Comedy Showcase: Elon Gold on How the Jews Built the Pyramids

Elon Gold is an American comedian, television actor, writer and producer. He starred in the television series Stacked.  He also starred in the short-lived sitcom In-Laws. Known for his impressions, including those of Jeff Goldblum, Howard Stern and Jay Leno, Gold was a judge on the ABC celebrity impersonation competition series The Next Best Thing. Gold was also in the movie Cheaper by the Dozen as a cameraman from the Oprah Winfrey show.

Gold attended the Westchester Day School in Mamaroneck, NY and the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (MTA)/Yeshiva University High School for Boys in Manhattan, NY. He is a practicing orthodox Jew.

Here is a funny clip on How the Jews Built the Pyramids from his Amazon hour-long video Elon Gold: Chosen and Taken.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Hawaii or Havaii?"

It's the Monday after Labor Day and we hope you're all settled in back at work and at school. We're busy getting ready for all the holidays that we'll be celebrating in Israel in October. We're also booking lots of comedy programs and lectures through the end of 2017, including the month of February in South Florida.

We have some open dates in February, so if you're involved in programming for a synagogue, JCC, or residential community in Florida, give us a call or send us an email and we'll try to accommodate requests for appearances between February 1 and 28.

We're also looking to expand our family of joke tellers for the Monday morning jokes. If you like to tell jokes and would like to become instantly famous by telling jokes to our thousands of subscribers around the world, just send us a sample video file and we'll consider it for posting. 

It should be funny and family friendly. If you don't know how to capture a joke on video, just ask a grandchild or a 10-year-old neighbor and they'll be able to help.

And now for today's Joke to Start the Week. Here's the setup: A newlywed couple is going on their honeymoon to Hawaii. And ever since they leave the airport they're bickering about how to pronounce the name of their destination. And then...

Enjoy!

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Hershey Felder IS Leonard Bernstein in "Maestro" Through October 16

Last Tuesday we attended a performance of Maestro, a tribute to the music and life of Leonard Bernstein at the 59E59 theater in Manhattan. It's a one-man show by Hershey Felder, the Canadian pianist, actor, playwright, composer, producer, and director.
 
A few months ago we saw him at Town Hall in a one-man show portraying the music and life of Irving Berlin. Both performances were sold out and Felder received a well-deserved standing ovation. In both productions, for an hour and forty-five minutes, without an intermission, Felder transformed himself into these musical legends with a sense of humor and respect for their musical achievements.

We later learned that he has also performed similar shows as Chopin, Beethoven, and Gershwin.

In Maestro, Felder emphasized Bernstein's strong Jewish background and its influence on his works. This included his father's attempts to steer him away from music and toward study of Talmud, and his composing the Jeremiah Symphony, excerpts of which he played onstage with a backdrop of the Hebrew text of Eicha (Lamentations), the book which is read in the synagogue on Tisha B'Av.

In the production, Felder shows the many sides of Leonard Bernstein and expresses his sadness that despite his desire to be known as a composer of classical music, his work in the popular sphere insured that he is remembered most as a conductor and the composer of West Side Story.

Below is a video clip of Felder as Bernstein reflecting on the composition of Maria from West Side Story.

We highly recommend this production if you're in New York now through October 16.
Tickets are available online, by phone, and in person.

Enjoy!

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Hava Nagila Around the World - Polish Violin Virtuoso Artur Banaszkiewicz

Today we're adding to our growing collection (numbering more than 50) renditions of Hava Nagila. We always thought of this song as a simple Israeli folk song. But in the hands of an accomplished violin virtuoso like Artur Banaszkiewicz it can be much more.

Banaszkiewicz is a violinist, composer and arranger. He has been performing on stage since he was five. In 1985 he won the first prize at the Young Violinists' Contest in Koszalin. In 1988-1990 he benefited from the Polish Ministry of Culture and Arts scholarship and studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. 

Apart from the classical violin repertoire, he performs virtuoso fantasias and renderings of some famous and very much liked pieces from various realms of music.

