Senator Orrin Hatch, Mormon Republican From Utah, Writes Hanukkah Song as Gift to Jewish People

When we started our Chanukah Countdown last month, posting a musical video each night, we would not have predicted that with one day to go until the first candle, we would be posting a brand new song written for Chanukah by a Mormon United States Senator.

The New York Times reports that Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah and a Mormon, has written an original song for Hanukkah as a gift to the Jewish People.

Senator Orrin Hatch, a solemn-faced Republican with a soft spot for Jews and a love of Barbra Streisand, has penned a catchy holiday tune, “Eight Days of Hanukkah.”  The video was posted Tuesday night on Tablet, an online magazine of Jewish lifestyle and culture, just in time for Hanukkah.

Eight Days of Hanukkah from Tablet Magazine on Vimeo.

Mark Leibovich writes in the Times,

Known around the Senate as a prolific writer of Christian hymns and patriotic melodies, Mr. Hatch, 75, said this was his first venture into Jewish music. It will not be his last.

"Anything I can do for the Jewish people, I will do,” Mr. Hatch said in an interview before heading to the Senate floor to debate an abortion amendment. “Mormons believe the Jewish people are the chosen people, just like the Old Testament says.”

In short, he loves the Jews. And based on an early sampling of listeners, the feeling could be mutual.

Fingering a silver mezuzah on a chain around his neck and wearing headphones in the studio, Hatch is shown in the video following along as the song is recorded by Syrian-American singer Rasheeda Azar.

The Tablet article, written by Jeffrey Goldberg, formerly with the New York Times Magazine and The Jerusalem Post, and now a staff writer for The Atlantic, tells the fascinating tale of how his casual suggestion to the senator ten years ago led to "a Mormon senator in a studio with an Arab singer and a bunch of New York Jewish background vocalists recording a Hanukkah song of his own making."  It's an article worth reading.

Another Joke to Start Your Day: Mezuzahs

A wealthy Jewish man buys a fabulous home in Beverly Hills, California. He brings in a local designer to decorate the place. 

When the job is finished, the homeowner is delighted but realizes that he's forgotten to put mezuzahs on the doors. He goes out and buys 50 mezuzahs and asks the decorator, who is non-Jewish, to place them on the right hand side of each door except bathrooms and kitchens.

He's really worried that the decorator will chip the paint work or won't put them up correctly. However, when he comes back a few hours later, he sees that the job has been carried out to his entire satisfaction. He's so pleased that he gives the decorator a bonus. 

As the decorator is walking out of the door he says, "Glad you're happy with the job..." "By the way, I took out the warranties in each one and left them on the table for you."
  
(A tip of the kippah to Teddy Asch for calling this one to our attention.)

Hanukkah Countdown: The New Yorker Catches Hanukkah Fever With 2 Days to Go

What do the Beatles, the Prophet Elijah, Velvel the Tailor, Kangaroo Moses, and a candle named Blue have in common?  They all make brief appearances in a collection of (very) short Hanukkah stories by Yoni Brenner in the current issue of The New Yorker.  A bit strange, a bit eclectic, but very funny.  So we're linking to them in the spirit of Hanukkah humor.  Laugh a little.  Or a lot.

   Here's one to get you started:

Latkeland

In the Book of the Redemption (c. 1263), the celebrated medieval Jewish philosopher Nahmanides describes a distant land where everything—the houses, the roads, even the synagogue—is made from potato latkes. And running through this savory land are two broad rivers, one flowing with applesauce and the other with sour cream.  And on Hanukkah the Jews of Latkeland gather at the confluence of the two rivers, so they can top their latkes with a dollop of each.  Incidentally, it was around this time that Nahmanides was doing a lot of drugs.

 (A tip of the kippah - and an extra Chanukah present - to Esther Kustanowitz for bringing this to our attention.)

Rabbis in Israel Ban Perfume; Music Lessons Banned in Satmar "Holy City" of Kiryas Joel

Just when we thought there was nothing left to ban, the rabbis of Bnei Brak in Israel and Kiryas Joel in New York have found new ones:  perfume and music lessons.  OK, these two items don't seem to be related except that they are not looked upon favorably by Rabbi Yosef Meir Altman, head of the Hatam Sofer Rabbinical Court in Bnei Brak and Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe, who resides in the Rockland County community of Kiryas Joel.

