Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Netanyahu to Run for U.S. Presidency; Bush, Walker, Cruz, Paul to Run for Knesset

This year Purim starts with the reading of Megillat Esther tonight, March 4. It is read again tomorrow morning, March 5. We wish a Happy Purim to all of our Jewish Humor Central readers. We hope you enjoy this special Purim spoof from the Purim 2015 issue of The Kustanowitz Kronikle. You can download the PDF by clicking HERE. Print it and share it at your Purim Seudah. And coming tomorrow - Part 2 of our Purim spoof: THE KUSTANOWITZ KIDS' PICKS FOR THE 2014 SILVER GRAGGER MOVIE AWARDS.

NETANYAHU TO RUN FOR U.S. PRESIDENT;
BUSH, WALKER, CRUZ, PAUL TO RUN FOR KNESSET
Bibi Unanimously Chosen by House and Senate Republicans;
Herzog, Livni to Compete with Clinton in Democratic Primary
Special to The Kustanowitz Kronikle



FAIR LAWN, March 5 – In a stunning overnight development in the run-up to the upcoming elections in Israel this month and in the U.S. in November 2016, the major contenders announced that they will swap roles and run in each other’s country’s elections. 

Amid the controversy surrounding Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the U.S. Congress, nobody suspected that the real purpose of the visit and the speech was to announce that he was withdrawing from the Israeli election and  accepting the Republican nomination as the candidate with the best chance of defeating likely Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

The announcement caught Americans and Israelis by surprise and created a constitutional crisis. Republicans swiftly agreed to cancel all primaries and debates and start campaigning with Netanyahu immediately. The other major Republican contenders rushed to sign up for an Ulpan to quickly master the Hebrew language so they could start campaigning for seats in the Knesset.

Serious questions have been raised about Netanyahu’s eligibility to run for the office since he is not a native-born American citizen. These have been muted in the face of challenges to President Barack Obama’s citizenship and his issuance of executive orders that some say override sections of the Constitution.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign team was taken aback by the announcement and the sudden entry of  Herzog and Livni as new competitors for the Democratic nomination.


How to Welcome Synagogue Visitors Without Losing Your Seat

FAIR LAWN, March 5 – Archaeologists in Israel have just translated a companion to the Shulchan Aruch - the Code of Jewish Law – which contains laws of synagogue behavior which somehow didn’t get included in the editions studied today.

Called the Shulchan Hafuch, and written centuries ago, the volume is just as relevant today. The laws deal with proper and improper ways to greet strangers who visit our houses of worship and how to balance the courtesy due visitors with the territorial nature of shul attendance.

This possessive attitude toward seats is heightened if our regular Shabbat seat is a particularly desirable one, such as Tevye’s “seat by the eastern wall,” a prized aisle seat, or a sometimes more prized seat at the end of the last row in the back of the shul.

For congregants who attend synagogues regularly, seating is a primary concern. After all, it’s a base from which to carry on conversations with close friends, give and get financial advice, review the baseball scores, criticize the Rabbi’s speech, and occasionally utter a prayer or two.

The newly discovered laws relate to the situation when you wake up late and get to synagogue well into the service. You go to your seat and find a complete stranger sitting there. What to do? How to claim your seat without insulting the stranger and telling him that he is trespassing and occupying your seat?

When our patriarch Abraham saw three strangers approaching from afar, he rushed out to welcome them and offer them refreshment. He didn’t say, “This is MY tent!” or imply that they were trespassing on his property.

This mitzvah of Hachnasat Orchim – welcoming guests – is so important that it is one of the ten precepts for which one is rewarded in this world and also in the world to come. This is expressed in the paragraph, Ailu Devarim, at the start of the daily Shacharit service.
The Shulchan Hafuch enumerates creative ways for congregants to reclaim their prized seats.

THE “ME’OD ME’OD CHEVRUTI (UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL)" APPROACH:
You walk into shul and find a stranger sitting in your seat? No problem! Just sit right next to him, very very close. Spread your legs as far as you can and stretch your shoulders until they make contact with his. Odds are that you will shortly have your seat back.

