Ashkenazi and Sephardi Chefs Square Off at London Gefiltefest

You may have noticed that most of our posts are related to events in the United States, but we don't want to neglect funny and Jewish happenings in the other 190 countries (no, we're not kidding) where Jewish Humor Central is read.

On May 19, our brethren in the United Kingdom (ranking 4th in our readership) hosted Gefiltefest 2013 at the Jewish Cultural Centre in London. Gefiltefest is an annual gathering of Jews interested in food (are there any who aren't?). 

One of the highlights was a cook-off matching Ashkenazi and Sephardi master chefs. Ashkenazi and Sephardi cooking go back centuries, but the two are distinctly different from one another. Here at the fourth annual Gefiltefest, cooks from both sides took  part in a competitive match-up to test their skills in food preparation and presentation. Both teams were given one hour to complete an egg and potato dish representing their culture and cooking styles. There was only one winner. Who won? Watch the video and enjoy!

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Hava Nagila is Alive and Well in Buenos Aires Flash Mob

The Abasto de Buenos Aires was the central wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 1893 to 1984. Since 1999, it has served as a shopping mall.

In June, shoppers in the Abasto Mall were treated to a spontaneous outpouring of Jewish song and dance to the music of Hava Nagila by a flash mob brought in by YOK, a project of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. The dance was in celebration of Dia de la Bandera, an annual holiday to celebrate the Argentinian national flag. Because it was performed in Argentina, the dancers couldn't resist incorporating elements of the tango, and while they were at it, also included a few measures of To Life, L'Chayim!

Today a vibrant Jewish population is integrated into the towns and business of Buenos Aires. The neighborhoods of Once, Villa Crespo and Belgrano have the highest concentration of Jewish businesses and families, and Abasto even holds the only kosher McDonald’s outside Israel.

There are city fairs for Jewish holidays, hosted by YOK Time, a non-profit organization that encourages approaching Judaism “in your own way”. YOK’s Rosh Hashana fair offers attendees free apples and honey to celebrate the New Year and goods from local Jewish artists, and on Passover you can participate in a gefilte fish contest and listen to Klezmer music, all in the barrio of Palermo. 

YOK, which stands for ‘Yo OK’ or ‘I am OK,’ creates these urban festivals to “establish a space where people can gather to share their Jewish culture and traditions with the whole community,” according to Dana Jones of Project YOK.

Enjoy!

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Funniest Tweets from Siyum HaShas at MetLife Stadium

Last night 90,000 Jews, mostly, but not all, ultra-Orthodox, gathered at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the twelfth Siyum HaShas - the completion of the seven and a half year cycle of reading all 2,711 pages of the Talmud, one day at a time. The first cycle began on Rosh Hashanah in 1923. The cycle is known as Daf Yomi (Daily Page.)

Yesterday's turnout was more than double the all-ultra-Orthodox crowd that filled Citi Field on May 20th to protest the evils of the internet. Like the anti-internet asifa (gathering), this one was live streamed over the internet and by telephone audio hookup. If population and learning trends continue in this direction, we wonder where they will find a venue for the completion of the next seven and a half year cycle, which starts today.

The rain didn't stop the enthusiastic crowd from attending the spectacle, which didn't end until 1 am this morning. Watching the sea of black hats, black suits, and white shirts over a blurry, jumpy connection, we were hoping for a spectacular opening ceremony with revered rabbis doing a parachute jump into the stadium like Queen Elizabeth and Daniel Craig did at the Olympics in London last week, but alas, all they did was give long speeches, mostly in Yiddish.

Just like the Citi Field gathering, yesterday's Siyum was followed by a host of volunteer commentators tweeting away on their smartphones, tablets, and computers. 

The tone of the tweets last night was very different from the tone at the asifa, where many of the tweets were critical of the attendees' negative attitude toward the internet, perhaps the greatest innovation in facilitating Jewish education since the invention of the printing press. The siyum hashas tweeters deserve credit for understanding that this was a worthy event celebrating a real educational achievement and the start of another. Most of the tweets were very positive, expressing joy in seeing so many happy Jews united in a good cause.