According to a report in the Israeli paper Maariv, the Satmar Rebbe told his followers not to bring "keilim temei'im" (impure instruments) into their homes, referring to the Internet and video.  He then surprised his chassidim by speaking out against their taking their children to music lessons. 

He also urged his followers to beware of giving charity to “outside” organizations that reportedly hold private fundraising events featuring screened presentations, saying these events are inappropriate for “the holy city of Kiryas Yoel.”

Meanwhile, last Saturday night across the ocean in Bnei Brak, outside of Tel Aviv, a group of Haredim protested the opening of a new shopping mall which included the New Pharm drugstore, because they believed the cosmetics and perfumes for women and cologne and hair coloring for men would have a negative influence on the town's young people.

The Jerusalem Post reports:

According to a Bnei Brak haredi activist, New-Pharm is located next to several very conservative educational institutions, including the Rabbi Wolf Seminary for Girls, known for its strict adherence to modesty rules.

People here do not want their daughters to be influenced by cosmetics and perfume," said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. "It simply is not acceptable."

The demonstrations, which were not organized by mainstream elements, came as a surprise to New-Pharm management, which had consulted with Bnei Brak Chief Rabbi Ya'acov Landau via PR firm McCann Erickson's haredi department.

"We removed condoms from the store, we do not use improper advertisements, we moved the cosmetics department to the back and we market goods that target the haredi population," said New-Pharm spokeswoman Daniella Reisenbach.

(Satmar photo: Reuters)

Chanukah Countdown: The G-dcast Team Retells the Chanukah Story in Cartoon Form

Back in October we introduced you to the G-dcast web site which relates the 55 weekly Torah portions via cartoons and different voices.  With Chanukah just 3 days away, they just released a special episode relating the story of Chanukah.  We hope you'll enjoy the unique presentation.

A Joke to Start Your Day: A Parking Dilemma

Shmuel, a life-long resident of Jerusalem, is on his way to court for an important trial and sadly gets a late start to his morning. By the time he gets to the court house, all the parking spots are taken. 

He drives around five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and no luck. Twenty minutes pass and he’s beginning to get desperate. After 30 minutes of circling the parking lot and the adjacent neighborhoods in utter futility, the time for his court appearance fast approaching, he turns his head heavenward and shouts,

"Ribbono shel Olam,Master of the universe. I swear I will give 10% tzedakah each year, daven three times a day, make my home a meeting place for Torah scholars, go to the mikveh before Shabbos each week, I’ll wait eight hours between meat and dairy foods, only just this: I need a place to park right now.”

And just as he finishes this heart-wrenching plea, a guy pulls out of a parking spot right there and then, and Shmuel turns to God and says, “Never mind, I found a spot!” 

(Thanks to Dan Englander for forwarding this gem to JHC.)

Chanukah Countown: Bonita Vista High School Choir of Chula Vista, California Sings It's Time for Hanukkah

With only 4 days until we light the first Hanukkah candle, let's sing along with the Music Machine, the award-winning choir of Bonita Vista High School of Chula Vista, California.  Enjoy!

A Rabbi, a Policeman and a Dog Walk Into a State Capitol...

No, this is NOT a joke.  You just can't make this stuff up.  Eric A. Stern, writing in The New York Times' Religion Journal column yesterday, told the story of how a rabbi with a long beard, black hat, and long black coat helped to solve a problem for the Police Department in Helena, the capital city of Montana.  

It seems that the Helena Police Department needed a dog trained to do searches for bombs, but didn't want to pay the going price of $20,000.  After shopping around, they found that Israel had a surplus of these trained dogs and was willing to give the dog to Montana for the price of a flight.  So that's how Miky (pronounced Mikey), a German shepherd, landed in Montana.  

But there was one problem.  Miky had been trained by Hebrew speaking handlers.  When he arrived in Helena, he wouldn't respond to commands in English.  The officer, who was given a list of Hebrew commands like "Hishaer" (stay) "Chapess" (search) and "Kelev Tov" (good doggy), suspected that his pronunciation was not good enough for the dog to understand.  

So the policeman and the dog showed up at the Capitol on the first night of Hanukkah last year.  When the candle lighting ceremony was over, the policeman approached the Hasidic rabbi, who helped him with his Hebrew pronunciations, and made himself available as needed to help the officer communicate with his security dog.