THE ALIYAH SWITCHEROO:
As a stranger, he is very likely to be spotted by the Gabbai and offered an aliyah. As soon as he gets up for the aliyah, move back to your seat and remove all traces of his existence, such as a tallit bag, siddur, chumash, placing them further down the row or in another row. This works best if you place your own tallit bag, siddur and chumash on the two seats next to yours.

THE CONVERSATIONAL APPROACH:
Take the seat next to him. If he appears to want to daven quietly and sincerely, keep starting new conversations, preferably about sports, business, and the world of entertainment.

THE SUPER SHUCKLE:
Take the seat next to him. Cover your head with your tallit and shuckle (shake) back and forth and side to side with ever increasing fervor. (NOTE: This tactic may not be effective if the visitor is also behaving in this manner.)

THE ABRAHAMIC APPROACH:
Offer the visitor a handshake. Say “Shabbat Shalom,” “Gut Shabbos,” “Chag Sameach,” or “Gut Yom Tov,” depending on the occasion and the color, style, and texture of his yarmulke or hat. Introduce yourself. Ask if he is the guest of any member. If not, offer to introduce him to other members at the Kiddush, and invite him to your home for a Shabbat or holiday meal. Then take a seat near him, skipping the one immediately next to him. It’s very likely that he will ask if he has taken your seat and offer to move. Mazal Tov! You have just performed the mitzvah of Hachnasat Orchim, made a visitor happy, and regained your seat in the process.

Wishing you a happy and joyous Purim. May the laughter of Purim resound throughout your home on Purim and all year long.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

A Funny Retelling of the Purim Story by the Glickman Family


Jeff and Ilana Glickman have been producing slick Purim shpiels for the past six years. Every Purim they post a short film filled with parody, original costumes, and lots of shtick comedy.

We just discovered their productions and we're posting their latest Purim Shpiel, a funny retelling of the Purim story featuring their cute children who try to stay to the script but need just a bit of prompting to keep on track.

Each year's production is unique and features some professional looking costumes and props. Previous shpiels included fat suits and realistic firearms. We're keeping the clips in reserve for sharing on future Purim holidays.

Enjoy!

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Monday, March 2, 2015

A Joke to Start the Week - "Abie's Trip to Texas"


Today we're back from a month in South Florida doing lectures and comedy programs in Deerfield Beach for the third year in a row.
We're also celebrating our 5,000th email subscriber and making plans for spending next winter in Florida doing more lectures and shows.
(If you know of a Jewish club, JCC, or synagogue that wants to book any of our 12 Jewish humor programs, please contact us through the "Book a Date" form at www.jewishhumorprograms.com.)

It's a great day for a joke to start the week, especially in North Jersey where the snow and ice keep falling, breaking one record after another. We hope that some jokes will start to melt the snow and ice.

Today's joke teller, another veteran of Old Jews Telling Jokes, is 89-year-old Aaron Schechter, a retired entertainment industry accountant. 

Here's the setup: Abie lives in Brooklyn and he has a son David in the army in Fort Bliss, Texas. Abie is going to visit him. So that morning his wife Becky makes him a meal and then...

Enjoy! 

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Sunday, March 1, 2015

Remembering Leonard Nimoy and the Jewishness of Star Trek


Leonard Nimoy, the actor who created the role of Spock, the half-human, half-Vulcan on Star Trek, passed away on Friday at the age of 83. 

We were never among the trekkies who couldn't miss a single episode of the TV series and its many spin-offs, and we never waited on line for hours dressed in Star Trek costumes to get the first tickets to the 12 feature films that followed.

But we always took special pride in knowing that the series was built around Jewish values. While there were always rumors to that effect, we had a strong feeling that Star Trek owed a huge debt to Judaism. 

Nimoy verified this in some interviews that he gave over the years, especially the origin of the "Live Long and Prosper" Vulcan salute. One year ago we posted a video clip of a Nimoy interview at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. In May 2012 we posted the complete commencement address that he gave to the graduates of Boston University's College of Fine Arts, in which he spoke freely about his Jewish roots.

