A Joke to Start the Week - "Prison Jokes"

It's been a hot summer week, and it looks like we've got another hot one coming. But it's another Monday and we'll try to cool off with a joke to start the week.

Here's an oldie but goodie from the folks who brought us Old Jews Telling Jokes. Today's joke teller is Writer/Producer Michael Miller.

Here's the setup: This guy goes to prison and he's very scared. The first day he's sitting at lunch and when lunch is over he sees one of the inmates get up on the table and he says "32." And then...

Enjoy!

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81-Year-Old Comedian Wins Jewish Week Annual Contest

On June 26 we attended the finals of The Jewish Week's 18th Annual Funniest Jewish Comic Contest at the Broadway Comedy Club in Manhattan. The contest has been run by Geoff Kole for the last 15 years.

After more than two hours of comedy performances by host Steve Marshall, seven contest entrants, and seasoned stand-up comedians Stewie Stone and Corey Kahaney, the judges declared that the winner was George Saltz, a clinical psychologist who first tried stand-up comedy in the Catskills when he was 18 years old.

As Alan Zeitlin wrote in The Jewish Week,

The 81-year-old from Ardsley, in Westchester, said he panicked when he had a set in the Catskills and was promptly fired. But he was fired up to get back in comedy two years ago. He took a class in comedy writing and began performing at open mic nights. This time he was calm and collected as he fired off zingers on the theme of the old generation versus the new.

“This was not a good day for me,” he told the crowd. “I found out I was unfriended. Not on Facebook. I read it in the obituaries.”

We'll share the stand-up comedy of some of the other contestants in the coming weeks.

Enjoy!

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Eishet Chayil - A New Version of the Shabbat Hymn Set to John Lennon's "Imagine"

Eishet Chayil (A Woman of Valor) is a hymn which is sung Friday night in many homes after singing Shalom Aleichem and before saying the Kiddush. Traditionally, a husband sings the song to his wife, extolling her virtues, and expressing thanks for all that his wife has done for him and their family.

Eishet Chayil is a twenty-two verse poem with which King Solomon concludes the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 31). The poem has an acrostic arrangement in which the verses begin with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in regular order. The poem describes the woman of valor as one who are is energetic, righteous, and capable.

This is a new version of the song by Harp & Love – a musical group from Israel that specializes in wedding music. It's set to the music of the Beatles' John Lennon. It includes only five of the twenty-two verses.The transliterated Hebrew text and English translation appear below the video.

Enjoy and Shabbat Shalom! 

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Eshet chayil mi yimtza v'rachok mip'ninim michrah
An accomplished woman, who can find? Her value is far beyond pearls.

Batach bah lev ba'lah v'shalal lo yechsar
Her husband's heart relies on her and he shall lack no fortune.  

Rabot banot asu chayil v'at alit al kulanah
Many women have done worthily, but you surpass them all.

Sheker hachen v'hevel hayofi ishah yir'at Hashem hi tit'halal
Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears God shall be praised.

T'nu lah mip'ri yadeiha vihal'luha vash'arim ma'aseha
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. 

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca Attend a Recital

Every Thursday is Throwback Thursday and each week we relish the opportunity to do a deep dive into the treasure chest of old funny video clips.

Today we're diving into the Your Show of Shows collection to share a classic skit starring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, and Howard Morris.  

The singing recital begins with Coca and Morris seated and Reiner playing the piano. Caesar, a few minutes late, makes his entrance, and punctures the decorum with noises of all types.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday #TBT

Midweek Joke Bonus: "Did You Hear the One About...?" Five Priest and Rabbi Jokes in Five Minutes

"A priest and a rabbi walk into a bar" or a car or just about anyplace else. That's the way a whole genre of jokes begins. Most of them are old and you've probably heard most of them. But they can still bring a laugh.

Some of our readers have been asking for more jokes in addition to our Monday "Joke to Start the Week" feature. So here we go with a midweek joke...actually a series of five of them.
 
Actors Ron Rogge and Warren Davis unleash a barrage of Priest and Rabbi jokes in various settings, at home, in a pool, and finally at the wedding that they've been looking forward to all week. 

The film was produced as an entry in the 48 Hour Film Project, an annual team competition to write, produce, and edit a short video from 7 pm Friday to 7 pm Sunday.

Enjoy!

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The Great Jewish Comedians: Eddie Cantor in a 1923 Vaudeville Act

Eddie Cantor (1892-1964), born Edward Israel Iskowitz, was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor, and songwriter. 

Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, he was regarded almost as a family member by millions because his top-rated radio shows revealed intimate stories and amusing anecdotes about his wife Ida and five daughters. 

Some of his hits include "Makin' Whoopee", "Ida", "Yes! We Have No Bananas", "If You Knew Susie", "Ma! He's Makin' Eyes at Me", "Baby", "Margie", and "How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?" He also wrote a few songs, including "Merrily We Roll Along", the Merrie Melodies Warner Bros. cartoon theme.

