Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: Allan Sherman Sings Parodies on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1966

Allan Sherman dominated the world of song parody during the 1960s and recorded eight albums, starting with My Son the Folksinger.  

Listening to or reading his lyrics is a crash course in pop culture of the 1960s, with Sherman taking satiric swipes at summer camp, psychiatry, fad diets, Hadassah ladies, school dropouts, and upward mobility.

The popularity of his parodies got him many guest appearances on TV variety shows.

We just came across a rare video of Sherman on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1966 singing a medley of takeoffs on classic popular songs including Auld Lang Syne, Aura Lee, On Top of Old Smoky, Charmaine, Too Young, Coming Through the Rye, and Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home.

Enjoy!

A Music Video for Sukkot: "Sukkah", a Parody by Temple Israel of the Maroon 5 Hit "Sugar"

The Sukkot holiday starts this Friday night, which leaves only a few days for us to share any new Sukkot musical videos that are being released this year.

The clergy and staff of Temple Israel of West Bloomfield, Michigan are starting us off with Sukkah, a joyful parody of the pop hit Sugar by Maroon 5, released about eight years ago.

As Suzanne Chessler wrote in The Detroit Jewish News, 

“We want to spread the joy of Sukkot,” said Cantor Michael Smolash, who developed and participated in the video with Cantor Neil Michaels and Maya Grinboim, director of music production for the temple.

“The whole idea of Sukkot is that it takes place as the most joyous holiday in the Jewish calendar. After getting through Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah and the repentance linked to that, this video is all about joy,” Smolash said.

“This video is taking a very popular song and showing how you can celebrate to have fun, be a little silly, dance and be together in the sukkah.”

The music is from the song “Sugar” by Maroon 5, and the new lyrics are by Smolash, Grinboim and Canadian comedian Simon Rakoff, who polished the final lyrics. Rakoff is known personally to Smolash because the comedian is a cousin of Smolash’s wife.

Part of making the video was to appeal to all ages, and the musicians helping with that included Larry Prentiss on electric bass, Steve Nolton on drums and percussion, and Bryan Pope on electric guitars and synth.

“Little kids will like it,” Smolash said. “Adults will get more of the jokes, and teenagers will dig the Maroon 5 song.”

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Purim Videos: Rabbi Jaclyn Cohen Sings "Jews", a Parody of the Hip-Hop Song "Juice"

Chag Purim Sameach! This year, Temple Isaiah of Los Angeles’ contribution to the Purim parody video canon is a celebration of our Jewishness: a joyful and whole-hearted message of love for our diverse, extraordinary Jewish community. 

Jaclyn Cohen, Associate Rabbi of Temple Isaiah, offers a response to the Hamans of this world is by taking pride in our tradition, culture & rituals, raising them up high and sharing them far & wide.She takes the lead in Jews, a Jewish version of the song Juice, popularized by singer Melissa Jefferson (known as Lizzo). 

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Chanukah Videos - "Illuminating" by the Maccabeats

In 2010 The Maccabeats, an a cappella group from Yeshiva University, released their first Hanukkah music video, Candlelight, and every Hanukkah (and other holidays) since then we've seen many more videos by them and lots of other groups.

Originally formed in 2007 as Yeshiva University’s student vocal group, the Maccabeats have recently emerged as both Jewish music and a cappella phenomena,  with a large fan base, more than 20 million views on YouTube, numerous TV appearances, and proven success with three albums, 2010′s Voices From The Heights, 2012′s Out Of The Box and 2014′s One Day More.

Many of their songs are parodies of pop hits, and this Chanukah they're continuing the tradition with Illuminating, a parody of Levitating, a song by English singer Dua Lipa.

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Hanukkah Videos - Six13 Sings "West Side Chanukah Story"

Anchored by a strong Jewish identity and driven by a mission to connect Jews around the globe with their heritage through music, the members of professional Jewish a cappella group Six13 are the originators of today's Jewish a cappella sound. 

They've performed to rave reviews at the White House, synagogues, religious schools, JCCs, fundraising events, B'nai Mitzvah and private affairs alike. They’ve received numerous awards for their eight best-selling CDs, been selected as finalists for casting in NBC's The Sing-Off, and garnered more than 20 million views online.

In the last 12 years, we've posted 14 of Six13's music videos. In this 15th video, the singing group pays tribute to West Side Story with a rewrite of the lyrics to evoke the spirit of Chanukah. Enjoy! 