But with his passing, and as a tribute to this great Jewish actor, we wanted to share with you a more complete retelling, with appropriate props, of the origin of the Vulcan salute, and how it was based on his experience in an Orthodox synagogue when the Kohanim chanted the priestly blessing.

Mr. Spock, we will miss you.

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Friday, February 27, 2015

A Shabbat Greeting: Lecha Dodi in the Style of John Legend's "All of Me"


Sometimes a song takes flight and "goes viral" with millions of viewers playing it over and over. And sometimes a Jewish artist uses the melody as the basis for a new piece of liturgical music that has the same reaction in the world of Jewish music.

That's what happened when a singer named Refael Mirila used the song All of Me popularized by John Legend as the basis for a new version of Lecha Dodi, the song to welcome the Sabbath.

The original version has collected an astonishing number of 406 million plays. The Lecha Dodi version has amassed 242,000 views -- a very respectable number for a Jewish song.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom! 

(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.)   

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Hundreds of Families Gather in Williamsburg for Pre-Purim Party to Benefit Sick Children


Hundreds of families came together this week in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg for a special pre-Purim party. It was sponsored by Achim B'yachad, the Chassidish division Of Chai Lifeline.

Both organizations find ways to bring joy to the lives of young patients and their families through creative, innovative, and effective family-centered programs, activities, and services.

Fighting illness with love, Achim B'yachad restores the light of childhood to children whose innocence ended when cancer, life-threatening, or lifelong illness was diagnosed.


Enjoy!

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Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Jokes in the Spirit of Purim From Minnetonka, Minnesota


In the spirit of Purim, a group of congregants and staff of Congregation Adath Jeshurun, a Conservative congregation with 1200 members, bravely try their hands at telling some of their favorite (old) jokes. 

Are they funny? You tell us with your likes and don't likes and comments below.

Enjoy!

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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Shushan Funk - A Purim Parody of Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars


With Purim only nine days away, we're rolling out the Purim videos just as fast as they come in. 

Today we're posting a parody called Shushan Funk by the Rosenblum family, which has been producing original videos with new lyrics for the last few years.

What's it a parody of? Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, a song we never heard of, but  our kids tell us that it's one of the most popular songs on the radio today, having achieved the astonishing number of 265 million views on YouTube.

Enjoy!

(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.)


Monday, February 23, 2015

A Joke to Start the Week - "The Rabbi and the Frog"


It's another Monday morning and it's time to start another week with a joke. This one's a short one, so if you look away for a few seconds, you may miss the punch line. We figured that with all the snow and ice in the northeast, posting a shorter joke will give you more time to get out and shovel it away.

Today's joke is another one from the archives of Old Jews Telling Jokes and the joke teller is 72-year-old psychiatrist Sue Levine. Here's the setup:

A Hasidic rabbi walks into a bar, and he has a frog on his shoulder. And the bartender says to him "Where did you get him from?" And then...

Enjoy!

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Sunday, February 22, 2015

It's Adar - Time to be Happy - Here Come the Purim Videos


The Jewish month of Adar started a couple of days ago, and as the saying goes, Mishenichnas Adar Marbim b'Simcha - When Adar arrives, our happiness increases. 

For Jewish Humor Central, when Adar arrives, it's time for the Purim videos. Each year since we started blogging, we've been seeing more Purim satire, spoofs, parodies and takeoffs on popular songs. This year is no exception.

With only 10 days until Purim, we'll be sharing the best of the Purim videos as they arrive. We're getting off to a good start with a rousing medley of Hebrew songs for Purim by Vocalocity, a 45-voice modern a cappella ensemble founded in June, 2013, centered in Hod HaSharon, Israel. 

Under the musical direction of Kevin Fox (UK) and the baton of house conductor Erez Tal, Vocalocity performs mostly original arrangements of a range of cutting-edge rock/pop/jazz music. 

The singers, all of whom come from a background in modern a cappella, range in age but are mostly in their 20s. Plans for 2015 include performing arrangements written for the group by leading arrangers from Israel and abroad, collaborations with leading arrangers, composers and artists, Performing with the Swingle Singers on their Israel tour in March, participating in the Aarhus Vocal Festival in Denmark on May, and most of all forging a distinctive, adventuresome musical vision and voice.

