldman after hearing the story from her daughter. “A woman belongs everywhere a man does, including the dugout,” he read out loud to Goldman from a new letter on a surprise Zoom call with her family.
As part of the Yankees HOPE Week Initiative, Cashman invited Goldman to work as a bat girl for a game. “Some dreams take longer than they should to be realized,” his letter finishes, “but a goal attained should not dim with the passage of time.”
After 60 years, Goldman's dream was realized in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday.
Israel was the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the showcase tournament, coming in at 41st in the world. But last week in the first round, the Israelis squeaked past third-ranked South Korea, 2-1, in extra innings, outscored fourth-ranked Taiwan, 15-7, and defeated ninth-ranked the Netherlands, 4-2, to finish first in Pool A with a 3-0 record.
This is the first year that Israel has qualified for the tournament. In 2012, its inaugural WBC squad narrowly missed advancing past the qualifiers.
Most of the players are American Jews, among them several former major leaguers. WBC rules state that players who are eligible for citizenship of a country may play on its team. Jews and their grandchildren, and the grandchildren’s spouses, have the right to become Israeli citizens.A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY. YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.
Our Friday lunch at the club ended. I mentioned to Branca the approaching Sabbath.
“I have to get my money from Mrs. Lichtenfeld,” Branca said.
What? I asked. Branca explained. He told me that as a boy in Mount Vernon, he had lighted the stove for a Jewish neighbor every Friday night. He had been a Shabbos goy, doing something that was forbidden for Jews to do on the Sabbath.
Here was a memory that elevated experience over genes, that affirmed Branca’s sense of self. He was a Catholic, not a Jew.
"If I was Jewish, I couldn’t have done it,” he said. He added, “I’m not going to sell my soul for a penny.”
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