In one of the earliest experiments with synchronized sound, Eddie Cantor does his vaudeville act (stand-up comedy and songs) against a plain backdrop.

If you'd like to get a taste of what old-time Vaudeville was like, take a look at this fascinating and amusing talkie short. Headliner Eddie Cantor delivers a six-minute routine consisting of several jokes, two songs, and one comic poem, performed before a black backdrop in an empty studio. 

It's too bad the filmmakers couldn't have captured him in front of a live audience-- as it is, Eddie's jokes are met with eerie silence --but at least George Olsen's terrific dance band was present (off-camera) to provide jaunty jazz accompaniment. This short captures Cantor's act at the point when his career was really taking off, when he was starring in the Broadway musical comedy "Kid Boots," produced by legendary showman Flo Ziegfeld. 

The film was made at the midtown Manhattan studio of Lee De Forest, pioneer of the sound-on-film process known as 'Phonofilm.' Between 1922 and 1926 De Forest made dozens of talkie shorts featuring prominent performers such as Cantor, DeWolf Hopper, Weber & Fields, Eubie Blake, etc., films that are invaluable records of the great stage stars of the day.

Enjoy!

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(Our thanks to Braden Scott for posting this video and info on YouTube.)

A Joke to Start the Week - "Brain Price"

Today is the Fourth of July. But it's also Monday, the day we run our Joke to Start the Week. So what's a blogger to do? 

After careful consideration, we ran our Fourth of July post yesterday on July 3, letting us post a joke today so as not to disappoint our Monday joke followers.

For today's joke, we once again turn to Michael Hirsch, who's become a Jewish Humor Central regular.

Michael, an investment advisor for individuals and institutions, is a graduate of Brooklyn College, Class of '66. He attended Telshe Yeshiva during high school and Yeshiva Netzach Yisrael during college. When he's not telling jokes, Michael enjoys participating in triathlons.

Here's the setup for today's joke: This man is suffering from constant headaches, so he goes to his doctor. The doctor runs some exams, checks him out, and then...

Enjoy!

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A July 4 Special: Two Cantors Combine Hatikvah and America the Beautiful

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, a holiday that we celebrate with Americans of all religions and ethnic groups. 

As the world is riven today by national rivalries, hatreds, and acts of unspeakable cruelty, we can take comfort in the knowledge that the United States of America and Israel share a value system that is truly exceptional.

A few years ago, Angela Buchwald and Julia Katz, the cantors of New York City's Central Synagogue, added a mashup of Hatikvah and America the Beautiful to a Shabbat service to give voice to the hope and vision that these two countries have shared from their birth.

Have a happy Fourth tomorrow and enjoy the music.

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Unexpected Traces in Jewish Places: A Greek Romaniote Synagogue in New York City

Reading the Wall Street Journal this week, we came across an interesting article by reporter Ralph Gardner Jr., who writes the regular column Urban Gardner. 

In exploring his Jewish roots and his city, Gardner writes from time to time about unusual and unexpected Jewish presence in New York.

This week he wrote about Kehila Kedosha Janina, the last remaining Greek Romaniote synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, located on Broome Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. 

Like him, we had never heard of Romaniote Jews. With the help of Gardner's visit to the shul and some Googling and YouTube searching, we got a bit of an education that we're sharing with you this erev Shabbat.

As Gardner wrote,

It’s a community of Greek Jews more than 2,000 years old. They came to the U.S. starting in the early 1900s; the synagogue on the Lower East Side opened in 1927.

The congregation is named after the town of Ioannina (Janina) in Greece. According to legend, Jews swam ashore there in the year 70, escaping from a Roman slave ship.

Geographically isolated, the community developed traditions and remained Greek speaking even after the post-1492 influx of Jews expelled from Spain during the Inquisition.

Ms. Ikonomopoulos said it’s impossible to say how many belong to the congregation because there isn’t paid membership. However, there are enough members to hold services and everyone is welcome. “We have become the center for Romaniote Judaism in the world,” she added.

In this video, members of the congregation talk about the synagogue and its place in their lives.

Enjoy!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Flashback: Victor Borge Teaches Dean Martin Phonetic Punctuation

Victor Borge was a Danish comedian, conductor and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in the United States and Europe. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nickname "The Clown Prince of Denmark","The Unmelancholy Dane", and "The Great Dane."

We featured him last year in our series The Great Jewish Comedians. Borge had many funny approaches to music. One of his most famous was his invention of phonetic puncuation. His unique approach to inserting commas, periods, question marks and exclamation points made every song hilarious.

In this video from 1968, Borge visits Dean Martin on his TV show and teaches him the basics. Then they try the technique out on a few songs, with hilarious results.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday  #TBT

"Simply Sing" Brings Jews and Arabs Together For Good Music and Good Food In Jerusalem

In November 2014, over two thousand young people gathered near downtown Jerusalem to celebrate life. The "Simply Sing" initiative, which began at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, aims at bringing Jews and Arabs together through shared cultural events.

