Fountainheads Check In With New Hanukkah Music Video From Israel

The Ein Prat Fountainheads, our favorite music video performers from Israel, have just released their entry in the growing collection of Chanukah video productions that are bringing an extra measure of joy and celebration to the Festival of Lights.

The Fountainheads are a group of young Israeli dancers, singers, actors and artists, all graduates and students of the Ein Prat Academy for Leadership, who have have joined forces to create new Jewish artistic content for today's Jewish World. All members of the group have spent time living and studying at the Ein Prat Academy, working to create a new Israeli-Jewish identity and building a strong and diverse community that celebrates Jewish life. The Fountainheads' work has already been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.

This video is so new that it hadn't been posted to the Fountainheads' website when we got it. If you go to the site, you will find the production numbers that they created for last Hanukkah as well as for Purim, Pesach, and Rosh Hashanah.

If you want to see the Fountainheads live in concert, they will be appearing at:

- JCC in Manhattan this Saturday night, December 17, from 7:30 to 9 pm. 
- Temple Sholom, Greenwich CT on  Sunday, December 18
- Temple Emanuel, Newton MA on Tuesday, December 20
- Temple Beth El, Portland ME on Wednesday, December 21
- CJL-NITSA @ Gilbus in Paris, France on Sunday, December 25
- Kol Haot @ Begin Center in Jerusalem, Israel on Saturday night, December 31

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.)
 

(A tip of the kippah to Gil Yishai for bringing this video to our attention.)

The Maccabeats Are Back With a New Chanukah Video and Miracle Match Campaign for Bone Marrow Transplants

This year the Maccabeats, the Yeshiva University a cappella group, have a new Chanukah music video based on the song Miracle by Matisyahu. But they have also partnered with The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, an organization that has launched the Judy Greenberg z”l Miracle Match Campaign to share the miracle of Chanukah by creating awareness of how bone marrow transplants can provide a cure for life-threatening diseases in children and adults.

The Maccabeats filled the airwaves last year with their hit single, “Candlelight.” The song has since surpassed six million views and has entranced audiences around the world with its crisp harmonies and clever lyrics. Now, in accordance with their newly released song, “Miracle,” the Maccabeats are determined to create miracles by urging people to help grow the bone marrow registry through contributions.  Additionally, they will give people the opportunity to join the registry at their upcoming shows.

“Chanukah is about miracles, and we have to remember that we can play a role in making miracles happen,” says Michael Greenberg, one of the founders of the Maccabeats.  Michael’s beloved mother, Judy Greenberg, passed away from leukemia, and in her memory, the Maccabeats want to help patients in need of bone marrow transplants find their miracle match.

Every year, adults and children are diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses that can be cured by a bone marrow transplant. Gift of Life has donor kits waiting to be processed, and those kits could hold someone’s match.  With this in mind, the Maccabeats’ Judy Greenberg z”l Miracle Match Campaign is dedicated to raising $10,000 for each night of the holiday to help test the cheek swab samples on the waitlist.

Making an appearance in the music video for “Miracle” is Dr. Mayim Bialik, actress on the hit show Big Bang Theory, advocate, and neuroscientist. Mayim is a strong advocate for Gift of Life and has participated in the campaign to find a miracle match for 2 year old Ezra Fineman. She says, “I am thrilled that The Maccabeats have decided to pair their new video with a mitzvah that will benefit the Gift of Life. As both a supporter of Gift of Life and as someone who has the honor of appearing in their video, this combination of GOL and Maccabeats makes me so proud to be a part of both!”

Anyone can participate in the Miracle Match Campaign. You could help save a life and create a modern day miracle! To find out ways you can help, visit www.maccabeats.com/miraclematch.

Here's the Maccabeats' latest Chanukah music video, followed by the Miracle Match video featuring Mayim Bialik. 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.)

What a Week! OU OKs Buying Coffee at McDonald's (But Don't Sit Down); Love Songs Are Forbidden; Adam Sandler Poster Defaced

It's been a mixed week for anyone who lives according to the latest rabbinic pronouncements. Here's the bottom line:

PERMITTED:

- Buying coffee at McDonald's rest stops (as long as you don't sit down)

FORBIDDEN:

- Listening to popular love songs

- Looking at photos of Adam Sandler in drag

Now for the details:

The Orthodox Union published an article on its web site last week declaring that it is permissible to buy a cup of coffee on the road at non-kosher rest stops, specifically mentioning McDonald's, arguably the ultimate in non-kosher establishments.