The article relates interesting information about Jewish life in Montana, and how it is experiencing a minor revival.  The article concludes,

...the big winner is the rabbi, a recent arrival from Brooklyn who is working hard (against tough odds) to bring his Lubavitch movement to Montana.  He has been scouring the state for anyone who can speak Hebrew, and is elated to have found a German shepherd he can talk to.

Hanukkah Coundown: Theodore Bikel Sings Chanukah O Chanukah

With only 5 days to go until we light the first candle, let's get in the mood for Chanukah with veteran folksinger Theodore Bikel as he sings one of the most popular Chanukah songs in Yiddish and in English.

Welcome Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Pops, Mason Dots To The World of Kosher Candy

Attention all packagers of Purim, Bar Mitzvah, and Aufruf candy bags:  Your world has just expanded beyond Paskesz and Goldenberg Peanut Chews.   Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Pops, and Mason Dots are now kosher under the supervision of the OU.

Also included are the company's many well-known branded products including Tootsie Roll, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Pop Drops, Caramel Apple Pops, Child’s Play, Charms, Blow Pop, Blue Razz, Cella’s chocolate covered cherries, Mason Dots, Mason Crows, Junior Mints, Charleston Chew, Sugar Daddy, Sugar Babies, Andes, Fluffy Stuff cotton candy, Dubble Bubble, Razzles, Cry Baby, Nik-L-Nip and EI Bubble. 

Now kosher consumers can finally learn the answer to the age-old question:  How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?  We found the original commercial, which first aired in 1969 and may well be the longest running TV commercial.

Chanukah Countdown - 7 Days to Go: If You're In Israel This Year, You'd Better Not Eat Donuts and Drive

There's a new reason to scarf down donuts on Chanukah this year in Israel.  There's also a new reason (the same one) to avoid them.

Ynet News reports that this year Israelis can find jelly donuts (sufganiyot) that have been infused with 90 milliliters of vodka diluted with jam.  A 100 gram donut will sell for NIS 4.5 (about $1.18.)

"Adults await sufganiyot no less than children do," a source from the company that imports "Hortiza", the vodka to be infused into the donuts, said."Therefore," he added, "we have decided to launch a line of donuts suitable for adults and party-goers."

The vodka contains 35% alcohol, and the alcohol content of each donut is equal to that of a bottle of beer.

That's a pretty powerful donut.

Vodka donuts will be sold only to adults who present an appropriate ID to comply with local law.

Israeli Soldier Jailed for Shabbat Cooking; His Defense - "The Cat Ate My Cholent"

You've probably heard the excuse "the dog ate my homework" many times, but how about "the cat ate my cholent"?

An Israeli soldier from the Nachshon battalion went into the dining room at the army base last Shabbat, intending to eat cholent that was cooked in accordance with halachic regulations.

But before they sat down to the Shabbat meal, they found that a cat had already tasted the stew of meat and potatoes. The soldier, refusing to eat from the tainted pot, decided to make a light meal for himself and his colleagues.

He was seen cooking by a member of the kitchen staff who told him to stop immediately and informed the commander of the battalion. He was put on trial and sentenced to 20 days in detention.

"There are clear orders about observing the Shabbat, and even if the food was inedible there are other options to get food without desecration of the Sabbath," said IDF sources. 

The full story is reported in YNET, the online version of the Israeli newspaper, Yediot Acharonot.

Chanukah Countdown: The Making of the Flash Mob Dancing in Jerusalem Video

Last Wednesday we posted a video of 150 people singing and dancing to Chanukah music in a seemingly spontaneous happening in the streets of Jerusalem.  Like us, you probably wondered how they could pull off such a stunt.

Well, it happened really fast.  The call for participants went out on Facebook five days before the event.  Within two hours of posting more than 60 people said they would attend.  Over 150 showed up.  The choreography was completely taught and directed in one hour.  No one had any previous knowledge of the dance.

With Chanukah only 8 days away, here's a look behind the scenes of how the production came together.  Enjoy!

A Joke to Start Your Day: Squirrels in Shul

A small town had two churches, Presbyterian and Methodist, and a Synagogue.

All three had a serious problem with squirrels in their buildings. Each in its own fashion had a meeting to deal with the problem.

The Presbyterians decided that it was predestined that squirrels be in the church and that they would just have to live with them.

The Methodists decided they should deal with the squirrels lovingly. They humanely trapped them and released them in a park at the edge of town. Within 3 days, they were all back in the church.

