On Hoshana Rabbah We Bid Farewell to the Etrog and Lulav and Welcome Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah

Today is Hoshana Rabbah, the last day of Sukkot. In synagogues around the world, Jews take up the etrog and lulav for the last time and march around the shul seven times carrying them together with the myrtle and willow leaves.

In the evening we welcome Shemini Atzeret, a separate holiday which leads into Simchat Torah. In Israel, both holidays are celebrated in a single day.  

The search for a nice set of the four species is a big project in Israel, where stands are set up in the street and in front of stores where the etrogim (citrons) are on display for buyers to inspect and purchase.

In this video, singer Aaron Holder visits the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem, smelling his way through many etrogim before finding the perfect one.

We will be observing Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah on Thursday and Friday, leading into another Shabbat. So Jewish Humor Central will be taking a break for two days, and we'll be back on Sunday with our usual mix of humor and music.

Enjoy, Chag Sameach, and Shabbat Shalom!

Explaining Why a Month of Jewish Holidays Gets in the Way of Business Meetings - A Sukkot Comedy Sketch

Explaining why a month of Jewish holidays, from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Hoshana Rabba and Simchat Torah can be a challenge to observant Jews trying to set up a business meeting with customers who are not observing these holidays.

When the holidays fall on weekdays, and you add Shabbatot to the mix, finding a date for a meeting can leave the impression that you just don't want to have a meeting.

This situation is the subject of a comedy sketch that we found on the Jewish Sparks YouTube channel. In this humorous video, we join a Jewish individual as he navigates the complex calendar of Jewish holidays and hilariously explains to a customer why he couldn't meet in the past month. 

With wit and laughter, he walks through the series of holiday events that have kept him occupied. This comedic take on the challenges of scheduling during the Jewish holiday season will be familiar to many of our readers.

Enjoy! 

Holiday Countdown: Yiddish Philharmonic Chorus Sings a High Holidays Medley

The Yiddish Philharmonic Chorus began as a musical expression of the Jewish labor movement. It was founded in 1922 as the Freiheit Gezang Farein, an outgrowth of the leftist Morgen Freiheit Yiddish newspaper. In 1948, the Chorus changed its name to The Jewish People’s Philharmonic Chorus—likely to avoid scrutiny during the McCarthy era. Now that it's a century old, they changed the name again—to reflect the goals of learning, enjoying, and promoting the Yiddish language and Yiddish choral music.

The chorus is a multigenerational thirty-five-voice ensemble. They're students, professionals, and robust retirees, all in love with singing and committed to promoting Yiddish language and culture through beautiful four-part harmony.

Led by conductor Binyumen Schaechter, they perform each spring and fall at Merkin Concert Hall and most summers at the North American Jewish Choral Festival. They've also performed at Symphony Space, Carnegie Hall, Shea Stadium, West Point, Queens College, the World Trade Center site after 9/11, and places of worship throughout the New York metropolitan area.

Today we're sharing a video of the chorus singing a medley of songs for Rosh Hashanah,  Sukkot, and Simchat Torah.

Enjoy!

Welcoming Shabbat (and Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah) with U'Vyom HaShabbat by the Zurich Synagogue Choir

Tonight we celebrate a grand finale to what has been almost a full month of holidays. With Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot in the rear view mirror, what's left is the holiday of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, which is celebrated as a single day in Israel and two days in the diaspora.

This year the holiday falls on Shabbat, so there is an abundance of joy and an extra measure of dancing with the Torah, song, and feasting. We're starting the holiday by sharing a performance of U'Vyom HaShabbat by the Zurich Synagogue Choir.

The Zurich Synagogue Choir includes around two dozen singers under the direction of conductor Robert Braunschweig. The choir is supported by the Jewish Community of Zurich, Switzerland. They sing once a month at the Löwenstrasse synagogue during services on Shabbat morning and on the High Holidays. The choir also sings at interdenominational events and gives concerts at home and abroad.  

The choir in the Löwenstrasse Synagogue has existed – in various forms – for over 100 years. Its members have and live a wide variety of religious orientations. What they all have in common is the joy of singing in the cultural and religious environment of the unified community.

We'll be observing the two-day holiday tomorrow and Sunday, so the next Jewish Humor Central post will be on Monday, when we'll be back with our regular mix.

We wish you a Shabbat shalom and Chag Sameach!

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.

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!

Welcome to Shemini Atzeret with a Simchat Torah Rap by Rap Daddy D

Our month of holidays concludes this week with Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah -- Monday in Israel and Monday and Tuesday everywhere else. 

We'll be celebrating both days in a New Jersey synagogue and we'll be back with our usual mix of funny stuff and Jewish entertainment on Wednesday.

But we have one more chance to share a holiday video with you and we selected the Simchat Torah Rap by David Nachenberg, who also goes by the name Rap Daddy D. The first half of the song is in Hebrew and the second half is in English.

Enjoy, and Chag Sameach!

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.