Here Come the Chanukah Videos: James Corden and Zach Braff in Boyz II Menorah Parody

With the first Chanukah candle being lit tonight, we bring you A Week and a Day, another new video just released for this year's festival of lights.

This one's a parody of boy bands in general, and Boyz II Men in particular. The goofiness is led by late night TV host James Corden, with accompanying performances by Zach Braff, Charlie Puth, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Josh Peck. 

All except Corden are Jewish, and Corden has shown his familiarity with Jewish life in a funny episode that we posted in 2015 when he took over for a worker in a Jewish meat market who was taking a short break.

Enjoy!

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Chanukah Around the World With the Womens' Performance Group of Jerusalem

Today we're sharing a KOL ISHA Chanukah music mash-up! 

Every month The Women's Performance Community of Jerusalem invites women/teens from all over the Greater Jerusalem area to participate in a performance-related activity in the OU Israel Center.

For this extra-special Chanukah event, they invited women anywhere to participate right from their homes (or their cars or their cactus gardens) and they did. Women from Toronto to Tuscon, New York to Neve Daniel are all included in this clip of holiday unity and love.

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.

A Lighter Side of Yom Kippur - "Desperate to Eat-oh": a Despacito Parody from the San Diego JCC

Last month we posted a Hebrew and English version of the Spanish hit song Despacito by the Maccabeats. The original song, which has been seen more than three billion times on YouTube, has inspired many other versions and parodies.

One of the most recent parodies was filmed by the San Diego JCC at Congregation Beth Israel. It's a lighthearted commentary on the challenges of fasting on Yom Kippur.

Wishing you an easy fast and a G'mar Chatimah Tovah. We'll be back Sunday with more Jewish humor.


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Havdalah with Israeli a Cappella Group Kippalive

On Fridays we usually post a musical welcome to Shabbat with a version of Shalom Aleichem, Lecha Dodi, or Adon Olam. But this week we're doing something different.

Because we don't post on Shabbat, we haven't been paying much attention to the closing minutes of Shabbat, when beautiful melodies are sung as part of Havdalah, the ceremony marking the transition from the holiness of Shabbat to the work week.

But there's a rich lode of musical endings to Shabbat, and Havdalah ceremonies around the world reflect the traditional and local musical tastes of each location.

Here's a video to save for tomorrow night at the conclusion of Shabbat. Playing it after dark will give us a reminder of the sweet taste of Shabbat and energize us to face the challenges of the coming week. This version is by Kippalive, an Israeli a cappella group.
  
They started out as a group of friends in Raanana who got together every Friday night to sing and were discovered while singing in the streets of Raanana.

We featured them previously in an a cappella song for Chanukah in 2013 and last year for Passover and in a Carlebach-style Shabbat service.

Their Havdalah is traditional, but if you listen carefully, you'll notice that they have seamlessly integrated a few bars from the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter themes and the introduction from the pop hit Kiss From a Rose. Can you find any others? Share your findings in the comments section below.

Enjoy, Shabbat shalom, and Shavua tov!

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. 

It's Adar! Here Come the Purim Videos, Starting with Kermit the Frog and The Haman Remembrance

Today is Rosh Hodesh Adar, the first day of the Hebrew month of Adar. It's traditional to say Mishenichnas Adar marbim b'simcha -- When Adar arrives, we increase our rejoicing. Of course, we're referring to the holiday of Purim which always comes on the 15th day of Adar. 

This year, Purim is on Sunday, March 12, with the reading of Megillat Esther on that day and on the night before, Saturday night March 11.

Every year we celebrate Adar and Purim by sharing some of the new Purim videos which appear on the Internet. Last year we missed some of the best ones that came out too late for us to share. So this year we'll make it up by posting some of the best from previous years and some new ones that we think are good enough to share.

We're starting with a Purim video produced in 2014 by Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan. It's The Haman Remembrance, a parody of Jim Henson's The Rainbow Connection, the Academy Award nominated song that opened The Muppet Movie in 1979.

Enjoy!




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Here Come the Rosh Hashana Videos - Shofar Shrills by The Singer Family

Rosh Hashana begins one week from tonight, so we're going to share some of the new music videos that have been released with High Holiday themes.

Don't expect a Rosh Hashana video every day -- we'll still post jokes and funny happenings -- but we'll be posting some of the best new videos as they come in.

We'll kick off the countdown with a music video we just found called Shofar Shrills that the Singer Family posted. They put new words to the pop hit Cheap Thrills by Australian singer Sia, and cover the whole range of Rosh Hashana observances in an upbeat song that we hope you will 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 Home Residents Celebrate 100 Years With New Version of Hinei Ma Tov

New Jersey's Jewish Home Family, now including The Jewish Home at Rockleigh, Jewish Home Assisted Living at River Vale, and Jewish Home at Home, recently celebrated its 100th anniversary of providing care to the community.

The organization, created in 1915 to take care of poor Jewish children whose families were stretched so thin that they relinquished them to an orphanage, the Hebrew Home in Jersey City, quickly became a refuge for the elderly as well.

To celebrate this achievement, the residents and staff of The Jewish Home facilities participated in a music video.

The song is a new version of the classic Hinei Ma Tov, (Behold, how good it is to be together) composed by Marc Rossio and produced by Uri Westrich.

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.)

Welcoming Shabbat Carlebach-Style With Israeli a Cappella Group Kippalive

Kippalive is an Israeli a cappella group that started out as a group of friends in Raanana who got together every Friday night to sing and were discovered while singing in the streets of Raanana.

We featured them previously in an a cappella song for Chanukah in 2013 and last month for Passover.

On Fridays we try to post Shabbat-related music and this week we found a Shabbat service that Kippalive recorded in the style of the late singer and composer Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach.

Carlebach-style services have sprung up in many cities and usually include a great deal of congregational singing, often with all the Friday night prayers sung in unison to melodies composed and made famous by Shlomo Carlebach.

Here's a sampling of a Carlebach-style Friday night service as sung by Kippalive.

Enjoy and Shabbat Shalom.

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