Borscht Belt Street Festival Comes to Ellenville in the Catskills

Hundreds of visitors poured into the Borscht Belt Museum in Ellenville last weekend for a trip down memory lane highlighting hotels, food, culture, and comedy beloved by generations of Jewish families. 

Jeff Fox used to live in Loch Sheldrake and the museum brings back many memories for the resident who now lives on Long Island. “I think it's great. A lot of memorabilia. Love the signs. I remember them all. There’s great memories and food outside at the fair,” said Fox. 

Museum-goers spilled out onto Canal Street to sample a two-day celebration of Jewish food and culture including the star of the show-- Borscht--a creamy, slightly sour soup made from beetroot. “It's like the ultimate comfort food, but it's also healthy. Like you feel better after you eat it. Like it's like my grandma would make it, but it's not like fried food. Like, it's delicious, but also comforting,” said Kathryn Levy of Brooklyn.

A Seven Week Online Series "Is Anything Okay? The History of Jewish Comedy in America" Launches on Thursday

From the earliest jokes told on the Lower East Side to the comedy routines honed in the Catskills, Ashkenazi Jews developed radically new forms of comedic output in the 20th century. On film and television, pioneering Jewish comics broke norms and challenged taboos of American culture.

In the newest online course from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, we can delve into the history of Jewish comedy and its explosive development in the United States. We will see hundreds of unique archival objects, including vintage jokebooks, early comedy records, film, television, and radio clips, photographs, and posters, along with interviews and discussions with leading scholars and personalities from the world of Jewish comedy.

The 7-week course, just in time for Purim and co-sponsored by the Catskills Borscht Belt Museum will launch on Thursday, March 20 online, with a new episode coming every week. The course is free but registration is required.

As Alan Zeitlin wrote in The Jewish Journal,

The first of seven episodes will be “Roots: Jewish Humor in Traditional Ashkenazi Jewish Life” and the last one will be “Contemporary Jewish Comedy” while others will explore the Catskills’ and internal Jewish conflict. The course will continue with a new episode dropping every week.

There will be lectures given by scholars and academics; Jewish comedians, writers and producers will also share their insights,. While it will focus on Ashkenazi Jewish humor, there will be some detours to the humor of Sephardic Jews. 

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.

Jewish Guide on How to be Funny

Everyone knows Jews are funny. But the question is, why? With a history fraught with trauma and persecution, the Jewish people have historically used humor as a “release valve,” and even as a tool of survival. 

Jews have used their outsider status and the distinctive characteristics of Jewish humor - self-deprecation, challenging authority, and audacity - to rise disproportionately in the American comedy scene.

Unpacked, a division of Open Dor Media, has posted an interesting video on how and why Jews are funny. We found it informative and want to share it with you.

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.

Quit Your Kvetching and Enjoy a Minute of Yiddish with Cookie Kibitznik

Surfing the internet can result in some unexpected surprises, and that's what we encountered today in discovering a new comedy series called A Minute of Yiddish with Cookie Kibitznik (Her Royal Thighness).

Unlike the educational Yiddish Word of the Day series which we have been running for the last few months, this one focuses on the comedy inherent in the use of Yiddish words in everyday English speech.

These videos, which we are starting to share with you today, are produced and acted out by a woman who reveals only her first name, Perri. In today's video and other that we will be sharing in the coming weeks, she assumes the identity of Cookie Kibitznik, a yenta if we ever saw won.

In each episode Cookie will explain a Yiddish word and show many funny examples of its use in spoken Yinglish. Today's word is kvetch. So stop kvetching already and 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.

Hyman Batalion on the Essential Parts of Jewish Humor

Since 2010, the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project has recorded hundreds of in-depth video interviews that provide a deeper understanding of the Jewish experience and the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture. 

The interviews in the growing collection are conducted in Yiddish and/or English with narrators of all ages from a variety of backgrounds. 

Hyman Batalion, Yiddish speaker and Montreal native, was interviewed by Christa Whitney on August 16, 2016, at the Segal Centre for the Performing Arts in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  

Back in April, we posted a clip from the interview, in which Batalion, father of YidLife Crisis co-creator Eli Batalion, reflected on some of the early Yiddish speaking Montreal comedians and retold some of the old jokes.

In this second clip from the interview, Batalion describes what he considers to be essential parts of Jewish humor.

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.

 

Comedy Showcase: Sebastian Maniscalco Goes Out to Dinner with His Jewish in-Laws

Sebastian Maniscalco is one of the funniest of today's ethnic comedians. As an Italian-American married to a Jew, he has acquired a pair of in-laws who keep giving him material for his stand-up comedy routines and his Netflix specials.

