Musical Showcase: Eighth Day Band Follows up on Ya'alili With Hooleh Hooleh Music Video

When the musical band Eighth Day released their first music video called Ya'alili, we featured it and profiled the band. We can't believe that was four years ago! 

Since then the Jewish Rock group founded by brothers Shmuel and Bentzi Marcus has released five studio albums and played lots of concerts across the globe. Now they've moved their location from the Pomegranate supermarket in Brooklyn where they filmed Ya'alili to the Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard, California, to film their latest hit Hooleh.

The band got their start in Southern California where the Marcus brothers grew up in a very musical ultra-orthodox, chassidic home. What started as a fun family project, has now become a global phenomenon as their fan base continues to grow all over the world. 8th Day's fresh and unique sound is complimented by their catchy lyrics, mostly English with some Hebrew and Yiddish mixed in, along with their spirited vocal harmonies. 

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.) 

Kosher Switch for Using Electricity on Shabbat Ignites Rabbinic Controversy

Flipping a wall switch on Shabbat to turn on electric lights in a room is considered a prohibition by Orthodox Jews. It is less of a problem to Conservative Jews and not an issue with other Jewish denominations. 

Members of Orthodox communities don't spend Shabbat in the dark. They either use 24-hour time clocks to control their lighting or leave the lights on all day. But they keep looking for better solutions. Along comes Menashe Kalati with an invention he's been perfecting for more than three years.

It's called the Kosher Switch, and uses sophisticated technology to overcome the main objection to using electricity on Shabbat, that causing the flow of electric current is close enough to kindling a fire which is specifically prohibited by the Torah.

As Tova Dvorin reported in Israel International News,

The switch uses a series of light pulses fired at random to stop - or start - the electric current to flip the switch, which is fired at a randomized series of intervals and at a randomized rate of success when a piece of plastic (the toggle) is moved.

A green indicator light demonstrates when the system is inactive, allowing for the observant Jew to flick on the switch on Shabbat, as it is simply moving a piece of plastic; the randomization process allows for the system to work based on a number of halakhic (Jewish law - ed.) principles preventing indirect toggling of electric switches that leads to a definitive outcome.

The switch has a separate toggle to be used during the week as well as a normal light switch.

Kalati has taken his idea to the IndieGoGo crowdfunding community to raise the $50,000 needed to start mass production of the device. As we post this item, he has reached 92% of his goal.

Even though the product has the endorsement of some prominent Orthodox rabbis, there are still voices of objection being raised, mainly questioning whether this innovation is against the spirit of Shabbat and whether it will cause people to assume that all light switches are permitted on Shabbat.

Some lively discussions on the pros and cons of this product are taking place on Internet sites and only time will tell whether the proponents of technological innovation prevail or whether those who resist all new approaches keep this product from becoming popular in their communities.

Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem.

(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.)

Jewish Humor Central Featured on Voice of Israel Radio Show

On the set of Israeli satire show Eretz Nehederet (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)

On Tuesday we were interviewed on the Voice of Israel radio network by Molly Livingstone, the station's humorist and interviewer on her show, The Big Falafel.

Molly shares our interest in spreading laughter and showing the world that Israel is a funny country.

Molly kicked off the interview with her comments on a 24-hour-visit to Jerusalem the day before by Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, a visit that we didn't know about and frankly didn't care about. 

But then she settled into the main interview about Jewish Humor Central, how it got started, and how we manage to keep it going through 1,700 posts over six years to thousands of readers in 210 countries. OK, most of them are in the US, Israel, Canada, the UK, Australia, and South Africa, but we do get some in Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

We talked about humor in Israel and how it differs from humor in other countries. Toward the end of the interview, we discussed the challenges of a humor site posting appropriate material on days such as Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, and Yom HaAtzmaut. We hope you find the questions and the answers interesting and meaningful.

Yom HaShoah Remembrance: Itzhak Perlman Plays John Williams' Theme from Schindler's List

This evening marks the start of Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) around the world.

As Edward Serotta wrote in Haaretz this week,

The date is commemorated in a great variety of ways. There are the events and ceremonies – a candle lighting in a synagogue here, a school presentation there; all traffic comes to a stop in Israel at 10 A.M. Speeches are delivered. 

