Jewish Humor Central

Jewish Humor Central is a daily publication to start your day with news of the Jewish world that's likely to produce a knowing smile and some Yiddishe nachas. It's also a collection of sources of Jewish humor--anything that brings a grin, chuckle, laugh, guffaw, or just a warm feeling to readers. Our posts include jokes, satire, books, music, films, videos, food, Unbelievable But True, and In the News. Some are new, and some are classics. We post every morning, Sunday through Friday. Enjoy!

Showing posts with label Shopping. Show all posts

Monday, October 6, 2025

A Busy Day in Jerusalem - Sukkot Shopping with Malkah Fleisher

In America, shopping for special foods and Judaica items for the Sukkot holiday varies from easy to impossible, depending on what neighborhood you live in. Not so in Jerusalem, where the whole city is a Sukkot marketplace, especially in stores like Osher Ad, Israel's answer to Costco and similar large stores.

Just before Sukkot, Malkah Fleisher, wife of Yishai Fleisher, the international spokesperson for the Jewish Community of Hebron, went shopping.

In this video, recorded a few days before Sukkot which starts tonight, Malkah takes us on a tour of the Osher Ad store in Jerusalem, where everything you might want for the holiday and items you didn't know existed are available.

Yishai is a podcast host, pro-Israel advocate and political advisor. Malkah is an Israel-rights activist, host on the Yishai Fleisher Israel podcast, and a marketing communications strategist at JNS. She is a graduate of Cardozo Law School and a wife and mom raising three kids in Judea.

We will be celebrating Sukkot from tonight through Simchat Torah next Wednesday, so Jewish Humor Central is taking the week off and will return on Thursday, October 16.

Enjoy, and have a very happy Yom Tov!

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Pesach Shopping in Israel: Like No Shopping Trip You've Experienced in America

Pesach shopping in the USA can be very different depending on where you live. In communities with large Jewish populations like New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, and Miami Beach, you may find a large selection of Kosher for Passover foods and supplies, but in areas with small Jewish populations your choices may be limited to a small display in your local supermarket.

In Israel, however, Pesach shopping can be a surreal experience with an overwhelming selection of products -- not only foods and supplies such as kiddush cups and matzah covers, but also toys for afikomen gifts like Playmobil and Hot Wheels.

A week before Passover, Malkah Fleischer made a video on her phone of her journey to an Osher Ad supermarket in Israel. Starting with a half hour wait for a parking space and anxiously navigating the parking lot looking for an opening, she documented the vast number and variety of products filling the many aisles of the cavernous space stocked with endless piles of merchandise, organized for Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews based on their respective customs and traditions.

After a dizzying tour of the supermarket, you'll either be jealous of the many choices offered to Israeli customers, or grateful that your choices are limited to a manageable number of products.

Enjoy!

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Just Published: The Kustanowitz Kronikle - 35 Years of Purim Parody

Every Purim for the past 35 years we have published a Purim parody edition of The Kustanowitz Kronikle, covering virtually every aspect of Jewish life, and including parodies of hundreds of popular movies. This year we decided to retire the series and capture all the fun in a book that's just been published and is available at Amazon.com. It has every Purim issue of The Kustanowitz Kronikle from 1988 through 2022 in a full-color, full-size paperback book with hilarious headline stories and parody movie picks. Here are a few examples: TRUMP, NETANYAHU SWAP ROLES, COUNTRIES; NEW TALMUD VOLUME "VOTIN" FOUND IN IRAQ; JOINS "FRESSIN", "NAPPIN", TANTZEN","PATCHEN"; "JUDAICARE" PROGRAM PLANNED TO ENSURE THAT ALL JEWS HAVE SYNAGOGUE MEMBERSHIP; RABBIS CREATE TALMUD AMERICANI; NEW LAWS EXTEND HALACHA TO THANKSGIVING AND JULY 4; JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS WORLDWIDE UNITE TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING; FOCUS ON REDUCING HOT AIR; RABBIS TO REQUIRE SHECHITA FOR MANY FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

"Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places" is now available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions

This book presents 150 anecdotes and associated video clips that reveal the myriad ways that Jewish culture, religion, humor, music, song, and dance have found expression in parts of the world that, at first glance, might not seem supportive of Jewish Life. It includes 50 videos of Hava Nagila being performed from Texas to Thailand, from India to Iran, and from Buenos Aires to British Columbia. Also highlighted are 34 international versions of Hevenu Shalom Aleichem, Adon Olam, Abanibi, and Tumbalalaika. Whether you’re reading the print version and typing in the video URLs or reading the e-book version and clicking on the links, you’ll have access to 150 video clips totaling more than 10 hours of video. Enjoy!

"Israel is a Funny Country" is now available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions

This book explores the multifaceted nature of humor in Israel, some of which is intentional and some of which is unintentional. Either way, the quirks of Israeli life contribute to making that life interesting and fulfilling. In the pages of this volume, we take a look at humorous slices of Israeli life, Israeli comedy, satire and parody, funny TV commercials, unusual stories about food, surprising rabbinic bans on daily activities, simchas as they can only be celebrated in Israel, and endearing aspects of Israeli culture. There are more than 120 anecdotes and links to video clips totaling more than six hours of video. We hope that these anecdotes and video clips give you a new and different insight into life in Israel, and encourage you to join in the fun by planning a visit to the land flowing with milk and honey.

The Best of Jewish Humor Central - Now Available in eBook and Paperback at Amazon.com

About the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

A long-term devotee of Jewish humor, Al Kustanowitz has been collecting and sharing it even before there was an internet. In 2009, after a 36-year career at IBM managing new technology projects, he founded Jewish Humor Central (jewishhumorcentral.com. Through the blog he brings a daily dose of fun and positive energy to readers who would otherwise start the day reading news that is often drab, dreary, and depressing (subscribing is free). He has published 12 books on humor based on his more than 4,000 blog postings, each of which includes a video clip and his commentary. He has presented more than 100 programs in South Florida and the Northeast on topics that include the great comedians and entertainers of the 20th century, funniest moments in film and television, flash mobs around the world, and composers and lyricists of the Great American Songbook. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the City University of New York and taught computer science courses at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the International Association of Yiddish Clubs. You can contact Al via email at akustan@gmail.com.