“Simply Sing” is a Jerusalem-based cross-cultural project that has Jews and Arabs meet every few weeks for an evening of musical performances and singing. The project has gained much popularity as well as opposition from both Arabs and Jews during its four and a half years of existence.
 
Facilitators taught songs and invited participants to sing along in both Hebrew and Arabic. The event was headlined by singer Lubna Salame and the Yemen Blues band, who together created a special joint performance for the event.

Yemen Blues is led by singer Ravid Kahalani, who combines the ancient Jewish melodies of his birthplace in Yemen with West African, funk and mambo influences. Time Out Chicago wrote that Yemen Blues is "one of the most exciting bands in world music right now.”

Lubna Salame, originally from Haifa, is a resident singer with the Nazareth Orchestra. She started her career as a child, singing classical Arabic songs with a church choir, and became an instant star after her first concert at the 2000 Israel Festival.

In addition to the music, poetry and dancing, food played a major role in the evening's success. A food truck featured two chefs, one Arab-Israeli, the other Jewish-Israeli, who worked together to create fusion dishes that reflected both their cultures (gefilte fish with knafeh anyone?). Chef Elias Mattar from the northern Galilee region and Chef Marcus Gershkowitz, co-owner of Jerusalem's famous Angelica restaurant, demonstrated cuisine from their kitchens.

Arab and Jewish DJs performed in a number of downtown bars during the after party, proving once again the power of music to break down boundaries.

Enjoy!

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The Great Jewish Comedians: Harry "Parkyakarkus" Einstein

Last week we featured Albert Brooks as one of the great Jewish comedians. Today it's his father's turn.

Albert's father, Harry Einstein (1904-1958) was known professionally by a multitude of pseudonyms, most commonly Parkyakarkus. He was an American comedian, writer, and character actor. 

A specialist in Greek dialect comedy, he became famous as the Greek chef Nick Parkyakarkus on the Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson radio programs, and later on a program of his own. He appeared in eleven films as Parkyakarkas, or Parkyarkarkas, from 1936 to 1945. 

In 1944 (Yes, that was 72 years ago) he appeared in a wartime musical comedy, Sweethearts of the USA, also starring Una Merkel. The song You Can't Brush Off a Russian was written by Lew Pollack and Charles Newman.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week: "Soldiers"

It's the first Monday of summer, and our goal is to fill it and all the Mondays of summer with jokes to get each week off to a good start.

Today's joke, from the files of Old Jews Telling Jokes, is told by television writer/producer and visiting professor Fred Rubin, takes place during World War II. 

Here's the setup: During the height of World War II two Jewish soldiers are assigned a dangerous mission of wiring a bridge to explode. And on this bridge they know for a fact that Hitler and his motorcade will be passing over this bridge at 4:30. And then...

Enjoy!

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Hava Nagila Around the World: Thailand Really Loves This Song

There's something about Hava Nagila that appeals to cultures around the world, and most of them are not Jewish.  Since we started Jewish Humor Central seven years ago, we've posted more than 50 versions from the Americas to countries all over Europe and Asia. 

Three of these are from Thailand, a country which seems to find the music alluring and perfect for exotic dancing. Today we're sharing a fourth version from Thailand, performed by seven exotic dancers and a band that includes two conga drums. Go figure.

Enjoy!

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Buzzy Walters Plays and Sings His Original "Jewish Calendar Song"

One of the benefits of surfing the Internet for Jewish content every day is that occasionally we run across new performers and new songs. That's what happened today when we came upon an original song by Buzzy Walters titled The Jewish Holiday Song.

In his composition, Walters manages to include all of the months of the Jewish calendar and the holidays and commemorations they contain. With each mention of a holiday or observance, he includes traces of melodies that we associate with them. Not just the High Holidays, Passover, and Chanukah, but also Shavuot, Tu Bishvat, Tisha B'Av, Yom HaAtzmaut, and Yom Hashoah.

We don't know Buzzy and never heard his music before, but we hope that featuring him on Jewish Humor Central gives him more of an audience and encourages him to keep on composing new songs on Jewish themes.

Enjoy and Shabbat Shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Flashback: Buddy Hackett on The Johnny Carson Show

Every Thursday is Throwback Thursday and each week we relish the opportunity to do a deep dive into the treasure chest of old funny video clips .

Two years ago we posted a segment of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show from 1984 where Buddy Hackett talked about the TV censors denying his First Amendment rights to use a three letter word meaning "buttocks." He launched into two jokes that illustrated his point.

We found the second part of that segment where Buddy tells a few more on the same theme. But don't worry, he may get close to the line where censors would pounce but he doesn't cross it. 

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday #TBT