We have previously posted his descriptions of his first Passover seder and how he tried to baptize his Jewish baby. 

Today we found another one of his sets on YouTube when he returned to The Tonight Show with jokes about his experiences eating out at restaurants with his wife and in-laws. 

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 Joke to Start the Week - "Why Rabbis Tell Jokes"

It's Monday again. Time for another joke to start the week. But this time it's a little different. We're bringing you not only a joke, and a joke by a rabbi, but an analysis of why rabbis tell jokes.

The joke and its context is delivered by Rabbi Shais Taub. Rabbi Taub has delivered Torah lectures to audiences on six continents. 

The Chabad rabbi writes a popular weekly column in Ami Magazine and is the author the bestseller G-d of Our Understanding: Jewish Spirituality and Recovery from Addiction as well as several groundbreaking works on Tanya including: the Tanya Map teaching tool, the Soul Maps curriculum, and the audio series Mapping the Tanya.

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.

Using Jewish Humor as a Tool - Rabbi Dan Bronstein on Taking Jewish Humor Seriously

From Woody Allen to Jon Stewart, humor is embedded in the modern Jewish consciousness. But, argues Rabbi Dan Bronstein, it goes back much farther than that. And if we're willing to take it seriously, we'll see that Jewish humor is no joke - it's a powerful tool to engage people, to further Jewish literacy and to enhance Jewish identity. 

In a recent PEW study, 42 percent of respondents said that humor was essential to their Jewish identity, a larger percentage than through observance or affinity with Israel. It's a major factor in keeping people engaged with contemporary Jewish life.

Rabbi Bronstein holds an MA from Brandeis University, a PhD in Jewish History from Jewish Theological Seminary in Jerusalem (JTSA), and received rabbinical ordination from Hebrew Union College. He counts Rabbi Yisroel Salanter and Groucho Marx as among his two greatest influences. 

Rabbi Bronstein expressed these ideas in an ELI Talk a few years ago.

ELI Talks works with organizations and individuals to cultivate, to raise up, and to transmit inspired Jewish ideas. Through ELI’s digital media and conversations on and offline, ELI curates a canon of new Jewish thought. This living Gemara, deeply rooted in text and tradition, serves to mirror, to energize, and to enrich the entire spectrum of Jewish observance, while acting as a beacon of discourse and civility in today’s world.

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.

What is Jewish Humor? Ricky Gervais Meets Larry David

What is Jewish humor? Many books and articles have addressed the subject, and there are as many answers as people expressing their opinions. 

The subject was revisited in 2006 when Larry David of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm fame, sat down for an interview with Ricky Gervais, the British comedian, creator and star of The Office. 

The two comedians exchanged views and showed short video clips of funny Jewish situations featuring Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, Jackie Mason, and Lenny Bruce.

Here's a clip from the interview. 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.

Let There Be Laughter: A New Jewish Humor Exhibition at the Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv

Let There be Laughter is the name of a special exhibit at Beit Hatfutsot (Museum of the Jewish People) in Tel Aviv. We spent a few hours there on Sunday and found it hard to leave

The exhibit, which fills a few large rooms in the museum, pays tribute to Jewish humor around the world with particular focus on comedy in America and in Israel.Equal time and space is given to the great comedians, films, and TV shows of Israel and America.

Film clips of classic Israeli and American movies are scattered throughout the exhibit. Notable among them are the Seinfeld TV series, Woody Allen in Annie Hall, Jerry Lewis as The Bellboy, Keeping the Faith, the comedy skits of Hagashash Hahiver, Ephraim Kishon's classic comedy The Policeman, TV news satire Eretz Nehederet, and the hilarious, irreverent series The Jews are Coming.

Right in the middle of the exhibit is a replica of the darkened room of a comedy club, complete with small tables and chairs and a stage on which realistic holograms of Israeli comedians deliver their standup routines with a monitor to the side that displays running subtitles in Hebrew and English.

It's worth a visit on your next trip to Israel. Tickets for the whole museum experience, including the Jewish humor exhibit, are $14 ($7 for seniors.)

Join us for a quick video tour of the exhibit by curator Asaf Galay as shown on Arutz Sheva TV.

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.

Kicking Off the Florida Comedy and Entertainment Season - Right Here!

The winter season in South Florida is known for its bounty of stand-up comedy and entertainment. It may not be the Catskills, but it certainly comes close in bringing fun to all the snowbirds who migrate to warmer weather each winter.

