A Satiric Look at the Story of Korach - by "Hayehudim Ba'im --- The Jews are Coming"

In 2014 Israeli satire on TV took a bold step forward with the airing of a new series of sketches called HaYehudim Ba'im (The Jews Are Coming).

Written by Natalie Marcus and Asaf Beiser, the show asks questions about everything, from the Bible to Ben Gurion to the Ashkenazi leadership. Their approach is to  go into the texts and make you think. They say that they give all their subjects a critical look, but they're not attacking, just giving the story a fresh, modern look.

The series ran for three seasons on Israeli TV, all in Hebrew. Some of the half-hour episodes were divided into video clips and published on YouTube with English subtitles.

The series ran for three seasons on Israeli TV, all in Hebrew. Some of the half-hour episodes were divided into video clips and published on YouTube with English subtitles. Here's one about the rebellion of Korach against Moses and Aaron when Korach challenged Moses and wanted to replace him as leader of the people.

Enjoy!

Robot Enlisted to Write Torah Scrolls, But Are They Kosher?

Now we've seen everything. Robots are routinely used in medicine and in manufacturing, but for writing a Torah scroll? That's the latest application that robots have been enlisted for.

As Steve Lipman wrote in The Jewish Week,

While the exhibition closes Aug. 3, the robot, reprogrammed with the help of an Israeli graphic designer, will be on display the rest of the year. The robot writes the sefer Torah exactingly slowly, from right to left, 10 hours a day.

A human scribe takes a year or more to complete a scroll.

“While the Sofer [Torah scribe] guarantees the sanctity of the Scripture, the installation highlights its industrial reproducibility,” the website of the Jewish Museum (jmberlin.de) states.

The finished product of the robot, fashioned by a writing arm attached to a small nib, will not be kosher according to traditional Jewish law; it will not be acceptable for use in a synagogue, since it is not being penned by a human hand, and is on a 260-foot-long roll of paper, not on parchment.

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Birth of Red Cow Seen as First Step Toward Building of Third Temple

To most students of the Torah, the narrative in the book of Bamidbar (Numbers) about the red heifer, a cow that is the key to purification of individuals and vessels used in the Holy Temple, is purely theoretical. 

But it is taken very seriously by members of the Temple Institute, an organization in Jerusalem that is busy making preparations for the day that a third Temple will be rebuilt.

The ashes of the red heifer are necessary for the final preparation of the sacred vessels to be used in the Holy Temple, and for the purification of the kohanim (Temple priests) who will serve in the Holy Temple.

Recently, the theoretical turned to the possible when it was reported that a purely red cow was born in January on a farm in Arkansas. The owners of the red heifer, known as the parah adumah in Hebrew,  contacted the Temple Institute to share the news and receive instructions concerning the proper care of the animal. The Temple Institute contacted a professional documentary film producer who provided this exclusive footage of the red heifer.

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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.)

Controversial "Noah" Film Starring Russell Crowe Hits Theaters Friday With Disclaimer

When Darren Aronofsky's epic film "Noah" hits U.S. theaters this Friday, it may well be the only movie to use marketing materials that include a carefully worded disclaimer designed to insulate the studio from angry critics.

The blockbuster movie, starring Russell Crowe as Noah and featuring Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connolly, and Emma Watson, has been the subject of threatened boycotts by Christian and Muslim groups. Jewish groups have been largely absent from the vocal critics who have been panning the film during its production and preview screeenings.

Here is Paramount's disclaimer:

"The film is inspired by the story of Noah. While artistic license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values, and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide. The biblical story of Noah can be found in the book of Genesis."

Early reviews from the international release are clearly mixed. Here's an excerpt from Eric Kohn's mixed review on InstyWire:

Aronofsky and co-writer Ari Handel pepper the story with a number of flashier ingredients, some fairly routine and others less so. These include Noah's hulking army of four-armed rock giants, an elaboration on the fallen angels known as Nephilim, who initially resist Noah's cries for help and eventually aid in the construction of the Ark; the screenwriters also give Noah a single antagonist, in the form of the scheming Tubal-Cain (Ray Winstone), who manages to wind up as the Ark's sole human stowaway and attempt to surpass even the will of the Creator to restart civilization.