Then there are programs like March of the Living, which sends thousands of Jewish teenagers to walk through concentration camps in what had been German-occupied Poland (they often leave out the ‘German-occupied’ part) with the goal of having them witness the horrible past – they stand in Birkenau on Holocaust Remembrance Day – then fly to Israel to witness the bright Jewish future.

Today we're taking a break from humor to honor the spirit of the day by sharing a video clip that we found of Itzhak Perlman (2003 Kennedy Center Honors honoree) playing a beautiful rendition of the theme from Schindler's List for John Williams, a Kennedy Center Honors recipient the following year.

Williams was picked by director Steven Spielberg to write the music and Perlman played the violin in the film.

(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.)

"Fat, Black, and Jewish" - Funny Storyteller Annie Korzen on How She Became a Grandmother

There are many styles of humor. It's not only jokes! A form of humor that's growing in popularity is storytelling.

Storytelling groups are popping up all over the world, especially in Los Angeles, where actress Annie Korzen lives. Not all stories are funny, but many are.

Annie is a master in the art of storytelling, both in telling her own funny personal stories, and also in teaching a course in how to tell stories.

Annie played the role of Doris Klompus on Seinfeld, has appeared on other TV shows and films and is also a regular on the Old Jews Telling Jokes website. Her droll humor has been a feature of many spoken word events.

Annie has been presenting her latest story, Fat, Black, and Jewish at various storytelling locations and has received standing ovations. Today we're sharing this story with you. It's about how a chubby black baby got her to change her mind about grandmotherhood.

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.)

A Joke to Start the Week - "The Plaque in the Shul Foyer"

Now that Passover is over, we've said goodbye to all the Pesach music videos old and new. If we find any good new ones that we missed, we'll save them for posting next year.

But it's Monday again, and it's time to share another Joke to Start the Week. While we've been working out of our Jewish Humor Central Jerusalem office, we've been recording our own jokes for this exclusive weekly feature.

Our temporary video studio in Israel has been working overtime to find and film some choice oldie but goodie jokes. We have a few more ready to go until we move back to our home base in New Jersey, and you'll be seeing them in the weeks ahead.

Here's the setup for today's joke: One Shabbat morning Rabbi Goldfarb notices 7-year-old Jonathan staring up at the large plaque hanging in the shul foyer. It's covered with names, and small American flags around it on either side of it. And then...

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.)

Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: When Jazz Singer Billie Holiday Sang "My Yiddishe Mama"

This week marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary songstress Billie Holiday, who died in 1959 at the age of 44. A few years before her death, Holiday recorded an impromptu cover of the Jewish classic My Yiddishe Mama, which was composed by Jack Yellen and Lew Pollack and popularized by vaudeville star Sophie Tucker in 1925.

By the late 1930s, Billie Holiday had toured with Count Basie and Artie Shaw, scored a string of radio and retail hits with Teddy Wilson, and became an established artist in the recording industry. Her songs What A Little Moonlight Can Do and Easy Living were being imitated by singers across America and were quickly becoming jazz standards.[

As Elissa Goldstein wrote in Tablet Magazine,

The song has been covered many times, by everyone from the Barry Sisters to Neil Sedaka to—improbably—Tom Jones, who apparently learned it from his father, a Welsh coal miner. (Also noteworthy: this rendition by Ray Charles on the set of The Nanny.)

Holiday’s version is something else entirely: with a simple piano accompaniment, it’s nostalgic but not kitschy, full of sentiment without being sentimental, evoking both strength and vulnerability.

According to the liner notes of the Idelsohn Society’s 2011 compilation “Black Sabbath: The Secret Musical History of Black-Jewish Relations,” the song was recorded at the New York City home of clarinetist Tony Scott, in an effort to coax his baby into ‘talking’ into the microphone.

Another version of the story, by musician Jack Gottlieb, has it that the child was the son of William Dufty, who co-authored Holiday’s autobiography, “Lady Sings the Blues.” In any event, Holiday’s crooning is successful—how could it fail?—and the child can be heard cooing toward the end of the recording. It’s a delightful, candid moment.

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.)

A Fun Passover Parody From an Energetic Massachusetts Congregation

If only Passover lasted longer than eight days! Then we'd have more time to share the growing number of Pesach videos that keep coming.