Especially popular with Polish and international audiences is a concert show called "THE GYPSIES ENCHANTING EVENING". It comprises pieces inspired by the Gypsy folklore on the one hand, and the Jewish musical tradition on the other. 

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday: Gilda Radner as Rhonda Weiss in an Ode to Saccharine

Today we're going back 39 years to a Saturday Night Live episode that was shown on March 19, 1977. Rhonda Weiss and the Rhondettes were a sixties-looking girl group of Jewish American princesses who sang "Goodbye Saccharin," an ode to their favorite low-calorie sugar substitute

Saccharin was briefly under suspicion at the time of causing cancer in lab rats. Now we know that you can safely eat up to 12 pounds of it a day. Gilda Radner was Rhonda Weiss. The Rhondettes were Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and that week's musical guest, Linda Ronstadt. 

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday, #TBT

Hunting for the Best Bagels in London With YidLife Crisis Comedy Duo (Britishkayt Part 1 - Continued)

We've been following the Canadian comedy duo of Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion as they travel the world in search of funny situtations involving Yiddish culture, language, and food.

Their web series, YidLife Crisis, was recently nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for best original digital media series.

They have taken their act on the road, performing a live version of their show in Krakow, Tel Aviv, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles and Birmingham, England.

The pair has also received a prestigious grant from the Natan Fund and have created a series of five travelogues featuring their impressions of Tel Aviv. In February we posted their funny Valentine’s Day episode guest staring Mayim Bialik.

Last month we started  touring London with Jamie and Eli as they search for the perfect bagel (or beigel as it's spelled in England). With the help of guide David Rosenberg they learn the history of "tailor-made" unionization in London's East End. 

We got a lot of praise for that post so today we're back with Jamie, Eli, and David as they continue the search for the best bagel (or beigel as they call them in London's East End).

Enjoy! 

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Roy Rogers and the Mountain Lion"

It's Labor Day, but it's a Monday, so here's a Joke to Start the Week and to ease you into going back to work and back to school tomorrow.

Once again we're glad to welcome back Michael Hirsch, who has been featured as a Jewish Humor Central joke teller for a few months.
 
Today Michael, an investment advisor for individuals and institutions, gives us a groaner that requires you to remember an old song*.

Here's the setup: Dale Evans is sitting on the front porch of her house one day when she sees Roy Rogers riding up on Trigger and she sees he's wearing brand new boots. And then...

Enjoy!
 
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* Chattanooga Choo Choo 
 

Ellen de Generes Plays the "Hippie or Rabbi?" Game. Join in the Fun!

In the last few years we posted two clips from The Jimmy Kimmel Show in which he played a game with his audience called Hipster or Hasidic?

Audience members were shown photos of faces in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Only the lower part of the face was visible and they had to guess whether each belonged to a rabbi or to a hipster in a neighborhood that had a mixed population.

Last year Ellen deGeneres played a similar game with the studio audience at her TV show. She called it Hippie or Rabbi? The audience loved it and we think you'll enjoy playing the game too. It's not as easy as you might think.

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.)

Musical Showcase: Malachim Ketanim (Little Angels) Wedding Band Performs in Jerusalem

If you attend a wedding or special event in Jerusalem, you may encounter one of the youngest bands that we've seen, Malachim Ketanim (Little Angels). 

It's a group of young boys and girls with singing and instrumental roles to liven up a wedding, reception, or secular event.

We found their sound very appealing and think you'll also enjoy them, in this video singing Im Eshkachech Yerushalayim (If I forget you, Jerusalem).

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

(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.)

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: SNL Commercial for Car Smooth Enough for a Bris

On this Throwback Thursday we're sharing one of our favorite Saturday Night Live commercial parodies, the one for the 1978 Royal Deluxe II luxury car with a ride so smooth, a rabbi could perform a circumcision in the back seat. 

Well, we found the video, featuring Dan Ackroyd and Gilda Radner, with Garret Morris as the driver, and you'll see it below.

Enjoy, and Mazal Tov to all!

(We apologize for the short commercial that precedes the fake SNL commercial, but that's the only way we could show you the video.)

