Comedy Showcase: Rabbi Bob Alper on Rental Cars and the New York State Thruway

The Borscht Belt Festival in Ellenville, New York, is in its fourth year. Last year, Catskills fans from all over descended on the festival at the Borscht Belt Museum for a dose of nostalgia, Jewish comedy, and classic Jewish food as it was served in the hotels of Sullivan and Ulster Counties.

Entertainment for the weekend featured standup comedy headlined by 80-year-old Rabbi Bob Alper who has been performing standup for more than 30 years in addition to his rabbinical duties in Philadelphia and Vermont, where he lives.

In this excerpt from his comedy routine, Rabbi Bob reminisces about an unusual security system in a rental car and driving on the New York State Thruway.

Enjoy!

"We Met at Grossinger's" - New Joyfully Nostalgic Documentary Now Playing in South Florida

We Met at Grossinger’s is a joyfully nostalgic journey through the Jewish Catskills—once known as the Borscht Belt—told through the rise and fall of its most beloved resort: Grossinger’s Resort and Hotel, the real-life inspiration for Dirty Dancing.

Built and run by three generations of trailblazing women, Grossinger’s Resort and Hotel stood at the center of a world Jews built for themselves after being shut out of America’s mainstream resorts and clubs. It became far more than a vacation destination—it was a sanctuary of identity, joy, and reinvention. Here, amid the laughter of comics, the brilliance of athletes, and the grace of guests like Jackie Robinson, Eddie Fisher, and Eleanor Roosevelt, Jewish Americans and other marginalized communities found a stage to redefine what it meant to be accepted, celebrated, and free.

As once nostalgic and revelatory, We Met at Grossinger's captures both the golden age and the fading echoes of the Catskills’ most beloved resort. It paints a sweeping portrait of an America in transformation—one that discovered, in the glow of the Borscht Belt, that inclusivity, creativity, and leisure lie at the very heart of the American dream.

The film will be making the rounds of Jewish film festivals and is playing through March 31 at the Movies of Delray in Delray Beach, Florida. Tickets are $8.00.

Here's the trailer for the documentary. Enjoy!

Comedy Showcase: Rabbi Bob Alper Headlines Comedy Show at Borscht Belt Festival

The Borscht Belt Festival in Ellenville, New York, is in its third year. Last weekend, Catskills fans from all over descended on the festival at the Borscht Belt Museum for a dose of nostalgia, Jewish comedy, and classic Jewish food as it was served in the hotels of Sullivan and Ulster Counties.

Entertainment for the weekend featured standup comedy headlined by 80-year-old Rabbi Bob Alper who has been performing standup for more than 30 years in addition to his rabbinical duties in Philadelphia and Vermont, where he lives.

In this excerpt from his comedy routine, Rabbi Bob reminisces about his first pulpit and the funny encounters he had with children when he was first ordained in Buffalo and teaching in Hebrew school.

Enjoy!