The Jews simply voted the squirrels in as members. Now they only see them on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

Hanukkah Countdown: The Children of Akko Sing

We continue our bonus posting of a special Chanukah video every day until the end of Chanukah. Only 9 more days until we light the first candle.

Let's take a few minutes to watch and listen to a Hanukkah medley sung by the Yasmin Kindergarten class in Akko, Western Galilee, Israel. This video was just uploaded yesterday.

Battle of the Bagel Slicers: Brooklyn Challenges the Guillotine; Health Care Savings Could Be Significant

Each year, emergency rooms in hospitals across the country are seeing an increase in BRI patients. Last year, 1,979 people appeared in ERs with a BRI.

What? You don't know what a BRI is? A Bagel Related Injury, of course.

Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal printed a front page story about the battle shaping up between the Bagel Guillotine, the 15-year-old market leader selling 80,000 units a year, and a new contender, the Brooklyn Bagel Slicer.

Dr. Dennis Moss, a 66-year-old Rochester, N. Y. radiologist, invented the Brooklyn Bagel Slicer because he believes that bagel-safety technology is open to improvement as long as the BRI menace exists. He says "If we keep anybody out of the emergency room it saves health-care dollars." Dr. Moss and his son, Michael, 36, a co-inventor, say they are against unnecessary procedures." They call bagel injuries "an epidemiological scourge."

The Congressional Budget Office has not yet weighed in on the ten-year savings expected if all BRI visits to emergency rooms are eliminated, but independent observers believe it could have a significant impact on the health care reform legislation now being debated in the Senate.

The inventor of the classic Bagel Guillotine, Rick Ricard, sees no need for new bagel slicers, and says that his invention achieved a paradigm shift in bagel cutting.

The Journal also reports that there does not seem to be any immunity to BRI among those who share the bagel's Jewish genes.

Dozens of bagel-control devices have been invented over the years. In the following video, WSJ's Barry Newman heads to Zabar's on Manhattan's West Side to try some out.

Chanukah Countdown: Veronica Monica Tells the Chanukah Story on Sesame Street

Only 10 days to go. So you think you know the story of Chanukah? Did you know that Judah Macabee cleaned up the temple with absorbent paper towels? Well, maybe you should watch Elmo introduce Veronica Monica on the Sesame Street Hanukkah Channel. It's only 2 minutes and 44 seconds long, so they had to leave out a lot. But the paper towels made the final cut. Enjoy!

The Big Bubkis: A Complete Gentile's Guide to Jewish Vaudeville - Now Playing in New York

Shane Bertram Baker, unquestionably the biggest star in Yiddish vaudeville today, returns in his mega-hit sensation, The Big Bupkis! A Complete Gentile's Guide to Yiddish Vaudeville for the first open-run of a Yiddish-related show in twenty years.
 

When it was first performed, under a different name, "The Big Bupkis!" was the most talked-about, highly praised, successful and critically acclaimed Yiddish show in recent memory. The new and improved The Big Bupkis! performs twice a week, on Saturdays at 9pm and Sundays at 7pm, now in previews at 9pm, opening Saturday December 5 at 9pm, at The Workmen's Circle, 45 East 33rd Street, and running indefinitely until every last, living, breathing lover of theater on the planet has seen this show.

Co-conceived and directed by Allen Lewis Rickman, a battle-hardened veteran of Yiddish theater (but nowhere near as adored as Baker), "The Big Bupkis!" is an evening of cheap jokes, magic, ukulele music, hypnotism, unpleasant stories about Sophie Tucker, transvestitism, and a Yiddish bullfight poem, among other theatrical indignities. Giving nothing away, the show ends with Mr. Baker attempting to behead a volunteer from the audience.

Produced by the New Yiddish Rep, downtown's upstart Yiddish theater, The Big Bupkis! mixes English and Yiddish, with English supertitles projected over the stage. According to Artistic Director David Mandelbaum, who insists that this is not his great-grandmother's Yiddish theater, the Rep "is catering to the tastes, and cultural needs of a huge and underserved young audience for Yiddish."

Kansas City native Shane Bertram Baker, widely recognized as the leading matinée idol in the Yiddish vaudeville today, is acknowledged to be the first non-Jew (or Gentile) to ever get this far in that particular arena. How he became fluent in Yiddish; how he became a fixture in New York's booming Yiddish vaudeville community; how he became the executive director of the Congress for Jewish Culture (an esteemed Yiddish literary organization); and how he amassed credits as an actor, director, magician, and puppeteer of such accomplishment are all richly described and illustrated in this fascinating show.