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Here Come the Purim Videos: Rabotai a Cappella Sings "Girls Like You" Purim Parody

Purim is almost here, with the reading of Megillat Esther this Thursday evening February 25. We're on the lookout for new Purim videos and we'll share with you any good ones that we find.

Rabotai, (meaning gentlemen) is a fresh and exciting Jewish a cappella group comprised of energetic vocal talent and professional beatboxing. 

Coming from different corners of the world, its members found each other in Israel, where they are rapidly becoming a sought after group to entertain audiences big and small. They specialize in mixing classical Jewish songs with modern pop.

In this video, the first Purim video we're posting this year, Rabotai turns the pop song Girls Like You by Maroon 5 into a song of praise for all Jewish girls like Queen Esther.

"Girls like her 

Show what a Jew can be

Comes down to what you do

You can be Esther too 

Cause girls like her

Throughout our history

Always come through

Show what a girl can do"

 

Rabotai is dedicating this song to our Women of Valour in Am Yisrael!  "Just like Hashem saved the Jews in the days of Achashverosh, thanks to Esther's actions, we see countless times in our history, that thanks to strong, courageous women we have been saved many times!"

Enjoy!

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(A tip of the kippah to Andrea Shustarich for bringing this video to our attention.)

Here Come the Hanukkah Videos: Al Hanissim by the Boys Town Jerusalem Choir

Boys Town Jerusalem is one of Israel's premier institutions for educating the country's next generation of leaders in the fields of technology, commerce, education, the military and public service. 

Since its founding in 1948, BTJ has pursued its mission of turning young boys from limited backgrounds into young men with limitless futures. From Junior High through the College level, the three part curriculum at Boys Town - academic, technological and Torah - is designed to turn otherwise disadvantaged Israeli youth into productive citizens of tomorrow. 

Boys Town’s 18 acre campus is a home away from home for its more than 950 students. More than 7,500 graduates hold key positions throughout Israeli society.

For Chanukah 2020, the Boys Town Jerusalem choir performs a very creative and upbeat version of Al Hanissim. 

Enjoy! Chag Chanukah Sameach!

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Here Come the Hanukkah Videos: Chanukah Medley by Cantor Azi Schwartz of Park Avenue Synagogue

Azi Schwartz joined the Park Avenue Synagogue clergy in 2009. He follows distinguished predecessors, including Cantor David Putterman and Cantor David Lefkowitz, whose musical leadership established Park Avenue Synagogue as the flagship of Jewish liturgical music in the United States. 

Born and raised in Israel, Cantor Azi Schwartz has sung with prestigious orchestras and choirs around the world, including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin RIAS Kammerchor. He has performed in the United Nations’ General Assembly Hall, the United States Capitol Rotunda, and the Knesset, as well as in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Mann Auditorium. 

In this video, Azi sings a medley of Chanukah songs created with Oran Eldor, and performs it with David Enlow and the Park Avenue Synagogue Ensemble.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukah!

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Here Come the Hanukkah Videos: Shir Soul Sings a Stevie Wonder Hanukkah Mashup

Shir Soul is a wedding band and a cappella singing group founded in 2005 by David Ross.

With their eclectic mix of Jewish rock, pop, and soul music, Shir Soul has recorded a few albums and plays at weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and other occasions with musical instruments or a cappella.

In previous years we've posted some of their Chanukah mashups, including a collection of songs by Elvis Presley. This year they created a mashup of Stevie Wonder songs. Enjoy!

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Here Come the Hanukkah Videos: "Puppy for Hanukkah" by Hamilton Star Daveed Diggs

On Thursday evening we light the first Hanukkah candle, so it's time to roll out this season's music videos.

Let's get started with an original Hanukkah song that Jewish Hamilton star Daveed Diggs has released for the Disney Channel.

As Lior Zaltzman wrote in Kveller,

“Puppy For Hanukkah” will air until December 18, the last day of Hanukkah.  It has klezmer, it has hip hop, it has a diverse cast of kids dancing up a storm.

One thing the video doesn’t feature is Diggs himself. Instead, we get the adorably talented Ethan Hollingsworth, 11, and two other young actors and dancers, as stand-ins for young Daveed. They wistfully lip-synch about how much they want a puppy for Hanukkah. They go through each night, hoping their new canine best friend will emerge from gift-wrapped boxes, only to be met with more knitwear. The video, of course, culminates with the appearance of an adorable puppy emerging from one of the boxes.