Enjoy!

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Friday, February 20, 2015

Hava Nagila Around the World: Gypsy Philharmonic Orchestra in Budapest, Hungary


You'd think that with the 48 versions of Hava Nagila that we've posted here, we would be satisfied and stop looking for more. 

But then we surfed some more and found a version by the Gypsy Philharmonic Orchestra, which mixes the traditional gypsy violin and the airs of the Hungarian and Yiddish repertoire  with the great classical composers works such as Johannes Brahms, Jacques Offenbach, Pablo de Sarasate, Johann Strauss Father & Son, Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky and contemporary composers such as John Williams.

So we just had to share it with you, and here it is, as recorded last December in Budapest, Hungary.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Thursday, February 19, 2015

A Bissel of Food from Seniors in Melbourne, Australia


The word bissel means "a little bit" in Yiddish. "A Bissel Of..." is a new series of short videos featuring residents of Jewish Care of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, who give us their answers to a range of questions. 

This Bissel of Food is the fourth video in the series. We previously posted "Bissel" videos with the seniors' answers to questions about Chanukah, Shabbat, and technology.

In this video the seniors tackle questions including:
1. Why are there carrots on top of gefilte fish?
2. What makes the perfect chicken soup?
3. Who makes the best chicken soup?

We are sure you will enjoy it as much as we do. It is sure to encourage discussion with your  friends and family and bring back memories of your own versions of traditional Jewish foods.

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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

How Decisions Were Made on the Kibbutz - From the Israeli Satiric TV Show "The Jews are Coming""

 
One of the characteristics of the Israeli kibbutz was the collective nature of decisions that affected the daily functioning of the community but that also had an impact on the lives of the individual kibbutz members.

In this excerpt (in Hebrew with English subtitles) from the hilarious new Israeli satire program Hayehudim Ba'im (The Jews are Coming) we are present at a 1919 meeting of the leadership of Kibbutz Degania, the first kibbutz established by Jewish Zionist pioneers.

The members of the kibbutz are meeting to decide, among other things, the sex of a newborn baby and whether the kibbutz can afford the importing of a mohel to perform a bris, given that the cost may exceed the purchase price of a cow.

Enjoy!

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Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Comedy Down Memory Lane: Shelley Berman on the Telephone


Comedian Shelley Berman is celebrating his 90th birthday this month. To mark the occasion, we're sharing one of his classic improvisational telephone routines where he carries on a conversation with an invisible adversary.

Berman has had a long career as an actor and comedian. Most recently he  appeared as Larry David's aged father on Curb Your Enthusiasm, a role for which he received a 2008 Emmy Award nomination.

In this clip, Berman is on the phone with a clerk at the hotel he has just checked into. He voices his dissatisfaction with the lack of certain amenities that he expected to find in his hotel room, such as a window and a door.

Enjoy!

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Monday, February 16, 2015

A Joke to Start the Week - "New York Athletic Club"


With winter cold continuing to sweep across the northeastern US, there's more of a need than ever to warm things up with a joke to start the week. And there's nothing more warming than a classic old joke retold.

Today we start the week off with another joke from the archives of Old Jews Telling Jokes. The joke teller is 65-year-old Fred Rubin, a television writer, producer, and visiting professor.

Here's the setup: Bernie, an old Jew in the clothing business, is retiring. And his friends ask him "What are .you going to do after you retire?" And he said "Vell, I think I'll go down and join the New York Athletic Club." And then...

Enjoy!


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Sunday, February 15, 2015

Israeli Sketch Comedy: Two Mothers Meet in the Park

 
Israeli humor isn't quite the same as American humor.  For one thing, political and cultural correctness doesn't get top priority when it comes to entertainment in Israel.  
 
There's a popular TV show called Ktzarim, which literally means shorts, as in short films or sketches.  It's actually based on a British show called "The Sketch Show."  While the sketches have some of the sharp humor of Saturday Night Live, they tend to be much shorter and sharper edged.