Among his many credits: He assisted Tony-winning director Doug Hughes (currently "The Royal Family" and "Oleanna") on "The Grey Zone;" worked on Peter Sellers' Los Angeles Festival; has performed at P.S. 122, ShowWorld, and with Great Small Works (an anarchist puppet troupe), and played Carla the Gypsy Wildcat in The Ridiculous Theatrical Company's "Turds In Hell." As a child he was mentored in magic by vaudeville veteran H. Claude Enslow. He is also an authority on the plays of Henry Fielding and an early contributor to the current burlesque revival.

Mr. Baker will be accompanied by the legendary Steve Sterner. A veteran Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Yiddish theater performer, Mr. Sterner is best-known for accompanying and composing music for over 300 silent films, at MoMA, BAM, the Museum of the Moving Image, and Film Forum, where he is house pianist. As an accompanist, he has played with Robert Merrill, Jerry Vale, Joan Collins, and JoAnne Woodward, among many others.

Co-conceiver and director Allen Lewis Rickman's Yiddish credits include adapting and directing "The Lady Next Door" and "A Novel Romance," and co-adapting, directing, and acting in the Drama Desk-nominated Yiddish version of "Pirates of Penzance," as well as performing with Lillian Lux, the late Bruce Adler and the Joseph Papp Yiddish Theater. He can be seen acting in Yiddish onscreen in the Coen Brothers' "A Serious Man" (currently in release) and onstage in his play "The Essence: A Yiddish Theater Dim Sum" (in produced by New Yiddish Rep and due next year in an anthology edited by Harvey Pekar).

"The Big Bupkis!" performs at the New Yiddish Rep's permanent home at the Workmen's Circle building, 45 East 33rd Street. Performances are Saturdays at 9pm and Sundays at 7pm. Previews are going on now, and the opening is Saturday December 5 at 9pm. Tickets are $25, and a student discount is available. For tickets and more information visit www.NewYiddishRep.org.

In the video clip below, Here, Shane Baker reminisces about meeting Arthur Tracy, the Street Singer, at the Yiddish Artists and Friends Actors' Club, then presents a bit of "tidy tearing" while reciting a Yiddish version of Tracy's hit Trees. Trees was written by Joyce Kilmer, the Yiddish is by Mates Olitsky. Steve Sterner accompanies with Oscar Rasbach's musical setting.

In this second video, Shane Baker hypnotizes Mendel, the rubber chicken

(Hat tip to Anonymous, who commented on this post December 17.)

Chanukah - 12 Days to Go: IDF Soldiers and Chabadniks Whoop It Up on an Army Base

Making Trouble: A Tribute to the Great Female Jewish Comedians

 
Here's a film you probably never heard of, but it's probably worth seeing. That is, if you can find it.

Making Trouble covers more than 100 years of theater, film, and television, highlighting the comedy of Molly Picon, Fanny Brice, Sophie Tucker, Joan Rivers, Gilda Radner, and Wendy Wasserstein.

It includes interviews with experts, scholars, and entertainers including actor Martin Short, author Gary Giddins, and LA Times movie critic Kenneth Turan.

The film takes the form of a documentary, presented as a gabfest at Katz's Delicatessen among four current Jewish female comedians, Judy Gold, Jackie Hoffman, Cory Kahaney, and Jessica Kirson. These four reminisce about the veteran comedians' performances and how they shared the gift -- and the burden -- of being funny, being Jewish, and being female.

You won't find the DVD on Amazon or Netflix, but it can be purchased at the Making Trouble website for $24.95. Here is the film's trailer.

Chanukah Countdown: Tom Lehrer's Chanukah in Santa Monica

With only 12 days left until we light the first Chanukah candle, let's take a trip down memory lane to 1990, when songwriter Tom Lehrer wrote Chanukah in Santa Monica to remedy the lack of good Chanukah songs. Here is a video of the Lake Forest High School Glee Club singing this classic. Enjoy!

A New Joke to Start Your Day: The Rabbi and the Pope

A few centuries ago, the Pope decided that all the Jews had to leave Italy. Naturally there was a big uproar from the Jewish community. So the Pope agreed to have a religious debate with a Rabbi selected by the Jewish community. If the Rabbi won, the Jews could stay. If the Pope won, the Jews would leave.