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#Throwback Thursday  #TBT

Ninja Rabbi: Yeshiva University Student Rabbi Enters American Ninja Warrior Competition

Akiva Neuman, a Yeshiva University rabbinical student, wasn't content spending his days studying Talmud and accounting, and working as youth director for the Young Israel of Holliswood, Queens.

Looking for more challenges and pursuing physical fitness, Akiva entered the competition for the title of American Ninja Warrior on the popular TV reality show.

As Sandy Eller wrote in Vos iz Neias,

The 25 year old Neuman, who grew up in Highland Park, New Jersey, took part in the Philadelphia qualifying match for American Ninja, a sports competition reality television show, making his way through a challenging obstacle course proudly wearing his yarmulka and tzitzis.

Now entering its eighth season,  American Ninja contestants compete in a series of courses hoping for a chance to compete in the show’s Las Vegas finals on a physically grueling, four stage obstacle course consisting of over 20 challenges.  The ultimate goal?  A $1 million cash prize.

So, how did he do? You'll have to watch the video to find out.

Enjoy!


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Remembering Gene Wilder - Comic Actor, Screenwriter, Film Director and Author

Gene Wilder, the stage and screen comic actor, screenwriter, film director, and author who died yesterday at the age of 83, was born Jerome Silberman to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1933. 

His Wikipedia entry says that he was raised Jewish, but he held only the Golden Rule as his philosophy. He described himself as a "Jewish-Buddhist-Atheist" in an interview published in 2005.

Wilder discussed his Jewish upbringing at length in an interview with Abigail Pogrebin for her book Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish. Yesterday Tablet, the online magazine, posted an excerpt from the book.

Three years ago we posted an excerpt from an 80th birthday interview with Gene Wilder by Robert Osborne that we attended at the 92nd Street Y.

It runs for 28 minutes and includes Wilder's reflections on making movies and answering questions from the audience.

As a tribute to Gene Wilder, we're reposting the interview today. In it, Wilder reminisces about his experiences in filming Willy Wonka, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein. Below the half-hour interview video, we're sharing a few clips from his performances in these movies.

(Please be warned that when talking about the excessive swearing that he doesn't like in the movies, he uses an expletive for illustration purposes. We said we'd warn you before posting anything that might offend readers who object to language that the mainstream media find unfit to print. So if you don't want to hear the word, don't watch the video.)

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.)   




Willy Wonka's Grand Entrance



Wilder as the Waco Kid in Blazing Saddles



Puttin' on the Ritz from Young Frankenstein

 

A Joke to Start the Week - "Kosher Supervision: Is it Ever Good Enough?

Summer has been good to us, and thanks to some new friendships and lecture tour contacts, we've been able to collect enough jokes to start the next few weeks. The jokes may be old, but the retellings are new.

Today we're posting another joke by Bob Epstein, who holds forth every summer as recreation specialist at the Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Adult Vacation Center in Copake, New York. Bob is an 88-year-old retired Assistant Principal in the New York school system. His summer duties include joke telling sessions with the seniors who come to the mountains for a summer vacation.

Here's the setup for today's short joke: A very observant guy gets to heaven and sees a big spread of food. 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.) 

Hunting for the Best Bagels in London With YidLife Crisis Comedy Duo (Britishkayt Part 1)

We've been following the Canadian comedy duo of Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion as they travel the world in search of funny situtations involving Yiddish culture, language, and food.
 
Their web series, YidLife Crisis, was recently nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for best original digital media series.
 
They have taken their act on the road, performing a live version of their show in Krakow, Tel Aviv, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles and Birmingham, England.
 
The pair has also received a prestigious grant from the Natan Fund and have created a series of five travelogues featuring their impressions of Tel Aviv. In February we posted their funny Valentine’s Day episode guest staring Mayim Bialik.

Today we're touring London with Jamie and Eli as they search for the perfect bagel (or beigel as it's spelled in England). With the help of guide David Rosenberg they learn the history of "tailor-made" unionization in London's East End. 

(TO BE CONTINUED...) 

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.)