Classic Israeli Sketch Comedy: Ktzarim - "The Diagnosis"

We like to show the lighter side of Israel, in TV comedy, funny commercials, and everyday happenings. 

During the six years that we've been producing Jewish Humor Central, we've shared funny episodes of TV shows like The Jews are Coming, Eretz Nehederet, and Ktzarim, whenever we could find them with English translations.

Ktzarim (Hebrew: קצרים‎, lit. Shorts) is an Israeli sketch comedy series, broadcast on Channel 2, and based on the British comedy show The Sketch Show. The show is a series of sketches, often with a punch line at the end.
It features:

• Moni Moshonov (מוני מושונוב)
• Keren Mor (קרן מור)
• Shmulik Levy (שמוליק לוי)
• Riki Blich (ריקי בליך)
• Yuval Segal (יובל סגל)

We're always on the lookout for newly posted clips and were delighted to find this one from Ktzarim that we call The Diagnosis.

(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.)

A Shabbat Elevator Like None You've Ever Seen

Religiously observant Jews may not use electrical devices on the Sabbath. Included in this prohibition is the use of an elevator. However, they may use a "Shabbat Elevator", a regular elevator that has been pre-set to stop on every floor and as such, the prohibited buttons need not be pressed. 

Shabbat elevators are commonly found in hotels frequented by Orthodox Jews and in high-rise apartment buildings in religious Jewish communities.

When entering a Shabbat elevator, the only difference from a regular elevator is usually the longer wait for the elevator to stop on each floor. But in this short video, from Ktzarim, an Israeli TV program that specializes in funny skits, the man waiting for the Shabbat elevator gets a surprise when the doors open.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

(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 tip of the kippah to Shira, blogger at Seri0usly Yours, for finding and posting this video)

Israeli Sketch Comedy: Two Mothers Meet in the Park

 

Israeli humor isn't quite the same as American humor.  For one thing, political and cultural correctness doesn't get top priority when it comes to entertainment in Israel.  

 

There's a popular TV show called Ktzarim, which literally means shorts, as in short films or sketches.  It's actually based on a British show called "The Sketch Show."  While the sketches have some of the sharp humor of Saturday Night Live, they tend to be much shorter and sharper edged.

Here's a short sketch with English subtitles that we hope you'll enjoy.  It moves so fast that you'll probably have to watch it a few times to let all of the humor sink in.

 

In this sketch, two Israeli mothers meet in a park, one with a baby in a stroller, the other wearing a baby carrier. The mother with the stroller expresses concern about the safety of the baby carrier. And then...

 

Enjoy!

 

(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.)