The Jews realized that they had no choice. So they picked a wise Rabbi to represent them, but they asked for one condition to be met. Since the Rabbi didn't speak Italian or Latin and the Pope didn't speak Hebrew or Yiddish, neither side would be allowed to talk. They would use only hand gestures. The pope agreed.

The day of the great debate came. The Rabbi and the Pope sat opposite each other for a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers. The Rabbi looked back at him and raised one finger.

The Pope waved his fingers in a circle around his head. The Rabbi pointed to the ground where he sat.

The Pope pulled out a wafer and a glass of wine. The Rabbi pulled out an apple.

The Pope stood up and said, "I give up. This Rabbi is too smart. The Jews can stay."

An hour later, the cardinals surrounded the Pope, asking him what happened.

The Pope said: "First I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there was still one God common to both our religions. Then I waved my finger around me to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground and showing that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and the wafer to show that God absolves us from our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of original sin. He had an answer for everything. What could I do?"

Meanwhile, the Jewish community had crowded around the Rabbi. "What happened?" they asked. "Well," said the Rabbi, "First he said to me that the Jews had three days to get out of here. I told him that not one of us was leaving. Then he told me that this whole country would be cleared of Jews. I let him know that we were staying right here."

"And then?" asked a woman.

"I don't know," said the Rabbi. "He took out his lunch and I took out mine."

Hanukkah Countdown with the Ventriloquist Dummy Choir

Our Hanukkah countdown is now at 14 days and counting. It's getting harder and harder to come up with funny versions of Chanukah songs every day, but we'll keep it up as long as we can.

Here's that overplayed song, I Have a Little Draydel, sung by a really unique troupe, the Ventriloquist Dummy Choir on the Conan O'Brien show. Enjoy!

Kosher Comedy to Shtick To...In Australia

Jewish comedy knows no bounds, in content, format, and geography. You really can't get away from it. If you try, and make it all the way Down Under to Sydney, Australia, you'll find that there's no escape. Kosher TheatreSports, Sydney's longest-running annual Jewish comedy improvisational game show is set to return to Bondi Pavillion Theatre on Sunday, December 6. It's being billed as the ultimate night of Jewish comedy. This year, six groups, including one calling themselves Shmux in Tux, will battle it out for the famous Kiddush Cup.
Here's how the event is being covered by the Australian Jewish News.

Chanukah Countdown: Lights: Celebrate Chanukah Live in Concert

As we get closer to Hanukkah (16 days to go) let's join Craig Taubman and an all-star cast in the finale from their concert last year, Lights: Celebrate Chanukah Live in Concert.

The concert was a once-in-a lifetime gathering of some of the best in Jewish music to celebrate Hanukkah, in spirit, in joy, and in song. From familiar and beloved faces to exciting new friends, lights includes performances by Craig Taubman, Alberto Mizrahi, Grammy-award winners The Klezmatics,Laurence Juber and nominee Dave Koz,Academy Award-nominee Mare Winningham, Gospel musician Joshua Nelson, Michelle Citrin and Josh Nelson.

This concert aired nationally as a PBS Pledge Drive throughout December 2008. It was produced by the team who produced Celtic Woman and Yanni Live at the Acropolis for PBS. The CD is available from Amazon.com and from Craig Taubman's web site.

A Rabbi Walks Into a Bar...But Tells Only Clean Jokes

Rabbi Bob Alper is a Reform rabbi. He is also a comedian who manages to enthrall audiences with clean jokes in nightclubs, synagogues, community centers and at private parties. Alper has released a DVD of his performances than runs 102 minutes, and includes a live performance, an interview, and 33 of his best jokes. He bills himself as the only practicing clergyman doing standup comedy...intentionally.

Alper, 64, started doing stand-up comedy in 1986 in Philadelphia. He's been at it ever since, doing about 60 shows a year across the USA. He served congregations for 14 years, but now only officiates at High Holy Day services in Philadelphia.

Here is a sample of one of his routines about his days at the seminary where he was ordained, the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati.

Hanukkah Countdown Continues With Flash Mob Singing and Dancing in Jerusalem

With only 17 days to go until we light the first candle, let's join the flash mob of 150 people brought in by Nefesh b'Nefesh to Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem to sing and dance with joy in anticipation of Chanukah.

If you're not familiar with the term, here is the Wikipedia definition of "flash mob."

