Shahak Shapira - Israeli Comedian Learns About Potato Crisis From His Vienna Audience

Shahak Shapira is an Israel-born, Berlin-based comedian. His comedy show on German TV got canceled so fast, most people didn’t even notice he had one. He recorded a stand up special for Comedy Central, which would have been awesome, but it was Comedy Central Germany. 

He also wrote two best sellers, which would be very impressive if this was a poetry slam. New York, Tokyo, Cape Town, Paris, London, LA, Barcelona - Shahak has successfully bamboozled audiences around the world into thinking he’s funny and even tricked world class comedians like Jim Gaffigan, Iliza Shlesinger, Maz Jobrani, Ari Shaffir and Joe List into letting him open for them. 

In this banter with his audience, Shahak gets an education about the jumping click beetle larvae attacking potatoes.

Enjoy! 

A Joke to Start the Week - "Ed's Present"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one to share with you. Here's the setup: Sol and Sophie are both 62 years old. They're celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in a very romantic restaurant. It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one. Here's the setup: Ed was in big trouble. He had forgotten his wedding anniversary. His wife was furious. And then...

Enjoy! 

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: Don Rickles Roasts Ronald Reagan in 1973

Some of the best standup comedy was on TV shows and comedy specials in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Today we continue our Sunday Standup series, sharing some of the classic routines by iconic comedians on Sunday editions of Jewish Humor Central. 

Born in Queens with the name Rikhters to a Yiddish-speaking family, Don Rickles began doing stand-up comedy performing in hotels in the Catskill Mountains in New York. 

He became known as an insult comedian by responding to his hecklers. The audience enjoyed these insults more than his prepared material, and he incorporated them into his act.

Here's a segment of Rickles roasting Ronald Reagan on the Dean Martin Show in 1973 when Reagan was governor of California. Let's turn the clock back 52 years and enjoy the video clip.

A Joke to Start the Week - "Texan Visiting Israel"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. This week we're posting another joke from Dr. Jay Orlikoff, a retired dentist from Centereach, New York, a community on Long Island in Suffolk County.

After a distinguished and meritorious dental career, he is shifting his focus to telling and posting jokes on YouTube. We were fortunate to find some of his jokes and we're sharing one of the family-friendly ones with you today. 

Here's the setup: A Texan is visiting Israel. He's driving down the road and he stops at a house and knocks on the door. The Israeli comes to the door. And then...

Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week - "The Psychic Daughter"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one to share with you. Here's the setup:  The father tucked in his 3-year-old daughter, told her a story, and then it was time for her prayers. She said "God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy, God bless grandma and goodbye grandpa." And then...

Enjoy! 

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: Rita Rudner on Stage in 1989

Some of the best standup comedy was on TV shows and comedy specials in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Today we continue our Sunday Standup series, sharing some of the classic routines by iconic comedians on Sunday editions of Jewish Humor Central.

We've been big fans of Rita Rudner ever since she started to appear on late night TV in the 1980s.

One of the hallmarks of her comedy is that it's clean, free from the vulgarity and shouting that many stand-up comics find necessary.  Her delivery is demure, tasteful, full of wry observations, and very funny.

Rudner started her career as a dancer, then switched to stand-up comedy about her dating experiences.  She married British producer Martin Bergman 37 years ago and they have a daughter.  She is fond of Jewish humor but generally reserves it for when she performs for Jewish audiences.

Rita is 71 now and still performing in South Florida and other locations.

In this piece from 1989, Rita Rudner's stand-up comedy is focused on relationships, family and herself with one-liners and stories delivered in her unique matter-of-fact way that has made her an audience favorite.

Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week - "Job Interview"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. This week we're posting another joke from Dr. Jay Orlikoff, a retired dentist from Centereach, New York, a community on Long Island in Suffolk County.

After a distinguished and meritorious dental career, he is shifting his focus to telling and posting jokes on YouTube. We were fortunate to find some of his jokes and we're sharing one of the family-friendly ones with you today. 

Here's the setup: An employer puts an ad in the paper. He's looking for someone who can type, can operate a computer, and is also bilingual. And then...

Enjoy!

Comedy Showcase: Actor/Comedian Paul Reiser on Lying About Our Age

Paul Reiser is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He comes from a Romanian Jewish family and attended the East Side Hebrew Institute, a Jewish Day School which merged with the Park East Synagogue in the early 1980s to become the Park East Day School.

He played the roles of Michael Taylor in the 1980s sitcom My Two Dads, Paul Buchman in the NBC sitcom Mad About You, Modell in the 1982 film Diner, and Detective Jeffrey Friedman in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise. He has gained recognition for his roles as Jim Neiman in the 2014 film Whiplash and Dr. Sam Owens in the Netflix series Stranger Things. 

