Yiddish Word of the Day - "The Fourth of July"

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.

On Friday we start a year of celebrating America's 250th anniversary, so let's see how to say the Fourth of July in Yiddish and learn a few expressions relating to the holiday.

Enjoy!

Independence Day Special: A Yiddish "God Bless America" for Brooklyn's First Woman Hasidic Judge

As we celebrate the fourth of July, let's be proud of our great country and the freedoms that it has given us in our 246 years of independence.

Only in America could a Hasidic woman, Rachel "Ruchie" Freier, be elected as a civil court judge in New York State and become the first to serve in public office in United States history.

A Boro Park native, mother of six and Touro alum, Freier also made history when she founded the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in all of New York City, Ezras Nashim. Comprised of Hasidic women, this global grassroots women’s volunteer agency was the subject of a recent documentary 93Queen (now showing on HBO MAX).

When she was sworn in as civil court judge in December 2016, the occasion was marked by a rendition in Yiddish of God Bless America by Hasidic singer Lipa Schmeltzer.

Enjoy, and a happy 4th!

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.

Happy Birthday USA! Irving Berlin Sings His "God Bless America" in 1968

Irving Berlin when he wrote “God Bless America.”

Today we celebrate America's Independence Day, and also the 100th anniversary of God Bless America, the song first written in 1918 by Israel Balin, the Jewish Russian immigrant later to be known as Irving Berlin.

As Sheryl Kaskowitz wrote this week in The New York Times,

It was a desire to serve his adopted country during World War I that impelled the 30-year-old Berlin, already a successful songwriter, to be naturalized as a citizen in February 1918. That May, he began his military service as an army private at Camp Upton in Yaphank, N.Y., where he was asked to write a soldier show as a fund-raiser.

God Bless America was originally conceived as the finale for the revue, Yip, Yip, Yaphank, but Berlin ultimately decided not to include it. It was shelved and forgotten for 20 years, until he rediscovered the song and provided a revised version to the radio star Kate Smith, who sang it on Nov. 10, 1938, and reprised it weekly.

In this video, Berlin sings the song on The Ed Sullivan Show with Boy Scout and Girl Scout choirs on its 50th anniversary in 1968.

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.



Video by The Ed Sullivan Show
Photo by the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization

Fourth of July Comedy Shtick with Danny Lobell as Sami the Israeli

Sami the Israeli (Comedian Danny Lobell) is back, wishing all his American friends a happy Fourth of July (today).

In this satiric video, Sami takes aim at traditional Fourth of July elements and claims them to be scams. Particular targets of his Israeli caricature are fireworks, hot dogs, independence, taxes, and the price of coffee.

Wishing all our readers a happy Fourth of July - Independence Day.

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.

A July 4 Special: Two Cantors Combine Hatikvah and America the Beautiful

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, a holiday that we celebrate with Americans of all religions and ethnic groups. 

As the world is riven today by national rivalries, hatreds, and acts of unspeakable cruelty, we can take comfort in the knowledge that the United States of America and Israel share a value system that is truly exceptional.

A few years ago, Angela Buchwald and Julia Katz, the cantors of New York City's Central Synagogue, added a mashup of Hatikvah and America the Beautiful to a Shabbat service to give voice to the hope and vision that these two countries have shared from their birth.

Have a happy Fourth tomorrow and enjoy the music.

(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.)