Another difference from the May gathering was that this time women were present, if not very visible. As Debra Nussbaum Cohen wrote in The Forward,

There will be lots of women at the big Siyum HaShas — which is the celebration of the completion of the daily study of the entire Talmud, which takes about 7½ years — on Wednesday evening. But they’ll be hidden behind a 25-foot high mechitzah, being installed at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey at a cost of $250,000. Agudath Israel of America, organizer of this mega-event, which some 92,000 people will attend, says that, at 2.5 linear miles, it’s the longest mechitzah in the world.

There will also be women at the smaller Siyum HaShas being organized by Rabbi Dov Linzer, the rosh yeshiva of “open Orthodox” rabbinical school Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. At that siyum, which will be held on August 6th at Congregation Shearith Israel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, women will be at the evening of learning and celebration not only as full participants, but also as teachers.

But it was refreshing to see that the tweeters haven't lost their sense of humor and irony. So we present a sampling of what we think are the funniest tweets of the night. Enjoy!

Ok so now Michael Phelps ran into MetLife stadium carrying a torch, looking very lost.@cholentface

New York siyum set a Guinness World Record for largest mechitza. @adamkaroly

"I drove ALL THE WAY HERE from VERMONT, & this is the FIRST SIYUM I've been to that doesn't have any cake!" - Angry man at the Siyum HaShas. @cholentface

Dear Frum rappers, "Daf Yomi" rhymes with "Macaroni." You're welcome. @cholentface

i feel like a party crasher. you're suppose to do WHAT for 7.5 years beforehand? @jacobgoldman

When does the music start playing like at the Oscars? @acposen

If someone hasn't suggested it already, iit would be a great bit if someone dressed up in a Waldo costume ... @alicht
 
So. Let me be the first to ask. Where can Siyum Hashas go in 7.5 years to outdo 100,000 people in one location? @chaimshapiro

The gist: they tried to kill us, we survived, and now we're ridiculously smart. @SidBridgeComedy

Before the #Siyum ends SOMEONE needs to start the wave! @chaimshapiro

You think I'd get kicked out if I screamed out J E T S JETS JETS JETS!!! ? @edistenfeld

What's 4 hours of traffic when your ancestors wandered in the desert for 40 yrs? :) @JenMaxfield7

‏These Tzeduka collecters here are probably going home with a nice amount. Imagine just 100K $1 bills. @LChaimMusic

Hashem took us out of Egypt, gave us Israel, then he gave us MetLife Stadium. @SidBridgeComedy

Lost kid - yisroel meir section 148. Reply if he's yours. @mtydhd

Best announcement heard at Siyum HaShas: "The Rabbis at the dais should enter through the Bud Light gate." @RabbiStrul

The Siyum HaShas is like the Talmud Olympics. Marathon of 2711 pages studied. 7.5 years. 90,000 people. Global event. More stamina than speed. @bradlander

‏

Somebody'd better turn off the TV screens in the bathrooms at the Siyum HaShas broadcasting divrei Torah. @urielheilman

I heard someone get up in the John and start dancing he must have got inspired from the live feed in the stalls. @bulsh4thebirds

Sorry you weren't there? Be a fly on the wall by watching this video of 90,000 Jews singing and dancing at MetLife Stadium just after the completion of the Daf Yomi cycle. Enjoy!

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(A tip of the kippah to MrMennyg for posting this video on YouTube late last night.)

Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival Unites Jewish and Chinese Communities on New York's Lower East Side

Last month the crowds came out to celebrate the 12th annual Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival centered around the Eldridge Street Synagogue and Museum on New York's Lower East Side.

