Comedian Modi Performs at Commentary Magazine Roast of Ben Shapiro

Last year we posted a video of comedian Modi speaking at a Commentary Magazine roast of Senator Joe Lieberman. Modi's comedy has branched out in many directions, from posting jokes, doing stand-up comedy, creating short films, and presiding at roasts for famous Jews.

His acerbic wit knows no political bounds, and he can entertain Democrat and Republican crowds with equal sarcasm. Commentary magazine, which has been doing roasts for 10 years, selected conservative columnist Ben Shapiro as its honoree last year. Here is what Commentary editor John Podhoretz wrote about Shapiro in his invitation to the roast.

This 35-year-old pipsqueak has just published The Right Side of History, a prodigious small volume that takes us on a tour of Western thought—and as of press time, Ben’s book has sold in excess of 100,000 copies. He’s got millions of YouTube viewers, podcast listeners, Twitter followers…let’s face it, someone who seems to triumph at everything ought to be taken down a peg or two just to keep him honest.

The audience delighted in the barbs tossed by Modi, not only at the honoree, but also at conservative TV commentators Dana Perino, Jonah Goldberg, and writer Andrew Klavan.

Modi's comments may be a bit strong for some of you, but after all, this is a roast. And a roast is a roast. 

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with a Scottish, Irish, and Brazilian Adon Olam

After posting 57 versions of Adon Olam, we thought we had posted them all. But today we found one of the more interesting variations, a voyage through traditional Scottish music presented with a Brazilian spirit and soul.

It's a song from the Jewish liturgy sung to a traditional Irish melody (Danny Boy) by a Brazilian soprano and a displaced Scot.

Vocals - Sabrina Shalom and Barry Wolfe
Piano and musical arrangement - Fernando de Gino
Vocal arrangement - William Paiva
Video mix - Monica Zanon

Enjoy, and Shabbat Shalom! 

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Stiller and Meara Plan Their Interfaith Wedding

When Jerry Stiller died a few weeks ago, we posted the famous skit that he and his wife Anne Meara performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. As Hershie Horowitz and Mary Elizabeth Doyle, they had been matched by a computer program in 1966.

In a later appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, they were back in character a few months after their first meeting. Hershie proposed to Mary Elizabeth and they started planning their wedding. But their religious and ethnic differences presented one problem after another and they realized that this match was not meant to be.

In real life, however, they married in 1954 and Meara converted to Judaism before the birth of their children.

Enjoy!

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Comedy Showcase: Sharon Geller in a Zoom Comedy Performance

Sharon Geller has been a professional actor, writer, director and entertainer for over 20 years. Sharon has appeared on Saturday Night Live several times in the Weekend Update and Opening Sketch segments. Dressed as Lucy, she sang the “I Love Lucy” theme song on the TODAY Show with Al Roker by her side.

A Philadelphia native, Sharon presents a fun and educational talk/performance about Jewish humor, comedy and laughter with examples taken right from the Torah and the Talmud. Her performance Includes a Molly Goldberg impersonation, funny jokes, Borscht Belt humor and examples of laughter and comedy along with the answer as to why Judaism holds humor in such high regard. 

In this Zoom video clip, Sharon manages to tell 3 jokes in 2 and a half minutes. The Zoom audience includes Rabbi Albert Gabbai, the rabbi of Congregation Mikveh Israel, the oldest formal congregation in Philadelphia and the oldest continuous synagogue in the United States.

Enjoy!

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Hyman Batalion on the Essential Parts of Jewish Humor

Since 2010, the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project has recorded hundreds of in-depth video interviews that provide a deeper understanding of the Jewish experience and the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture. 

The interviews in the growing collection are conducted in Yiddish and/or English with narrators of all ages from a variety of backgrounds. 

Hyman Batalion, Yiddish speaker and Montreal native, was interviewed by Christa Whitney on August 16, 2016, at the Segal Centre for the Performing Arts in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  

Back in April, we posted a clip from the interview, in which Batalion, father of YidLife Crisis co-creator Eli Batalion, reflected on some of the early Yiddish speaking Montreal comedians and retold some of the old jokes.

In this second clip from the interview, Batalion describes what he considers to be essential parts of Jewish humor.

Enjoy!

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Comedian Talia Reese on the Value of a Jewish Education

Today we're sharing a video clip by Talia Reese. The New York Post recently featured a nearly full-page article about her life and comedy entitled, "Orthodox Jewish Comic Finds Balance Between Raunch and Religion," and called her a "Hot Ticket". 

Talia attended law school and worked as a lawyer, is married to a fellow lawyer, and lives in Great Neck, New York. Her standup routines are sometimes risque, but she cleans up her act when she performs at synagogues.

Here's a clip of Talia explaining the value of a Jewish education.

Enjoy! 

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Welcoming Shavuot and Shabbat with an Israeli Harvest Song

Kippalive is an Israeli a cappella group that started out as a group of friends in Raanana who got together every Friday night to sing and were discovered while singing in the streets of Raanana.

We featured them previously in a cappella songs for Chanukah, Passover, and Shabbat.

Finding songs for Shavuot, which starts at sundown tonight, isn't as easy as it is for the other Jewish holidays. But Kippalive has posted an old favorite, Saleinu al Ktefeinu, (Our baskets are on our shoulders), which we're glad to share with you today.

Shavuot is also known as Yom HaBikkurim (Day of the first fruits) and Chag HaKatzir (Harvest Festival). So naturally, the Kipppalive singers put flowers on their heads and sang in a field!  

Below the video you'll find the transliterated Hebrew and English lyrics.

We'll be observing Shavuot on Friday and Shabbat, so our next post will be on Sunday.

Chag sameach and Shabbat shalom!

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Hebrew:

Saleinu al k'tefeinu, rasheinu aturim,
miktzot ha'aretz banu haveinu bikkurim.
Mihudah mihudah v'ad shomron,
min ha'emek min ha'emek v'lagalil,
panu derech lanu, bikkurim itanu,
hach hach hach batof v'chalel b'chalil.W
hach hach hach batof v'chalel b'chalil.
Saleinu al k'tefeinu, rasheinu aturim,
miktzot ha'aretz banu haveinu bikkurim.
Mihudah mihudah v'ad shomron,
min ha'emek min ha'emek v'lagalil,
panu derech lanu, bikkurim itanu,
hach hach hach batof v'chalel b'chalil.
hach hach hach batof v'chalel b'chalil.

English:

Our baskets on our shoulders, crowned heads,
From the ends of the land we came we brought first fruits.
From Yehuda and the Shomron, from the valley,
And the Galil, make way for us, first fruits
with us, bang the drum and play the flute.