Reiser is ranked 77th on Comedy Central's 2004 list of the "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time". The name of his production company, Nuance Productions, is inspired by one of his lines in the film Diner, where his character explains his discomfort with the word "nuance".  

In this excerpt from his first standup special in over 30 years, Reiser talks about the consequences of lying about our age as we get older.

Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week - "The Little Girl's Dog"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one to share with you. Here's the setup: Sol and Sophie are both 62 years old. They're celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in a very romantic restaurant. It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one. Here's the setup: A man was walking through a park in Paris and he saw a little girl playing with her dog, a Rottweiler. All of a sudden the dog attacked the girl and started to bite her. And then...

Enjoy! 

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: An Early (1969) Performance by Rodney Dangerfield

Some of the best standup comedy was on TV shows in the 1960s. Today we continue our Sunday Standup series, sharing some of the classic routines by iconic comedians on Sunday editions of Jewish Humor Central.

Born Jacob Cohen and initially going by the stage name of Jack Roy, the 19-year old Rodney Dangerfield ventured into the world of stand-up only to find disappointment.  After nine years of going nowhere, he completely dropped out of showbiz and, to support his family, sold household aluminum siding.  Twenty-five years later, at the age of 45, Rodney decided to give comedy another try, appearing in clubs at night while still selling siding during the day.  He ultimately found success, due to luck, persistence and his enormous comedic talent.  

On March 5th 1967, he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.  Having seen what the show had done for other comics like Richard Pryor on The Ed Sullivan Show and Joan Rivers on The Ed Sullivan Show, Rodney knew that he was finally getting somewhere.  Luckily for viewers, Dangerfield had twenty-five years worth of pent-up comedy when he finally “made it.”  He appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show a total of 17 times between 1967 and 1971.   Audiences loved his stand-up routines and related to his famous catchphrase, “I don’t get no respect! No respect at all…” His self-deprecating style of comedy, ranging from childhood stories to shopping trip tales, to problems with his wife always resonated with middle America.  

Here's a classic performance by Rodney Dangerfield on the The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969.  

Enjoy!

Israeli Comedy Showcase: Shahar Hason on Tourism and Living in Israel

Shahar Hasson is one of the leading stand-up comedians in Israel, appearing on Israeli stages for over 25 years, He is a graduate of Yoram Levinstein's acting school. 

Shahar is an entertainer who paved his way through the best entertainment programs in Israel: Eretz Nehederet, Zahirut TV, TV at its best, Laughter from Work, Limited Edition, Fun Night, Express Hearts and more.

In this performance before a live audience, Shahar engages the crowd with funny observations about Israeli and Japanese names, tourism, and living in Israel in a time of war.

Enjoy!

Comedy Showcase: Actor/Comedian Paul Reiser on "The Arc of Life"

Paul Reiser is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He comes from a Romanian Jewish family and attended the East Side Hebrew Institute, a Jewish Day School which merged with the Park East Synagogue in the early 1980s to become the Park East Day School.

He played the roles of Michael Taylor in the 1980s sitcom My Two Dads, Paul Buchman in the NBC sitcom Mad About You, Modell in the 1982 film Diner, and Detective Jeffrey Friedman in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise. He has gained recognition for his roles as Jim Neiman in the 2014 film Whiplash and Dr. Sam Owens in the Netflix series Stranger Things. 

Reiser is ranked 77th on Comedy Central's 2004 list of the "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time". The name of his production company, Nuance Productions, is inspired by one of his lines in the film Diner, where his character explains his discomfort with the word "nuance".  

In this excerpt from his first standup special in over 30 years, Reiser talks about The Arc of Life and funny aspects of getting older. Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week - "Buying a Boat"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today we're sharing a joke by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak (YY) Jacobson, one of America's premier Jewish scholars in Torah and Jewish mysticism.

Rabbi Jacobson, an American Chabad rabbi from Monsey, New York, is one of the most sought after speakers in the Jewish world today, lecturing to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences on six continents and in forty states, and serving as teacher and mentor to thousands across the globe. 

He is considered to be one of the most successful, passionate and mesmerizing communicators of Judaism today, culling his ideas from the entire spectrum of Jewish thought and making them relevant to contemporary audiences. 

He served as editor-in-chief of the Algemeiner Journal, and as a choizer (transcriber) for Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

He also loves to tell jokes, and here's the setup: This guy tells his wife "I'm buying a boat." She says "Absolutely not!" And then...

Enjoy!

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: Jackie Mason on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

Some of the best standup comedy was on TV shows in the 1960s. Starting today we will be sharing some of the classic routines by iconic comedians on Sunday editions of Jewish Humor Central.

Today we're starting the series with a 1969 performance by Jackie Mason on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.  Mason launches into a discussion about how sex is permeating our entire culture and how the average entertainer thinks he has to resort to sexual references when he walks onto the stage.

A Jackie Mason classic. Enjoy!