As the Bowery Boogie reported:

On the street, a number of tables were serving up the egg rolls and egg creams, with all proceeds from sales benefiting the Eldridge Street Synagogue. The Pickle Guys and Zaro's Bakery, who were event co-sponsors, also had representation.  Not everything was food-oriented, though.  There were more child-friendly stations dedicated to face painting, arts and crafts, and yarmulka design.  All the while, various traditional groups provided a unique soundtrack.

Inside the synagogue proper, the scene was a bit more bustling.  A few tables were squeezed into a tiny area behind the pews.  One had a sofer (scribe) writing out Hebrew names for people on construction paper.  His was the most popular.  There was also a place for Chinese paintings, calligraphy, and rather intricate origami.

Museum hands told the story of the ornate structure (est. 1887) and a cantor sang some Hebrew hymns.  Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was also in attendance, and delivered a speech about his connections to the house of worship.  How is brother had his Bar Mitzvah there; how his family was involved in its leadership in the 1930s through the 1950s.

The Jewish Daily Forward (Der Forverts) was also there, with Yiddish reporter Shmuel Perlin delivering a running narrative of the event, interspersed with historical observations on the establishment of the two communities, their differences and similarities, and the ways they cooperate to maintain one of New York's most colorful neighborhoods.

Here is his video report, in Yiddish with English subtitles.  Enjoy!

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Israel Day Celebrated in Maryland with Kaveret Poogy and Dance

Last Sunday Israel was celebrated not only on Fifth Avenue in New York City, but also in Rockville, Maryland, where we were spending the weekend. 

Thousands of adults and children gathered at Rockville Town Square to enjoy an Israel @64 Festival sponsored by the Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington.

On a glorious sunny day, the square was filled with booths displaying Judaica, jewelry making, sand art, face painting, tefilin demonstrations, and lots of Israeli food. 

For us the highlight of the event was a one hour concert by Danny Sanderson and a musical troupe that brought to life many of the most popular songs by his band, Kaveret (Poogy) which has been a major presence on the Israeli music scene since 1973.

The band, several of whose members met during their service in the Israel Defense Forces, was formed in 1973. It broke up in 1976 by consensus of the band members. Subsequently, Kaveret veterans Gidi Gov and Danny Sanderson along with female vocalist Mazi Cohen and other musicians, formed a spinoff band named Gazoz, and later, another named Doda. As it turned out, six of the seven band members became stars in the Israeli music and entertainment scene in their own right after the band broke up.

The seventh, drummer Meir Fenigstein (whose nickname "Poogy" served as inspiration for the band's name abroad and for some of its material), went on to become a film festival producer.

Many songs by Kaveret became embedded in Israeli culture and are familiar also to the new generation of Israeli youth.

In 1974, Kaveret represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest with their song, Natati La Khayay ("נתתי לה חיי", "I Gave Her My Life"). It finished 7th. In the same year, Kaveret played one of the biggest concerts in Israel ever. While the population of Israel was only 3 million people, over 500,000 fans came to listen to the band perform. "The streets of Israel were empty", said band member Efraim Shamir after the event took place.

Here's a video of Sanderson and the band playing Natati La Khayay and Shir HaMakolet, and a Chassidic dance set to music from Fiddler on the Roof.  

For Poogy fans, we're including a video of the original performance of Natati La Khayay by the band at the Eurovision contest in 1974. For a transliteration and English translation of the song, click here. Enjoy! 

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Celebrate Israel Parade Kicks Off at 11 am Today on Fifth Avenue

A sunny, 77 degree day is forecast for New York City today as the annual Celebrate Israel Parade kicks off at 11 am on Fifth Avenue. From 11 am to 4 pm, thousands are expected to march  and hundreds of thousands are expected to watch and cheer on the American and Israeli community leaders and dignitaries, entertainers, artists, musicians, dancers, celebrities, floats and marching bands.

In 1964, thousands walked down Riverside Drive in support of the young State of Israel. This impromptu walk evolved into the Salute to Israel Parade on Fifth Avenue. Last year the name was changed to Celebrate Israel. It has become the world’s largest gathering in celebration of Israel attracting worldwide media. The Parade enables the tri-state community to celebrate in a non-partisan, apolitical show of unity with Israel.