While still sifting through the meaning of his vision, Noah receives advice from his ancient grandfather Methusaleh (Anthony Hopkins, scowling and smirking in a handful of scenes), while keeping his blandly anxious wife (Jennifer Connelly) at bay. The couple's children include the eternally worried Ila (Emma Watson) and Shem (Douglas Booth), who eventually fall into a perilous romance, as well as Ham (Logan Lerman), whose allegiances to his father grow increasingly dubious as the plans for the Ark take shape.

The actual building of the ark for the movie is the subject of a video shown on ABC news. The behind-the-scenes look at its construction on Long Island as Hurricane Sandy raged is shown in the video below, followed by the trailer for the film. Whether or not it comes close to our understanding of the Flood story as we learned it a little more than a few years ago, it's a film that looks to be entertaining enough to warrant seeing on a big screen rather than waiting for the Netflix DVD to arrive months later.

Enjoy!

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Uganda Jews Sing a Song of Shalom

In 2011 we posted two videos about the Abayudaya Jewish Community of Uganda and told about their origins in 1919 and how the founder of their community embraced Judaism. 

It's a fascinating story about how Judaism emerged in central Africa, complete with a Yeshiva and Beit Midrash for Torah study and traditional prayer services with tallit and tefillin.  The community observes Shabbat and the laws of kashrut.

Now the Abayudaya and Israeli artist Irene Orleansky have partnered to create "Shalom, Mirembe!" as part of a music collection from Israelites and Jews of Africa and Asia. 

As we get ready for Shabbat, we're sharing this uniquely African musical number, followed by a narrative by the spiritual leader of this community, Rabbi Gershom, of how they got started. Rabbi Gershom discusses the community's nearly 100 year history and the challenges and successes that the Abayudaya have faced during that time.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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"Abraham and Isaac - The Director's Cut" - Another Comedy Midrash From Jewbellish

Hasidic comedian Mendy Pellin has done it again. After the success of his hilarious rendition of "Why Moses Hit the Rock" his Jewbellish troupe brings us the "real" story of what happened at the binding of Isaac on Mount Moriah.

According to this comedy midrash, Abraham was "punked" (made the object of a practical joke) by God and a team of angels into thinking he was commanded to sacrifice his son, Isaac. It turns out that it was a gag and Isaac was in on it the whole time. 

There's a funny side reference to the possibility that Abraham had been punked previously when he was commanded to circumcise himself. The whole midrash is a hilarious retelling of two of the most famous Bible stories.

Enjoy!

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"Why Moses Hit the Rock" - A Comedy Midrash From Jewbellish

Last month we posted the first funny bit from the new parody website Jewbellish, co-founded by Chabad Chasidic comic Mendy Pellin. Today we're sharing another shtick that offers a more modern version of why Moses hit the rock in the wilderness that brought forth water. Let's consider it as a new midrash (story or interpretation).

In Parashat Chukat in the book of Bamidbar (Numbers) we are told:

After traveling for forty years in the wilderness, the people of Israel arrived in Kadesh in the Zin Desert, on the border of the Holy Land. Upon arrival, the people discovered that there was no water in Kadesh, and they complained to Moses. “If only we had died,” they vented, “when our brethren died before G‑d! Why have you brought the congregation of G‑d to this desert, to die there, we and our cattle? Why have you taken us out of Egypt—to bring us to this evil place?”

In this video Jewbellish offers a more down to earth (and funnier) version of the complaints aired by the Jews wandering through the desert. 

If you want to know the meaning of the word Jewbellish, as we did, we found an approximate definition on the web site. As explained by founders Pellin and Jeff Rudes, it's a word that was omitted from the dictionary by Rebbetzin Miriam Webster. It's a word that's defined by its use -- the more you use it, the more you'll feel the meaning -- it's a close relative of the word kvetch.

Enjoy!

(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.)