A flash mob (or flashmob) is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails. The term is generally not applied to events organized by public relations firms or as publicity stunts.

November is Jewish Book Month: Jewish Humor Central's Top Ten List for Chanukah Reading and Gifting

November is Jewish Book Month, and Chanukah is when most Jewish books are bought for gift giving. What a happy coincidence! And don't forget, some of the best gifts are those you give yourself.

So before November ends and before Chanukah begins, we'd like to share with you our list of ten choice books for gift giving and receiving. While humor is the common denominator, they also touch on learning, mystery, science fiction, food, and music.

In other words, something for everyone. This is not a countdown list from number ten to number one. In our opinion, every one of these books is at the top of the list.

We present a short review of each book and links to Amazon.com where you can buy them.

Please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this post, giving us your thoughts about these book choices. Let's start a lively discussion about books that bring out the best in Jewish humor.

Save the Deli by David Sax

As a journalist and life-long deli obsessive, David Sax was understandably alarmed by the state of Jewish delicatessen. A cuisine that had once thrived as the very center of Jewish life had become endangered by assimilation, homogenization, and health food trends. He watched in dismay as one beloved deli after another—one institution after another—shuttered, only to be reopened as some bland chain-restaurant laying claim to the very culture it just paved over. And so David set out on a journey across the United States and around the world in search of authentic delicatessen. Was it still possible to Save the Deli?

Join David as he investigates everything deli-- its history, its diaspora, its next generation. He tells about the food itself—how it’s made, who makes it best, and where to go for particular dishes. And, ultimately, he finds is hope-- deli newly and lovingly made in places like Boulder, traditions maintained in Montreal, and iconic institutions like the 2nd Avenue Deli resurrected in New York.

Shtick Shift by Simcha Weinstein

In this slim volume (142 pages) Simcha Weinstein analyzes the shift in shtick (modern Jewish humor) from Jack Benny and the Marx Brothers to Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, and Adam Sandler. Along the way, he reviews the success of Jon Stewart and his fake news show, The Daily Show.

Weinstein defines the shtick shift as the new comic sensibility where today’s Jewish comics aren’t afraid of proclaiming their ethnicity, and have the confidence to laugh about their frailties.

The book addresses issues of Jewish identity and assimilation, and covers years of Jewish comedy from the lower east side to vaudeville, movies, and sitcoms.

It contains a glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish words, and 20 pages of footnotes.

Murder at the Minyan by Shulamit E. Kustanowitz

Murder at the Minyan is much more than it seems. Sure, it’s a mystery, but it is filled with situations that anyone who attends synagogue or is involved with Jewish organizations will find humorous and wistfully familiar.

Of course, there is a murder. One congregant finds a most dastardly solution to inadequate shul attendance because it interferes with his need to say Kaddish. But there’s a lot more to the story than the murder.

As the plot unfolds, we meet the many Jews that make up our people and the conflicts that they live with: the religiously observant Conservative rabbi and his unschooled congregants; the dedicated lay leaders who lack any loyalty to tradition; the Orthodox rabbi who won’t judge a big donor’s motives; Holocaust survivors with divergent views of non-Jews; one child who has just goodness in his heart and another who has only selfish needs, and the woman who expects her rabbi to deliver “enough bang for the buck.”

And then there’s the rabbi’s Chanukah shopping trip to a mall that is all decked out in its finest December decorations and plays Christmas carols to increase seasonal joy. And the rabbi knows all the words! That scene alone makes this book a perfect gift for Chanukah.

The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs

In The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. explores the Bible chronologically, from Old Testament (crucial, given the Ten Commandments) to the New Testament (crucial, given America's powerful evangelical movement and its literal interpretation of the Bible) -- and lives the Bible on every level. He obeys the Ten Commandments, he is fruitful and multiplies (A.J.'s wife had twins during his year!); he remembers the Sabbath and keeps it holy. But he also obeys the oft-neglected rules, such as avoiding clothes of mixed fibers, and refraining from shaving the edges of his beard (Leviticus 19:27). So throughout the year A.J. is commonly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. Or Moses.

Jewish Humor by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

First published in 1992, this book is a classic in the field of Jewish Humor. Rabbi Telushkin, a well-known author and authority on Jewish life, focuses on comedy as the mirror of Jewish culture, woven around more than a hundred of the best Jewish jokes -- some classic, some new. This is not just a compilation of jokes, but an analysis of w hat is Jewish about Jewish humor, the inescapable hold of the Jewish family, Jewish intelligence and theplayful logic of the Jewish mind, the Jew in business, self-loathing, self-praise, and other Jewish neuroses.