Here's a short sketch with English subtitles that we hope you'll enjoy.  It moves so fast that you'll probably have to watch it a few times to let all of the humor sink in.
 
In this sketch, two Israeli mothers meet in a park, one with a baby in a stroller, the other wearing a baby carrier. The mother with the stroller expresses concern about the safety of the baby carrier. And then...
 
Enjoy!
 
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Friday, February 13, 2015

"Welcome to Kutsher's" Updated Documentary Film to Open in South Florida on Feb. 20


Welcome to Kutsher's, an award-winning film documenting the Borscht Belt experience at the last surviving Catskills hotel, has been shown in limited engagements at Jewish film festivals for the last few years.

Now that Kutsher's has been sold and demolished to make way for a new health resort, the film has been updated to include scenes of its last days.

We have a special fondness for Kutsher's because we delivered seven hours of Jewish humor lectures at the hotel during its last full year of operation in 2013.

The newly updated theatrical release will make its debut in South Florida at the Movies of Delray theatre in Delray Beach, and Movies of Lake Worth on Friday, February 20, and will play there for only one week. Its next showing will be at the Cinemas Palme d'Or in Palm Desert, California on March 6 before its general release to select theatres nationwide.

During the 73-minute-long film, you'll laugh with appreciation at Freddie Roman as his classic Borscht Belt routine still brings down the house, and wonder in amazement as Andy Kaufman wrestles a female Kutsher’s guest for $50.  Marvel at the abundance of hearty kosher feasts where no one can get away with ordering just one main dish, and the non-stop whirl of recreational activities.

And as the Catskills decline, this film provides unprecedented eye-witness documentation of Kutsher's from its 100th anniversary season through the next seven years until the hotel is sold and demolished in 2014. The story of Kutsher’s is uniquely American, unexpectedly moving and a vital chapter – previously unexplored – of the modern Jewish experience.

Ian Rosenberg (director/producer of Welcome to Kutsher's) and Larry Strickler (Activities Director at Kutsher's Country Club for 22 years) will speak to audiences following all Friday & Saturday shows at Movies of Delray.

Here's a short preview of Welcome to Kutsher's. Enjoy!
 
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Thursday, February 12, 2015

"The Doctors" TV Talk Show Focuses on Chicken Soup as "Jewish Penicillin"


As record cold and snow sweeps across the northeastern USA, more people are turning to a traditional medication to combat colds and the flu. What is it? Chicken soup, of course!

Recently the TV talk show The Doctors did a segment on chicken soup, or as it's sometimes called, Jewish Penicillin.

While the doctors acknowledge that some of the effect is psychological, they maintain that there are physiologic reasons why chicken soup may help with a cold or the flu. They are:
- breathing in the steam from the hot soup opens up the airways and breaks up mucus
- protein and amino acids from boiling the chicken help the immune system fight colds
- adding vegetables like carrots provides another source of vitamins and minerals
And, they add, you don't need a doctor's prescription to get this kind of penicillin.

Enjoy! 

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Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Comedy Flashback: Yakov Smirnoff on Differences Between Men and Women


Yakov Smirnoff, the Soviet-born American Jewish comedian, actor and writer, was a big name on the comedy circuit after emigrating to the United States in 1977. When he was born in Odessa, the Ukraine, in 1951, it was still part of the Soviet Union.

He reached the height of his success in the mid-to-late 1980s, when he also appeared in several films and television shows, including his own 1986-87 sitcom, What a Country!. His comic persona was of a naive immigrant from the Soviet Union who was perpetually confused and delighted about life in the United States.

In 2003, he appeared on Broadway in a one-man show, As Long As We Both Shall Laugh. Here's a clip from that show in which he gave a personal example of how men and women approach home decorating from totally different perspectives.

Enjoy!

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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Dating Advice From Bubbes and Zaydes at the Los Angeles Jewish Home


When it comes to sage advice, we often turn to the seniors at the Los Angeles Jewish Home who have "been there, done that" in many areas of life.