Citing a talmudic argument in the Gemara Avoda Zara (page 31b) that one may not drink beer (a common beverage) in a non-Jewish establishment because it can lead to intermarriage, the article, citing leading poskim (rabbinic decisors) Rabbi Yisroel Belsky and Rabbi Herschel Schachter, says that coffee today is similar to beer in talmudic times.  Just as there was a requirement then to take the beer back to their house before drinking, now a traveler should drink the McDonald's coffee in the car or while sitting in a public rest stop seat, because drinking it at a restaurant table might lead someone watching to come to the incorrect conclusion that he or she was about to eat a meal there.

So McDonald's coffee is OK to drink in your car, but when you turn on the radio, you'd better not tune in a station that plays popular love songs if you are a follower of Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu of Safed, Israel.

A blog that we follow, Tzvee's Talmudic Blog, called our attention to an article in Kipa, an Israeli Orthodox Hebrew web site that reports on Rabbi Eliyahu's declaration last week:

The Rav of Safed, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, rules against listening to songs or music that are about romance. In a responsum to be published this weekend in 'Small World', Rabbi Eliyahu claims that these kinds of popular songs do not deal with love, but with passions and obscenities.

In a personal attack on the singers and poets of today, Rabbi Eliyahu claims that "Those who read the biography of these singers are seeing that most of them have never experienced true love, but mostly lust. They can not sustain a relationship with a woman for more than three days, weeks or months. They never heard of mutual trust. "

Rabbi Eliyahu says that, "You should not be confused. They call it love - because they just do not know any better." In practice, Rabbi Eliyahu explained that those singers "really sing songs of praise to our coarsest senses," and so he rules that "It is forbidden to drift through their songs after these low feelings."

Meanwhile, in Israel, posters for the new movie Jack and Jill, with Adam Sandler playing both a twin brother and his sister in a comedy that the critics were not kind to, were defaced by a someone who blacked out the image of Sandler in drag. While we can't trace the vandalism to a specific rabbinic directive, it's symptomatic of a trend among the haredi population to advocate the removal of all images of women in public places.

We wrote about this trend in 2009 when billboards of models were being defaced in B'nei B'rak. But this time we're not sure whether the person who defaced the movie poster did so because of religious sensibilities or because he couldn't bear to look at a feminine version of Adam Sandler. 

Here's the trailer for the movie. Judge for yourself.

(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.)  

You Asked For More Jewish Jokes? Herschel Fox Shares Funny Israeli Personal Want Ads

Fluent in Yiddish and Hebrew, Herschel Fox has appeared in countless night clubs, theatres and synagogues throughout the United States. He has shared the stage with artists such as Jan Peerce, Mickey Katz, and Molly Picon. 

Primarily a cantor, having trained with Cantor David Koussevitzky and Sidor Belarsky, he has held positions in synagogues in Connecticut, New York, and California. Together with his wife Judy, who is the cantor in the Synagogue for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles (where Joseph Telushkin is the rabbi), they perform as the Fox Cantors.

But Herschel is also a stand-up comedian and loves to tell stories in Yinglish. Today we're sharing a video of his performance last year for the International Association of Yiddish Clubs (yes, there are 94 of them around the world).

In this video, Herschel shares his collection of funny Israeli personal want ads with the enthusiastic audience. Following the comedy video, we include a short sample of their singing as a duo. 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.) 

Chanukah Video Competition: The Seniors Weigh In

The Chanukah videos keep coming. Here's the third in our series. By the time we're through, we may have a dozen or more to consider for the Jewish Humor Central Chanukah Video Championship Contest.

Today's entry demonstrates that you don't have to be a schoolboy, a teenager, or a college student to participate in a funny video about Chanukah. This video stars a collection of seniors at the Los Angeles Jewish Home, all joining in to create a collective version of the song Chanukah, Oh Chanukah. The singing is punctuated by reflections on how to spell the name of the holiday, the correct way to make latkes, what to put on them, and the joys and pleasures of Chanukah.

Our favorite line: "Sevivon?  Now we're French?" Listen for it. 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.) 

 

(A tip of the kippah to Esther Kustanowitz for bringing this video to our attention.)