A Fine Romance by David Lehman

Does It Ain't Necessarily So, George Gershwin's song from Porgy and Bess, have its basis in the blessings before reading the Torah? Is his introduction to Swanee based on the melody sung while returning the Torah to the ark? That's what David Lehman suggests in his warm, humorous, nostalgic look at the period between 1914 and 1965 when most American popular music, now known as the American Songbook, was written by mostly Jewish songwriters and composers.

During that rich musical time, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Lorenz Hart, Frank Loesser, and the Gershwin brothers were responsible for creating the music that America sang and played. These Jews were immigrants or their American-born children, and they used wit and romantic lyrics and melodies to express the American dream. Even Cole Porter, a millionaire Episcopalian from Indiana, told Richard Rodgers that he found the key to success by writing "Jewish tunes."

The Big Book of Jewish Humor by William Novak and Moshe Waldoks

If you have a collection of books of Jewish humor in your house, you almost certainly have this one. The Big Book of Jewish Humor is one of the true classics in the field. But just in case you don't, here's a quick summary of what you're in for when you pick up this book. The editors, William Novak and Moshe Waldoks, have produced a volume that has Talmudic overtones, with two facing columns in the center and two narrow columns of commentary on many pages. But unlike the Talmud, readers should be aware that some of the jokes are not family-friendly and use language that some may find offensive.

After a 25 page introduction to the 25th anniversary edition published in 2006, and the 15 page intro to the first edition (1981) we get into the book itself, which comes with instructions on how to read its 308 pages.

The Big Book of Jewish Humor also has lots of cartoons, and contributions from dozens of famous writers and comedians. It will keep you busy and laughing for a long time.

Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction by Jack Dann (Editor)

Wandering Stars is the landmark collection of Jewish science fiction and fantasy. The first of its kind, it is an established and enduring classic.

This is the first time in a science fiction collection that the Jewish People—and the richness of their themes and particular points of view—appear without a mask. Wandering Stars is a showpiece of Jewish wit, culture, and lore, of the blend of humor and sadness, cynicism, and faith. In these pages you’ll find superlative tales of fantasy and science fiction by masters.

Oy! by David Minkoff

David Minkoff has probably compiled more Jewish jokes than anyone on the internet or in the universe. Last month his second "ultimate complilation" of Jewish jokes, "Oy Vey: More" was published by Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Press in hardcover.

The first book, Oy: The Ultimate Book of Jewish Jokes is now out in paperback. I keep a few copies on hand to give as get-well gifts to friends who have been hospitalized. They say that laughter is the best medicine, and I include a fake prescription blank recommending two jokes three times a day and three jokes just before bedtime. It works wonders!

The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb

In meticulously drawn detail, the creator of Fritz the Cat, Mr. Natural, and other 1960's comic classics successfully tackles the formal English text of the first book of the Bible and brings it to life in a surprisingly sympathetic and non-critical form.

This book is hard to put down as it draws you from one page to the next, pulling you deeper and deeper into the stories that have been told and retold for millennia. The difference is that this time, seeing each sentence depicted with images of real people forces a human connection between the reader and the characters who we thought we knew so well, but who always seemed distant and other-worldly.

The characters that Crumb draws are real, maybe too real. The women are zoftig and the men are hairy and grubby, probably a more accurate depiction than the people we imagined while reading the weekly portion of the Torah. After all, the events depicted predate Avon, Clinique, Gillette, and Aqua Velva.

The illustrator, a declared atheist, surprised me with his reverential treatment of all the Bible stories. In his introduction to the book and in the endnotes for the chapters, he uses the term B.C.E., not B.C. as is usual in non-Jewish writings. He also reveals that he studied the midrash on Bereishit to get perspectives on the stories that enabled him to make them come alive.

I was prepared to dislike this book, given Crumb's association with the hippie movement of the 1960's, but he deserves a lot of credit for bringing new life to the oldest book known. He even draws a unique face for each of the "begats", not an easy piece of work.

Though it took Crumb three years to produce this volume, the material he had to work with in Genesis included lots of interesting characters and lots of stories. I can't wait to see what he does to illustrate Vayikra (Leviticus.)