Israeli Comedy Showcase: Shahar Hason on Israeli Avocados and Flattened Bagels

Shahar Hasson is one of the leading stand-up comedians in Israel, appearing on Israeli stages for over 25 years, He is a graduate of Yoram Levinstein's acting school. 

Shahar is an entertainer who paved his way through the best entertainment programs in Israel: Eretz Nehederet, Zahirut TV, TV at its best, Laughter from Work, Limited Edition, Fun Night, Express Hearts and more.

In this performance before a live audience, Shahar carries on about worshiping the avocado as the god of sandwich and Israelis flattening bagels into a packaged snack.

Enjoy!

Comedy Showcase: Rabbi Bob Alper Headlines Comedy Show at Borscht Belt Festival

The Borscht Belt Festival in Ellenville, New York, is in its third year. Last weekend, Catskills fans from all over descended on the festival at the Borscht Belt Museum for a dose of nostalgia, Jewish comedy, and classic Jewish food as it was served in the hotels of Sullivan and Ulster Counties.

Entertainment for the weekend featured standup comedy headlined by 80-year-old Rabbi Bob Alper who has been performing standup for more than 30 years in addition to his rabbinical duties in Philadelphia and Vermont, where he lives.

In this excerpt from his comedy routine, Rabbi Bob reminisces about his first pulpit and the funny encounters he had with children when he was first ordained in Buffalo and teaching in Hebrew school.

Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week: 35th Anniversary Wishes

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one to share with you. Here's the setup: Sol and Sophie are both 62 years old. They're celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in a very romantic restaurant. It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one. Here's the setup: Sol and Sophie are both 62 years old. They're celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in a very romantic restaurant. They talk about the good times they've had. It's a very sweet evening. And then...

Enjoy! 

Comedy Showcase: Ariel Elias on Jewish and Christian Holidays and Miracles

Ariel Elias is a comedian living in New York City. Growing up, this Kentucky Jew made everyone laugh at her bat mitzvah, and the rest is history.

Today, her comedy is a fun mesh of unique, personal stories mixed with witty and wry observations. Described as “a sly young comic from Kentucky” by the "New York Times", Ariel has also been featured in "Rolling Stone", the "Washington Post", and on "Good Morning America". 

As a traveling stand up comedian, she has performed on the set of the "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and was named a “New Face” at the 2021 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival.

After catching Jimmy Kimmel’s attention with a viral stand-up clip that displayed her cool, calm, and hilarious composure, he invited Ariel to make her late night television debut on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

In this clip from her comedy special debut, Ariel contrasts Jewish and Christian holidays and miracles. Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week - "The Cairo Gazette"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today we're sharing a joke by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak (YY) Jacobson, one of America's premier Jewish scholars in Torah and Jewish mysticism.

Rabbi Jacobson, an American Chabad rabbi from Monsey, New York, is one of the most sought after speakers in the Jewish world today, lecturing to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences on six continents and in forty states, and serving as teacher and mentor to thousands across the globe. 

He is considered to be one of the most successful, passionate and mesmerizing communicators of Judaism today, culling his ideas from the entire spectrum of Jewish thought and making them relevant to contemporary audiences. 

He served as editor-in-chief of the Algemeiner Journal, and as a choizer (transcriber) for Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

He also loves to tell jokes, and here's the setup: A Jew came to shul every day for Mincha and he would read The Cairo Gazette. So somebody asked him "You have to bring this trash into a holy place?" And then...

Enjoy!

Comedy Showcase: The Sklar Brothers Bring Their Standup Comedy to St. Paul, Minnesota

Randy and Jason Sklar, professionally known as the Sklar Brothers, are American identical twin brother comedians and actors best known for hosting the show Cheap Seats, which aired for four seasons on ESPN Classic. 

Randy and Jason grew up in suburban St. Louis in a Jewish family. They went to the University of Michigan, where they joined the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. While enrolled, they decided to pursue a career in comedy.

In 1994, they moved to New York where they developed their comedy style at stand-up comedy clubs. In 1997, Jason and Randy starred in and wrote for MTV's sitcom/sketch/standup program Apt 2F. It was their first television work. The show lasted one season.

The Sklar brothers have also appeared in television shows such as CSI, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Mighty Med, Childrens Hospital, Law & Order, Becker, Providence, The Oblongs (as conjoined twin brothers Biff and Chip Oblong), Entourage, Grey's Anatomy (as conjoined twin brothers Peter and Jake Weitzman), Curb Your Enthusiasm (Jason only), and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 

They appeared in two episodes of season 3 of Better Call Saul as the owners of a music shop called ABQ In Tune. The Sklars have appeared in the films My Baby's Daddy, Bubble Boy, Wild Hogs, and The Comebacks. 

Today we're sharing a video clip from their 2018 standup show in St. Paul, Minnesota. Enjoy!