Here Come the Hanukkah Videos: Aish Weighs in With Eight Pop Parodies

One sure way to know that Chanukah is coming is the proliferation of music videos, usually adapting popular songs to reflect Chanukah themes. We plan to post all of the major entries and at the end of the holiday we'll ask you to vote for which one you like best.

Earlier this week we brought you the first video of the season with the Yeshiva Boys Choir in a lavish production number. Today's entry is by Aish.com, the website of Aish HaTorah, which claims to be the world's largest Jewish content website.

In the video, called Hanukkah: Rock of Ages, the Chanukah story is told through a medley of eight parodies of hit songs. See if you can recognize all of them.  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.) 

A Complete Chanukah Party -- Latkes mit Punchkes --and It's All in Yiddish

Yes, the Forverts Yiddish Chefs are back, just in time for a complete Chanukah party -- Potato Latkes, Pumpkin Donuts, Black Cherry Punch, and Hot Coffee Latte.

We've been sharing these cooking-shmoozing sessions with you as they are posted, and we always learn a few new Yiddish words from Rukhl Schaechter and Eve Jochnowitz as they putter and patter about the kitchen.

Original Bottle

What did we learn this time? Donuts are called sufganiyot in Hebrew, but did you know they're called punchkes in Yiddish? And a food processor? It's a mish-machine. Buttermilk? Maslinkeh. Nutmeg? Mushkat. Pumpkin? Dinye.

And that cherry liqueur that they use for the cold drink? Now it's called Heering Cherry Liqueur, but we remember it back in the day (way way back) as Cherry Heering, pronounced by our appetizing-loving relatives as Cherry Herring (yes, like the fish,). Who knows, maybe in Denmark where Peter Heering created the drink, it's really pronounced herring. But we'll take it with a twist of Yiddish and enjoy it either way with our dinye punchkes. 

All four recipes are shown below the video so you can put them to use as you get ready for your own Chanukah celebrations. 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.)

Potato Latkes

4 potatoes, unpeeled

1 large carrot, peeled

1 large onion, peeled

3 eggs

1/2 cup matzah meal

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Oil for frying

Sour cream or apple sauce (optional)

Shred the potatoes and carrots with the shredding disc of a food processor or grater, and pour the mixture into a large bowl. Mince the onion with the chopping blade and add it to the potato mixture.

Add the eggs, matzah meal, salt and black pepper to the potato mixture until well-combined.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, and drop tablespoonfuls of the potato mixture into the hot oil. When the bottom turns golden brown, flip it over until the other side is golden brown, too. Let drain on paper towels.

Serve with sour cream or apple sauce.

Pumpkin Donuts

4-1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 cup (1 half box) brown sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon (12 scrapings) nutmeg

grated zest of 1 lemon

3/4 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin

Additional flour for counter

Oil for frying

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in one bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and brown sugar with an electric mixer for five minutes. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, melted butter, nutmeg and lemon zest. Mix it well and add the flour mixture and the pumpkin.

Sprinkle flour on the counter and roll out the dough evenly, until it is 1/2 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter or glass to cut out the donuts, and the lid of a salt shaker to make the holes.

Fill up one-third of a deep frying pan with oil until it reaches about 375 degrees. Add the donuts and holes, 5 0r 6 at a time, so that they have enough room to fry evenly. Once they are golden brown on both sides, lay them onto a tray lined with paper towels.

Black Cherry Punch

1 part Cherry Heering liqueur

4 parts Bartenura Moscato

Sliced pitted black cherries

Orange slices and curlicues of lemon peel

Mash the cherries in two tall glasses using a muddler. Add the Cherry Heering liqueuer and the Bartenura Moscato until well-blended.

Place a stirrer in both glasses. Garnish the edge of each glass with a quartered slice of orange, and wrap a curlicue of lemon peel around each stirrer.

Hot Coffee Latte

One part Coffee Heering

Two parts steamed milk

Pour the milk into a pot with enough room to double its volume. Heat the milk until it is very warm but not scalding.

Froth the milk with a frother for about one minute but make sure the bubbles remain soft, not too stiff.

Fill one-third of each glass with the Coffee Heering. While blocking the foam with a tablespoon, fill two-thirds of each glass with the milk, then top each drink with a tablespoon of the foam.