Yiddish Word of the Day - "Thanksgiving"

In 2020 the Forverts launched a daily series of short informal video clips called Yiddish Word of the Day.

The series, written and narrated by Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter, aims to give non-Yiddish speakers an introduction to familiar Yiddish words and phrases and how they might be used in everyday situations. 

Schaechter, who was appointed the new editor of the Forverts in 2016, is the first woman to helm the paper in its 119-year history, its first editor to have been born in the United States, and likely its first editor who is shomeret Shabbat.

We posted the first of this series in May 2020. Now that the Forverts is continuing the series, we'll continue sharing some of the words and phrases as a regular feature of Jewish Humor Central.

Today as we join family and friends for the Thanksgiving feast, let's find out how to say the words for the turkey and all the trimmings in Yiddish, and also pick up a few expressions related to the holiday.

Enjoy!

Throwback Thursday Movie Showcase: The Thanksgiving Dinner Scene from "Avalon"

Today is Thanksgiving Day, an American national holiday. Families from coast to coast are gathering for a festive dinner and lively conversation. In this politically charged year, we hope that the conversations will bring family members closer together.

We're sharing a video clip today from the film Avalon, a 1990 American drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson and starring Armin Mueller-Stahl, Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth Perkins, Joan Plowright, Lou Jacobi, Kevin Pollak, and Elijah Wood. It is the third in Levinson's semi-autobiographical tetralogy of "Baltimore films" set in his hometown during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: Diner (1982), Tin Men (1987), and Liberty Heights (1999). The film explores the themes of Jewish assimilation into American life, through several generations of a Polish immigrant family from the 1910s through the 1950s.

The film was released to critical acclaim, and was nominated for four Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. 

Thanksgiving plays an important role in the film, and the conversation around the dinner table is likely to bring back family memories of holidays past.

Enjoy!

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   #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Happy Thanksgiving! Watch Israelis Try to Explain the American Holiday Foods and Traditions

The Jewish Agency for Israel asked some Israelis to explain American traditions and foods served on Thanksgiving Day. The responses are interesting and funny. 

Why did the Pilgrims come to America? The gold rush? Listen to some of the explanations of the origin and traditions of the holiday.

Watch the Israelis struggle with opening and eating a can of jellied cranberry sauce, and enjoying pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

For 90 years, The Jewish Agency for Israel (Hasochnut HaYehudit) has worked to overcome the biggest challenges facing the Jewish people. It played a major role in building the State of Israel, and it continues to create links globally—bringing Jews to Israel and Israel to Jews.

Enjoy, and have a happy Thanksgiving!

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A Thanksgiving Journey: In Search of the Wild Challurkey

The staff at Mayim Bialk's website, Grok Nation, has been busy this week getting ready for Thanksgiving. 

FIlled with the holiday spirit, and probably somewhat nostalgic for the rare confluence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah a couple of years ago, Grok Nation's Editorial Director Esther Kustanowitz ventured forth to find a way for like-minded Jews to perpetuate the traditions of both holidays.

She didn't have to travel far from her home base in Los Angeles. At Bibi’s Bakery & Cafe in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, bakers have been hard at work in advance of Thanksgiving, producing Challurkeys around the clock. Esther's interview of owner and baker Dan Messinger about the peculiarities and importance of this festive Thanksgiving bread reveals everything you wanted to know about the Challurkey.

GrokNation is an online community for people of all ages and backgrounds to dive deep into conversations on contemporary issues. Actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory, Blossom) founded the site two years ago. Grok is one of those words that people who are fans of classic sci-fi probably know. Originally, it’s from a 1960s sci-fi novel called Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein, and refers to one character’s attempt to learn about the world around him by “grokking,” drinking in an idea until it becomes part of him from the inside out.

Enjoy, and have a happy Thanksgiving.

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Thanksgiving in Israel - Turkey, Hummus, Challlah, and Pumpkin Flavored Krembo

The menu may be a little different, but the Thanksgiving spirit is the same. The American holiday is observed in Israel wherever you can find a group of American olim.

Yankee Doodle playing in the background and tables laden with turkey (which has to be specially ordered in advance), hummus, challah, and pumpkin flavored Krembo (the chocolate marshmallow treat that's popular all over the country.) Cranberries can be hard to find,

Today's video clip is from a party in 2014 hosted by the Post-Aliyah department of Nefesh b'Nefesh, the organization that brings planeloads of new olim to Israel each year. If you're going to be in the United States tomorrow, try to have them in mind when you indulge in the traditional American feast.

Enjoy! 

