Oh Pa Pa! - A Musical Tribute to Seders on Zoom

Tonight there will be an easy answer to the question Ma nishtana halayla hazeh mikol haleylot? (Why is this night different from all other nights?)

The answer is that this night (and tomorrow night outside of Israel, too) many if not most seders will be virtual and shared over Zoom, Google Meeets, BlueJeans, or other video platforms.

If you or any of your family members have reservations about using electricity or Internet platforms on Yom Tov, this video by Rabbi Haim Ovadia should convince you that this is the year you should do it.

The stay-at-home rules imposed by most states have given us more time to indulge in creative projects, and many have taken a positive approach by creating parodies of popular songs to reflect on the ironies of celebrating the holiday of freedom while being virtual captives in our own homes.

A shout-out to the creative Newman family for writing, singing, and acting out their Passover seder parody of the song Oom-Pah-Pah from the musical Oliver! This song was made for their 96-year-old grandpa (Papa) by his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren across the globe.

Their version, called Oh-Pa-Pa, gets us into a festive mood as we complete the preparations for the seder.

Enjoy, have a healthy, kosher, and happy Passover and Shabbat Shalom wherever you are. This year we're in Florida, celebrating two seders and the first two days of Pesach followed by Shabbat. So we're taking a break from posting until Sunday. See you then!

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.

Happy Passover! A musical greeting from the Israel Philharmonic

This Pesach, because each of us is celebrating separately, the members of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra prepared a special musical greeting, a medley of Passover songs. 

Playing individually in their own homes, the Philharmonic musicians unite in this video to wish all music lovers in Israel and around the world a happy Passover and good health.

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 Delicious Passover Coronavirus Lockdown Project: Savta Shuly's Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Passover is almost here. Wednesday evening we will be sitting down to a very different Pesach seder. For most of us it will be a solitary experience, for one, two, maybe a few more family members.

The coronavirus lockdown or stay-at-home orders issued in most states is a test of our ability to come up with innovative ways of celebrating the festival of freedom. Thanks to the wonders of technology, many homes will light up with the presence of multi-generational family members in Zoom seders.

As always, involving children and finding ways for them to participate in the seder and pre-seder activities will be a high priority this year. 

We think that including children in preparing special Passover treats will give all of us a lift. So we're sharing one of our favorite recipes -- Savta Shuly's Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins -- a recipe that we use year-round with flour, but find just as delicious with cake meal and potato starch substituted for flour on Pesach.

If you're making these muffins year-round, use 2 cups of flour instead of the cake meal/potato starch mixture shown here.

UPDATE: The recipe and list of ingredients now appears below the video.

So follow along with the video, and include the kids in measuring and mixing. We're sure it will result in more smiles around the seder table and for the rest of the week, too.

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.

Savta Shuly’s Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

½ cup margarine 

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour (For Passover, use 1 cup cake meal and 1/3 cup potato starch)

½ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 cup mashed bananas

¼ cup sour milk or orange juice 1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

Use one large and two medium mixing bowls. Cream margarine and sugar in largest bowl. Add beaten eggs and vanilla.

Beat bananas with orange juice or milk in one medium bowl

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the other medium bowl. Add 1/3 of dry ingredients to wet ingredients.Add half of banana mixture to wet ingredients. Add 1/3 of dry ingredients to wet ingredients.

Add remainder of banana mixture to wet ingredients. Add last 1/3 of dry ingredients.

Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon into muffin tin.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

'Twas the Night Before Pesach - A Benji Lovitt Passover Comedy Special

American-Israeli comedian Benji Lovitt, now living in Tel Aviv, has made a contribution to the growing collection of Passover videos. He recruited a bunch of his friends' children, and got them to recite his original version of a song usually played in December.

And what a night it was! Coronavirus, social distance, Zoom, modems, routers, internet cables, and a last minute miracle.

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.

Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi by the Band Mizrach

With most synagogues closed because of the coronavirus, welcoming Shabbat has taken on a different tone as we try to find new ways to savor its joys.

Many synagogues are conducting services via Zoom and other video technologies, in some cases attracting more congregants on line than normally come to live services. 

Looking for silver linings in the coronavirus cloud, maybe it's a good idea to explore different versions of the Friday evening songs that we've become accustomed to. There are many melodies to chant Lecha Dodi. This one by the band called Mizrach may not be the one you're used to, but give it a try to enhance the ruach (spirit) of the day of rest.

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.

Neil Diamond Changes Lyrics to "Sweet Caroline" in Coronavirus Public Service Announcement

Neil Diamond is doing his part to promote steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus – and he found a creative way to do it. Diamond changed the lyrics to his iconic hit Sweet Caroline for a musical public service announcement about the virus.

As Christi Carras wrote in The Los Angeles Times,

Perched on the hearth of his fireplace next to his adorable pet pup, Diamond then launched into the familiar tune on acoustic guitar. 

At first, the anthem seemed to play out as expected.

Then came the catchy pre-chorus:

“Hands, washing hands,” Diamond sang in support of coronavirus prevention habits. “Reaching out / Don’t touch me / I won’t touch you.”

Enjoy, and keep safe!

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.