“I was honored when Disney Channel approached me to come up with a fresh Hanukkah tune and embraced the opportunity to share my love of music and a little piece of my culture,” said Diggs, who also co-created and starred in Blindspotting, a 2018 movie that will soon be adapted for TV.

Diggs opened up about his Jewish roots in 2015: “I went to Hebrew school, but opted out of a bar mitzvah,” he said. “My mom is a white Jewish lady and my dad is Black. The cultures never seemed separate — I had a lot of mixed friends. When I was young, I identified with being Jewish, but I embraced my dad’s side, too.”

Enjoy!

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Meir Kay Takes His Positivity to the Streets With "Great Day" Music Video

Meir Kalmanson has been posting funny Jewish videos on YouTube under the name Meir Kay. An Orthodox Jewish filmmaker from Brooklyn, his aim is to spread "happiness and positivity."

We've already featured six of his videos on the Evolution of Chassidic Dance, High Fiving Strangers in New York, Dancing Behind People in Jerusalem, How to Lift the Torah Like a Boss, Looking for a Leader in the Park, and A Hugging Spree in New York City.

In his new Great Day music video, Meir leads a group of dancers in a high energy demonstration of positivity. The song's message is all about having the choice to make the best of our day - to not allow whatever comes our way to have a say on how we will show up, but rather we can make a decision to make this day a great one! 

Enjoy!

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Before Coronavirus: Second Hakafot After Simchat Torah in Jerusalem

Here's a scene that's unlikely to be repeated this year because of coronavirus lockdowns and social distancing. But two years ago at Yeshivat Har Hamor in Jerusalem, hundreds of Yeshiva students joyfully participated in the annual second hakafot at the conclusion of Simchat Torah. 

Yeshivat Har Hamor was founded in Jerusalem in the year 5758, by the pupils of Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Hacohen Kook. Hundreds of boys learn, day and night, all parts of the Torah, while also combining military service.

At the conclusion of the one day celebration of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah in Israel and the beginning of Simchat Torah in the Diaspora, there is a custom in Israel to do Second Hakafot, during which people go into the streets with Torah scrolls and dance another time. 

The source of this custom is attributed to Rabbi Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, who described the customs of his teacher, Isaac Luria, in Safed. Vital explains Luria had the custom to visit a number of synagogues after Simchat Torah, which delayed the end of the prayer services and did Hakafot. 

From there the custom spread to Hebron and the Beit El Synagogue in Jerusalem, and subsequently spread to other congregations in Jerusalem before becoming accepted across Israel. The custom spread from Israel to communities in Italy and the Near East—Turkey, Baghdad, Persia, Kurdistan, and India. 

Over the next few days we'll be observing a quiet Shabbat, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah while remembering joyous celebrations like this one and hoping for a return to normalcy next year.

Shabbat shalom and Chag Sameach!

Here Come the Rosh Hashanah Videos - The Maccabeats Sing "Bashana Haba'ah"

With Rosh Hashanah only nine days away, we're continuing our sharing of music videos with a new version of Bashana Haba'ah (In the Coming Year), a song of hope for the year to come.

This version is sung by the Maccabeats. Originally formed in 2007 as Yeshiva University’s student vocal group, the Maccabeats have recently emerged as both Jewish music and a cappella phenomena,  with a large fan base, more than 20 million views on YouTube, numerous TV appearances, and proven success with four albums. 

Though the Maccabeats aren’t your grandfather’s synagogue choir, their ideology and identity play an important part in what they do. Strongly committed to the philosophy of Torah u-Madda, the integration of traditional and secular wisdom, the Maccabeats perform an eclectic array of Jewish, American, and Israeli songs.

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Rosh Hashanah Videos - "Reset" - From Communities Around the World

We're only 10 days away from the start of Rosh Hashanah, and it's time to start sharing some videos that focus on the High Holidays. 

Last year, before coronavirus social distancing set in around the world, the 92nd Street Y released Reset, a new song and video.

Reset features music and lyrics by Noah Aronson and Abigail Pogrebin and was shot on mobile phones by people all over the world, from New York City to the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, from Ghana and Belarus, Turkey, Israel, Guatemala and beyond, all making music together. Click CC to follow along with the lyrics!