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Adam Sandler Sings His Thanksgiving Song

 

Comedian/Actor Adam Sandler struck gold on Saturday Night Live when he sang his Chanukah Song. But less known is his Thanksgiving Song which we're sharing with you today. 

Just like The Chanukah Song, it's made up of silly rhymes, some of which don't make any sense, but which are funny nevertheless. 

Unlike The Chanukah Song, which includes list of people who are one quarter, half, or fully Jewish, the Thanksgiving Song is Sandler's free association of anything that has to do with Thanksgiving and anything that rhymes with it, such as "Turkey with the girls and turkey with the boys; my favorite kind of pants are corduroys."

Enjoy!

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Orlando Jewish Day School Kids Give Thanks on Thanksgiving

The children of the Orlando Jewish Day School and Chai Preschool know that Thanksgiving Day is a time to give thanks. And in this video, they are outspoken in expressing thanks for all the wonderful things in their lives.

They give thanks to their mom and dad, abba and ema, bubby and zaide, teachers and school.

Thanksgiving is an American holiday, but it feels like a Jewish holiday. In many families where Shabbat and Yom Tov restrictions on traveling make large gatherings difficult, Thanksgiving is the one day each year when large families and groups of friends can look forward to feasting together.

From our family to yours, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

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Hasidic Comedian Mendy Pellin Anchors "Jewbellish the News -- Thanksgiving Edition"

Thanksgiving Day is over, but it's turned into a two day holiday with most of us off from school and work. 

So looking at it as a two-day Yom Tov, we're sharing just one more Thanksgiving video -- the Jewbellish newscast of oddities related to the holiday this year.

For example, did you know that this year it will be the first time in 365 days that Thanksgiving doesn't fall out on Chanukah? 

Hasidic Comedian Mendy Pellin takes the anchor's chair at Jewbellish the News to preside over a little newsy narischkeit after getting some major notice on The Wall Street Journal's front page last week. His co-anchor, Dave Earl Jones, adds an unusual weather report to round out the news.

Enjoy!

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An Animated Recollection of Larry David's Brooklyn Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is such an important occasion in America that it triggers special memories of previous encounters with family and friends traveling great distances and consuming more than we should.

Most of us keep these recollections to ourselves or share them within a small circle. Entertainers such as writer-actor Larry David have access to media that encourages them to share their funny Thanksgiving moments with a wider audience.

Here's an animated look at Larry David's recollection of a typical Thanksgiving dinner that he had with his family in Brooklyn many years ago. It was posted on Funny or Die,  the Emmy-winning comedy video website.

Meanwhile, across the miles, we're celebrating Thanksgiving Day in Jerusalem, from where we'll be blogging until the middle of Chanukah. Yes, it's possible to celebrate Thanksgiving in Israel, where we suspect that most of the fresh turkeys ordered last week and picked up today are going to wind up on the dinner tables of American expatriates and tourists.

Enjoy, and have a happy Thanksgiving Day.

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Six13 Completes our Thanksgivukkah Roundup with the Thanksgivukkah Anthem

Well, the day we've all waited for is finally here. And after running nine music videos and comedy sketches focusing on the unusual coming together of Thanksgiving and Chanukah, we're saying goodbye to the once in 77,000 year holiday with one last music video. This one is by Six13, the a cappella band that we've featured in previous holiday music videos.

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-based group sound like a full band – while using nothing but their voices.

Six13 has recorded four 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. They have received several distinctions and accolades from Jewish organizations like the National Council of Young Israel and Moment Magazine, and awards from musical organizations like the Harmony Sweepstakes and the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America. 

They have appeared on the Chabad Telethon, and were chosen from hundreds of groups, both Jewish and secular, as finalists in the casting process for NBC’s hit prime-time television series The Sing-Off. The group has also become a viral internet sensation, with over one million views on YouTube.

Enjoy!

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Comedian Benji Lovitt Offers "Thanksgivukkah Pie" Music Parody to Celebrate the Occasion

Because of the convergence of Chanukah and Thanksgiving Day this year, we're seeing lots of new music videos created for the occasion, by musicians and parodists old and new. 

We've been posting them as they come in, using some discretion to bring you only the ones we think are the best, and anticipating a reprise of all of them at the end of Chanukah to give you a chance to vote for the best one.

We were hoping that some of our favorite comedians and parodists would join the fun and we were very happy to see that Benji Lovitt, an American comedian who relocated to Israel seven years ago, has produced Thanksgivukkah Pie, a funny animated parody of American Pie. The original song, by by folk rock singer/songwriter Don McLean, was a number one hit in 1972. It's a recounting of the aftermath of the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. 