For the Marching Groups and Clusters the Celebrate Israel Parade is a year-long Israel education effort using a creative theme. This year's theme is "Israel Branches Out." Each Group or Cluster works with the Parade staff to develop a creative presentation with colorful banners, costumes and props in a show of unity and pageantry.The participants will learn about Israel as it relates to: flowers, blossoming, being fruitful, growing, going out on a limb, branching out into (hi-tech), finding our roots, seeds etc. and they will bring a Garden of Delight to Fifth Avenue!

The Jewish Daily Forward published a graphic "Anatomy of a Parade," showing a breakout of the marching groups by category and other parade facts and statistics. For example, 48% of the marchers are day schools, 13.5% are youth groups, 11% synagogues, and 8% Federations and Pro-Israel advocacy groups. Of the participating day schools, 74% are Modern Orthodox, 14% Conservative, 6% nondenominational, and 4% Sephardic.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

If you can get to Manhattan today it will be a great way to spend a bright, sunny, joyous day in celebration of Israel's acheivements. Here's a short video with highlights of last year's parade. Enjoy!

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Star Wars Fans Celebrate "Darth Seder" on May 4 (May the Fourth Be With You)

Just when we put away the last of our Passover dishes and thought that anything to do with a seder was another year away, along comes collegehumor.com with an irreverent and funny twist on the idea of a seder.

Last Friday was May 4, a day of no special significance except that the community of Star Wars aficionados has adopted it as an annual day of celebration. Why? "May the Fourth be With You," of course.

The College Humor twist is to conduct a seder for Star Wars Day, reading from a Haggadah-like book containing many references to the beloved science fiction series of films and including seder-like activities like removing drops of wine from the cup to remember the sacrifices made by the brave X-Wing pilots and dipping a bitter herb in salt water just like Han Solo was dipped in Carbonite.

May the Fourth always be with us. Enjoy!

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(A tip of the kippah to Esther Kustanowitz for bringing this video to our attention.)

Community Singalongs Help Jerusalem's Needy with Hakova HaHafuch

Sing alongs have always been part of the Israeli scene. From the early days of its founding to the present day there's something about group singing of folk songs old and new that appeals to the Israeli psyche.

We can remember singing old folk songs with lyrics projected on a screen while seated on folding chairs on the banks of the Kinneret at the Nof Ginnosar kibbutz guest house in the 1980s. Nothing much has changed except the songs chosen for the singalongs, but an organization called Hakova Hahafuch (the upside down hat, as in pass the collection plate) has found a way to turn this popular activity into fund raising for needy people and social causes in Israel.

"We can change the way people think by getting everyone involved," chairman Hanan Rubin explained to GoJerusalem.com. "We want to give people culture on the one hand, and we want to get people socially involved on the other." The group has held a number of successful events, attracting thousands of young people and raising over 100,000 NIS for various charities.

Last Thursday evening we sat on folding chairs in the auditorium of a cultural center on Emek Refaim Street in Jerusalem while a band of three musicians and a singer carried on for more than two hours. The audience of more than 100 sang and swayed to the music. Many of the songs were new to us, but we fell into line when the projector showed lyrics to Finjan, Tumbalalaika, and Katyushka, all Russian imports to Israel in the days of the halutzim (pioneers.) We taped part of this medley for your enjoyment.

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Israel Off the Beaten Track: Balabasta Festival in Jerusalem

Today we're starting a series on places and events in Israel that even the most frequent visitors don't know about, and that don't make it into travel brochures or the itineraries of most tour guides.

The Balabasta festival takes place at the Machane Yehuda market on Monday nights in July. The busy market, usually closed at night, comes to life with an eclectic mix of singing, dancing, displays of original art and sculptures, martial arts demonstrations, and the unexpected.

Click on the video below and step into the market for a few minutes to experience the look and feel of this unusual festival.  Enjoy!

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