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Here Come the Chanukah Videos: A Chanukah Version of "The Gambler" from the Palo Alto JCC

Creativity flourishes every Hanukkah in the form of music videos, most of them take-offs on popular songs. But some entries are better than others, and we think we found some of the best this year.

Members of the Oshman Family JCC of Palo Alto, California worked together to produce original lyrics to fit The Gambler, the song made popular by Kenny Rogers in 1978.

In this version the dreidel takes the place of playing cards. The classic lines "You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to 'fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run" become "You gotta know when to spin 'em, know how to win 'em, know when it's gimmel and know when it's nun" and so forth.

Enjoy, and good luck gambling for Chanukah gelt!

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Here Come the Chanukah Videos: Six13 and a Star Wars Chanukah

With only seven days until we light the first Chanukah candle, it's time to roll out the latest crop of Chanukah videos. Every year brings us new videos, and over the years we've posted dozens from all over the world.

This year we're starting off with a very special video produced by Six13 that makes a connectiion between Chanukah and Star Wars in a week that will see the release of the latest in the series of nine Star Wars movies.

Six13 is a six-man vocal band that brings an unprecedented style of Jewish music to the stage, with songs ranging from hip-hop dance tracks to rock anthems. The members of the New York City-based group sound like a full band – while using nothing but their voices.
 
Six13 has recorded five award-winning albums, whose songs have been played all over Jewish radio and been chosen to appear on nine different “best of” compilation albums. The group has over 20,000 CDs in circulation, and are among the top Jewish music artists on iTunes.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam - Eurovision Style at the Tel Aviv Port

Beit Tefilah Israeli is a creative, innovative and inclusive Jewish-Israeli community that offers meaningful Jewish ritual, study, activism and a sense of belonging to the general Israeli public and visiting Jews worldwide.

BTI is a multi-generational community of committed and passionate Israelis. They have created a model for a new kind of experimental and creative Jewish-Israeli congregation, unaffiliated with any movement.  A space where children can celebrate Shabbat in a uniquely Israeli way, where adults can seek answers to life’s essential questions and where men and women can celebrate their heritage together – blending the ancient and the contemporary, the universal and the particular, the Jewish and the Israeli.

Beit Tefilah Israeli will be conducting a one of a kind Eurovision style Kabbalat Shabbat at the Tel Aviv Port with Izhar Cohen as guest star. May 10th 2019 at 6 pm at Tel Aviv Port With Atalya Lavi, Esteban Gottfried, Moran Maisles, Ian Aylon, Eyal Matri, and Assaf Dagan.

Enjoy, and Shabbat Shalom! 

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Israel's Technion Students Use Robotics and Technology to Celebrate Hanukkah

Nobody can accuse the students and faculty of Israel's Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa of taking the easy way out when it comes to observing Jewish holidays.

Through the years we've posted their unique videos of technology experiments for Hanukkah and Passover. Now they have a new take on all aspects of celebrating Chanukah....making latkes, spinning a dreidel, acting out the battle of Maccabees and Greeks, making sufganiyot (jelly donuts), and lighting the Chanukah menorah. 

And all without a human touch. Well, almost all. They still needed a team member to place the shamash in its central place in the Chanukiyah. 

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Chanukah Videos: The Maccabeats sing the Dreidel Song in 8 Musical Genres

Originally formed in 2007 as Yeshiva University’s student vocal group, the Maccabeats have emerged as both Jewish music and a cappella phenomena, with a large fanbase, more than 20 million views on YouTube, numerous TV appearances, and proven success with four albums.

After years of performing parodies of pop songs with original lyrics, the Maccabeats have taken on the Chanukah classic I Have a Little Dreidel with the original lyrics and sing it in eight different musical styles: Big Band, Bluegrass, HipHop, the 80s, Blues, Classical, Reggaeton, and Gospel.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Yigdal by the Portnoy Brothers

The Portnoy Brothers were born and raised in Manchester, UK and are currently living just outside of Jerusalem in Bet Zayit.

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Sruli and Mendy have been making music together for as long they can remember. Two out of nine kids in a very musical family, they released their debut album "Learn to Love" after years of hard work.

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Their sound is one that spans many genres but all of which maintain the harmony of brothers. Whether they're with their full band, or performing as a duo, their distinct sound always shines through.

Now they have a new Shabbat album in the works. Here is Yigdal, a lively adaptation of the traditional song that we sing at the end of the Friday night services.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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