Just in case you want to add some fun to your Thanksgiving celebration by singing Benji's song, we're including the lyrics just below the video.

Enjoy!

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A long, long time ago

I can still remember how that oil used to last a while

And I knew if it made it eight

Then Jews would get to celebrate

And then we’d be rejoicing with a smile

But this year’s just unprecedented

A holiday that’s so demented

Chanukkah plus turkey

It doesn’t get more quirky

I can’t remember if I cried

From Jewish and American pride

My apple pie is extra fried

The day the chags collide

CHORUS:

So try my new Thanksgivukkah pie

It’s delicious, not nutritious, and it’s so good you’ll cry

Like soofganyot, it is super deep-fried

So don’t eat more than one or you’ll die, don’t eat more than one or you’ll die

Now the Pilgrims stood up to the Greeks

And the Maccabees threw such a feast

Or maybe I mixed up my facts

When we eat the dreidel, it gobbles loud

And we spin the turkey which wobbles proud

I think I’ve lost my mind, got to relax

Let’s appreciate this special day

With the Macy’s Hanukkah Parade

The floats are on the go

Nes gadol haya po….SHAAAAAM!

So gather round with all your friends

Sing Maoz Tzur until the end

And stuff yourself, I recommend

The day the chags collide

CHORUS:

So try my new Thanksgivukkah pie

It’s delicious, not nutritious, and it’s so good you’ll cry

Like soofganyot, it is super deep-fried

So don’t eat more than one or you’ll die, don’t eat more than one or you’ll die

Here Comes Thanksgivukkah, and Boston Leads the Way

With Chanukah and Thanksgiving Day arriving together next week, the city of Boston is going all out to insure that both holidays get the attention that they deserve. 

The whole city, including the mayor, are all set to celebrate in ways both traditional and new.

The website JewishBoston.com created a special additional website for the occasion and filled it with historical information, recipes, a page for kids, and instructions on setting the Thanksgivukkah table.

They sent a reporter into the street to capture reactions from people in the street and to interview Thomas Menino, Boston's mayor about how they plan to celebrate, pronounce, and spell Thanksgivukkah.

So join in the fun, and enjoy!

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"Chanukah, Oh Chanukah" Gets New Lyrics For Joint Celebration With Thanksgiving

Before music videos with parodies of popular songs appeared on the Internet, the most frequently played Chanukah songs were I Have a Little Dreidel and Chanukah, Oh Chanukah. 

The latter typically showed up in three versions, the original Yiddish ("Chanukah, oy Chanukah, a yom tov a sheiner, a lustiger a freilicher, nisht do noch a zeiner..."), the Hebrew ("Yemei HaChanukah, chanukat mikdasheinu, b'gil uv'simcha me'maalim et libeinu...") and the English ("Chanukah, oh Chanukah, Come light the menorah, let's have a party, we'll all dance the hora...").

With the first day of Chanukah coinciding with Thanksgiving this year, songwriters everywhere are rushing to publish new versions of this classic song that blend the two holiday traditions. A rendition with some of the best lyrics we've seen so far and retitled The Thanksgivukkah Song was created by Gil Brodsky and in the video below is performed by Gil and Margie Brodsky,  We're including the lyrics just below the video.

Enjoy!

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Thanksgivukkah, Thanksgivukkah,
Come light the menurkey
Let's have a party
With latkes and turkey.
Maccabbees and Pilgrims
Americans and Jews
Thankfulness and freedom—
The lessons we choose.

Chorus:
So come spin the dreidel,
And lighting the candles we gloat.
Hearts skip a beat
For we know soon we'll eat
Pumpkin pie and some sufganiot!
Hearts skip a beat
For we know soon we'll eat
Pumpkin pie and some sufganiot!

Thanksgivukkah, Thanksgivukkah,
A joyous occasion
Everyone join in
This rare celebration
Lift up high your voices
With songs and with cheers.
The next one won't come for
79 thousand years. (Chorus)

Thanksgivukkah, Thanksgivukkah,
A marvelous yuntiff
Bringing together
The rebbe and pontiff.
Blending our traditions
Can give quite a shock:
Nays gadol hayah sham נס גדול היה שם
At Plymouth Rock (Chorus)

The Ballad of Thanksgivukkah - a Once in 77,000 Years Production

The unusual concurrence of Thanksgiving Day and the first day of Chanukah this year has resulted in an outburst of creative music videos, comedy routines, satire, and parody. Some are individual efforts and some are ensemble performances. 

But this is the first time we've seen what looks like an entire school -- faculty, staff, and student body -- all participating in an extensive production.