We're getting ready to spend the rest of this winter in the swimming pool and beaches by day, and in clubhouses and entertainment venues at night from Miami Beach to West Palm Beach.

We're also doing six shows of our own for senior groups in Deerfield Beach resort hotels and a 90 minute special lecture on The Great Jewish Comedians at Florida Atlantic University on March 6. It's almost sold out, so we hope you'll be able to get tickets and join us there.

We'll kick off the season with the opening number of a Kosher Comedy Tour in Coral Springs a few years ago starring Sharon Daniels, Stu Moss, and Peter Fogel. It features "Jewish F Words": Farklempt, Fardreyt, Farmished, Farblunget, Fartumelt, Farbissen, and more.

From now through March we'll be sharing some video clips of comedians and entertainers who are performing this season in Florida.

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 Jew, A Muslim, A Christian, and an Atheist Walk Into a Jerusalem Bar........

Geoff James Nugent, better known as as Jim Jefferies, is an Australian stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, and writer. He is best known for his work in American television, having created and starred in the FX sitcom Legit and Comedy Central's late-night comedy The Jim Jefferies Show since 2017.

Claiming to be an atheist, Jim walked into a bar in Jerusalem with Rabbi Ari Enkin, Rabbinic Director of United with Israel, Pastor Al Nucciarone, head of the Jerusalem Baptist Church, and Islamic scholar Dr. Ali Qleibo. 

Then the fun started. Jefferies opened the conversation seeking common ground, getting all to agree on circumcision. Then the topics included President Trump, the Jerusalem embassy, and eternal life.

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.

JTA's Andrew Silow-Carroll Analyzes the Jewish Guru Joke

There's more to many Jewish jokes than meets the eye. Andrew Silow-Carroll, editor-in-chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency has started a series of short YouTube videos in which he walks you through a classic Jewish joke and explains what it's all about.

A few weeks ago we shared a video in which Andrew analyzed the jokes (actually stories) about the Wise Men of Chelm. Here's another one of his analyses, this one about the well worn and often well told joke about the Jewish woman who treks to India to visit a guru on a mountaintop.

We'll bring you more of these analyses of classic Jewish jokes from time to time. We hope there will be more of them soon.

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.

Chelm Jokes: An Analysis by JTA's Andrew Silow-Carroll

There's more to many Jewish jokes than meets the eye. Andrew Silow-Carroll, editor-in-chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency has started a series of short YouTube videos in which he walks you through a classic Jewish joke and explains what it's all about.

This first video analyzes the jokes (actually stories) about the Wise Men of Chelm, an actual town in Poland that has become synonymous with so-called wisdom which actually turns out to be foolishness.

We'll bring you more of these analyses of classic Jewish jokes from time to time. We hope there will be more of them soon.

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.

Rabbi Bob Alper Speaks and Jokes About Jewish Humor at Chautauqua Institution

Last week at the Chautauqua Institution's week devoted to the spiritual power of humor, Rabbi Bob Alper took the stage to offer his views on the benefits of putting laughter into your life. Bob feels that making people laugh is a holy calling and that laughter can change the world.

Bob’s unique background – he’s an ordained rabbi who served congregations for fourteen years and holds a doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary – all of which has prepared him well for a twenty-eight year comedy career with wonderfully unique material presented in a way that’s intelligent, sophisticated, and 100% clean.  

Bob’s stand-up act is fast-paced, with impeccable timing and material that’s definitely sharp yet gentle and unhurtful.  In addition, he offers an informative, hilarious event called “The Spirituality of Laughter,” which is particularly appropriate for religious organizations, civic groups, school and hospital in-services.

The rabbi-comedian draws tremendous media attention, and he was recently named “Honorary Comedic Advisor to the Pope,” winning an international contest launched on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

Yesterday we posted Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's talk on Jewish humor at Chautauqua's week of humor, and many of you asked for more like it. So here is another rabbi (who is also a comedian) giving his take on the healing power of humor, with a special Jewish emphasis.

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.

Comedian Benji Lovitt and Professor Alan Dershowitz Reflect on Jewish and Israeli Humor

Benji Lovitt, one of our favorite American-Israeli comedians, after spending the last 10 years in Israel, was a guest last month on Israel TV's One on One With Alan Dershowitz, where the American Harvard professor traded jokes and observations on Jewish humor with the comedian.

Topics included only-in-Israel moments and the origin of chutzpah, 

After observing that political correctness doesn't exist in Israel, Dershowitz indulged in some geographcal correctness in giving equal credit to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as his favorite city in Israel.

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.