With Valentine's Day approaching this weekend, the Los Angeles Jewish Home has released a video with some practical dating advice to those seeking love at any age from experts who have seen it all before. 

Jonathan, 28 and single, interviews 12 bubbes and zaydes who pull no punches in giving him  their best suggestions for success in love. Sympathetic and wise; practical and nurturing; funny and sweet — the seniors make the perfect matchmakers. They know from experience what it takes to light a spark and turn it into a flame.

The video was published in honor of "Sweetheart's Day," evidently a euphemism for Valentine's Day for those who feel it's not a holiday that Jews should celebrate. But for the last few years we have been publishing the "hechsher" for celebrating the day that Rabbi Benjamin Blech, professsor of Talmud at Yeshiva University, has written about Valentine's Day on the aish.com website
As Jews, we may not be sure whether it's proper for us to join the party. After all, for the longest time the full name of this holiday was “St. Valentine's Day” because of its legendary link with the apocryphal story of one of the earliest Christian saints. Yet academics aren't the only ones who have recognized the dubious historical basis of this connection. Vatican II, the landmark set of reforms adopted by the Catholic Church in 1969, removed Valentine's Day from the Catholic church's calendar, asserting that "though the memorial of St. Valentine is ancient… apart from his name nothing is known… except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on 14 February."
What's left for this day, as proponents of its universal celebration declare, is something that people of all faiths may in good conscience observe: A day in which to acknowledge the power of love to make us fully human.
When I am asked as a rabbi if I think it's a good idea for Jews to celebrate Valentine's Day, my standard answer is, "Yes, we should celebrate love… every day of the year."
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.)  



Monday, February 9, 2015

A Joke to Start the Week: "Sex on the Sabbath"


It's Monday morning on the east coast of the U.S., and whether it's warm and sunny in Florida or cold and snowy in New York, it's time for a joke to start the week.

For today's joke we go to one of our primary sources, Old Jews Telling Jokes, and come up with an oldie but goodie told by 67-year-old attorney and sculptor Richard Goldstein.

This is a joke from the priest/minister/rabbi genre.

Here's the setup: This man wants to find out whether having sex on the Sabbath is work or whether it's play. For some reason he wants to go talk to a priest about it. And then...

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.)


Sunday, February 8, 2015

Comedy Flashback: Greetings from Miami Beach


For the month of February, Jewish Humor Central is coming to you from Miami Beach, Florida. During the month, we'll continue our mix of jokes, funny happenings, musical fun, and unbelievable but true stories as they occur.

We're in Florida to deliver six jewish humor lectures and programs to audiences in Deerfield Beach, and also to escape from the harsh New Jersey winter.

Today we're bringing you another comedy flashback from the comedy album When You're in Love the Whole World is Jewish, a collection of blackout bits and extended one-liners which poked fun at the absurdities of American Jewish culture.   

It was recorded in a studio with a live audience in attendance, as a cast of actors performed scripted material much in the manner of a radio play.

Comedy writers Bob Booker and George Foster had the good judgment to assemble a superb cast for this recording, and they transform what could have been ordinary Catskill shtick into something memorable.

The performers include Lou Jacobi, Jack Gilford, Betty Walker and Arlene Golonka, and their expert timing and feel for their characters is impeccable. When You're in Love the Whole World is Jewish is a fine sampling of classic Borscht Belt humor performed by a top-notch cast.
 
The track we're sharing today is Miami Beach with Lou Jacobi and Phil Leeds.
 
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.)

 

Friday, February 6, 2015

Israeli Rabbi is Internet Business and Social Media Advisor to Google


Rabbi Issamar Ginzberg, who looks like he stepped out of a set filming Fiddler on the Roof, has been fiddling in major corporate business circles. 

The scion of a prominent rabbinic family, he worked his way up from giving advice on obtaining credit for business to advising Google, Yahoo, IBM, and other corporations large and small on the use of the Internet and social media in business.

Starting out in Brooklyn, he now lives in Israel, and travels the world advising his clients, writing columns, and conducting seminars and programs. In this video, he describes his journey to a most unexpected vocation.

Enjoy!

(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.)