Kehilla Schechter Academy in Norwood, Massachusetts is really getting into the spirit of the two holidays by performing The Ballad of Thanksgivukkah, an original production number by Rabbi David Paskin, the Head of School. (Lyrics and performance schedule are on the school's web page.) Also known as the Rock n' Roll Rabbi, he has won wide praise for his accomplishments across the spectrum of Jewish life, as a rabbi, educator, and musician.

Here's the school performing The Ballad of Thanksgivukkah. It's energetic and uplifting. Too bad it's not going to be performed again for another 77,000 years!

Enjoy!

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Juliana Margulies Tells David Letterman Where to Meet Every Jewish Person in New York

Juliana Margulies, star of the CBS TV show The Good Wife, was David Letterman's guest this week on his late night show. The conversation was about holidays, and where and how she celebrates them. 

Margulies says that her favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, and that she's responsible for hosting the day for her family.

When Margulies says that she and her husband get on a plane every Christmas morning, Letterman implies that it's an odd way to celebrate Jesus' birth. Margulies clues him in about Jews traveling on Christmas. She reveals her strategy for finding an empty plane, only to find that other Jews have the same idea.

We don't know if Letterman's apparent surprise at her approach to Christmas is real or a put-on for laughs, but either way, it's a funny moment.

Enjoy!

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Thanksgivukkah: The Movie Trailer - A Very Stereotypical Over-the-Top Parody

"A tale of stereotypes gone completely out of control." That's what the narrator of this parody movie trailer says in the tone that we've become accustomed to hearing in most movie trailers, especially for horror films.

But this is no ordinary horror film. It's a parody, a satire, a spoof of the horror film genre applied to the unique concurrence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah this year. 

The mock movie trailer is a product of the zany comedic minds of Yisrael Campbell, the Catholic convert who became a Hasidic comedian and Gary Rudoren, director of the Jerusalem-based improv comedy group Hahafuch.

As Renee Ghert-Zand reported Sunday in the Times of Israel,

“The Sullivans’ Thanksgiving Day is about to become eight days of hell,” the voiceover announcer says as Campbell, his wife and many children show up at the door.

“Are you ghosts?” asks the teenage daughter of the non-Jewish family. “No, we’re the Rosenblums,” answers the Jewish mother in a sinister nasally voice.

“We were going for an energetic take on this whole Thanksgivukkah thing, and we were looking to be a bit edgy and to do something outside of what others have been doing,” Rudoren explained. “We came up with the idea of a horror movie. It’s actually a parody of what a hack Hollywood writer would actually pitch.”

So enjoy, and remember...it's a parody.

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Fire Halts Knish Production: Forward Yiddish Chefs Come to the Rescue With Pumpkin Knishes

Last week a fire at the Gabila's Knish Factory brought knish production to a sudden halt, endangering the supply of the square, crispy, fried potato filled Jewish delicacy to delis and supermarkets everywhere.

The story was picked up by local and national media, with interviews of company representatives and deli customers broadcast on the nightly news.

Fortunately, the Yiddish chefs of the Jewish Daily Forward were putting the finishing touches on the latest video of their cooking series, Est Gezunterheit, in which they show how to make knishes with pumpkin filling and potato-mushroom-onion filling from scratch. 

We assume that these homemade delicacies will be a temporary fix for lovers of the Gabila's brand because the Forward knishes aren't square or fried, or even the round variety found at some delis. They're small and made in the shape of Stars of David.

As usual in watching the kitchen action at the Forward, we picked up a few more Yiddish words to share, starting with Chanudank, the Yiddish version of Thanksgivukkah, the rare occurrence of Chanukah and Thanksgiving on the same day. The Yiddish word for Thangsgiving is Dank Tog.

Banye - Pumpkin
Pishke - Can
Fets - Shortening

Here are the Yiddish chefs at work in the Forward kitchen.

Enjoy!

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Kvelling For Thanksgivukkah: The Countdown Begins

By now you've heard some of the hype surrounding the upcoming once in a thousand lifetimes convergence of Thanksgiving with the first day of Chanukah on Thursday, November 28. 

It last happened in 1888 and won't happen again for another 77,798 years. If you assume a lifetime is 120 years, that's actually 648 lifetimes until menurkeys (menorah + turkey) appear on the scene again.

We know you wouldn't expect Jewish Humor Central to ignore this phenomenon, so today we're starting our Thanksgivukkah coverage of the superholiday with a song written for the occasion by Lauren Mayer, an award-winning songwriter, professional entertainer and music teacher who entertained us last year with A Good Old Down Home Country Chanukah. 

Enjoy!

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