We thought of holding some for next year, but every year we get more and more of them so we'd never catch up. We're lucky that the holiday lasts long enough for the taste of matzo to linger and not let the music videos go stale.

Here's one that we think you'll enjoy and the last Pesach video of the year . It's a parody of Let it Go from the Disney Movie Frozen. Yes, we know there have been many last year and just now, but we think this one is worth your attention. It was created in by Chuck Green, with new lyrics by Elyse Heise, and performed by congregants and friends of Congregation B'nai Shalom in Westborough, MA.

Once again we're taking a couple of days off to celebrate the end of Passover. We'll be back on Sunday with our usual mix.

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.)   

Seinfeld "Soup Nazi" Serves Customers and Reminisces at Long Island Shopping Mall

Actor Larry Thomas, the "Soup Nazi" on TV's Seinfeld, came to the Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City, New York to promote the opening of The Original Soupman’s Delicatessen & Grill on Saturday, March 21, 2015.

Thomas spoke about his experience on "Seinfeld" and his work with The Original Soupman brand. (Credit: Newsday / Jessica Rotkiewicz and Jeffrey Basinger).

"The Soup Nazi" is the 116th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, which was the sixth episode of the seventh season. It first aired in the United States on November 2, 1995.

The Soup Nazi is also the nickname of the eponymous character played by Larry Thomas. The term "Nazi" is used as an exaggeration of the excessively strict regimentation he constantly demands of his patrons. 

 A video clip of the funniest Soup Nazi moments on Seinfeld appears below the interview 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.)   

The Lego Passover Movie - A New Retelling for a New Generation

In each and every generation, a person is obligated to regard himself as though he actually left Egypt. As it says: "You shall tell your son on that day, It is because of this that God took me out of Egypt" (Exodus 13:8). 

But every generation has its own methods of communication, and uses them to tell the story in a different way. We've heard the Passover story retold many different ways at the seder this weekend, and in many varieties of YouTube videos.  

The Lego Passover Movie (video below)  is the second in a series of productions filmed with a single iPad by 8-year-old director Ayal Englander and his 13-year-old sister Yaffa.  Their voices are the only ones heard in the movie.  

Ayal is very interested in Legos and collects ‘mini-figures’ in part so he will have the characters to retell the narratives of the Jewish holidays.  The first installment was the Lego Purim Movie .

He went to a nearby week-long summer camp program on filming ‘stop-action’ movies and really took to it.  It is a lengthy process of constantly resetting the figures and the backgrounds, and it also involves a lot of trial and error.  

Making the movies is not only fun for him, but it also allows him to retell these important stories focusing on the details that he feels are central, casting them in his own words and from his own perspective.

We think Ayal has a real future in movie making. (Full disclosure: Ayal and Yaffa are grand-nephew and grand-niece of Jewish Humor Central Blogger-in-Chief Al Kustanowitz.)

Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week - "Israeli Jet Fighter"

Today is Monday, but it's also Chol Hamoed, one of the intermediate days of Passover. So we think it's appropriate to tell a Joke to Start the Week with a Pesach theme.

There aren't that many Passover jokes, but the ones that are retold are classic oldies but goodies.

Keeping with the Pesach connection, here's the setup: Ever since he was a little boy, Benjy wanted to be an aeronautical engineer and build jet airplanes. He went to the best schools, he worked very hard, and finally got his degree. 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.)  

The Boys of Boys Town Jerusalem Ask Tonight's Four Questions

Boys Town Jerusalem is one of Israel's premier institutions for educating the country's next generation of leaders in the fields of technology, commerce, education, the military and public service. 

Since its founding in 1948, BTJ has pursued its mission of turning 6,500 young boys from limited backgrounds into young men with limitless futures.

We previously posted videos featuring the boys of Boys Town on Chanukah and on Pesach. Today we're sharing a view of the boys really getting into cleaning and preparing for the seder and singing the four questions that will be asked in Jewish homes all over the world tonight.

Enjoy the seder (sedarim if you're not in Israel), and have a happy and kosher Pesach. We're taking a break to enjoy Passover in Jerusalem with our family and we'll be back with a Joke to Start the Week on Monday.

Chag Sameach!


(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.) 
 

"Can't Eat This" - A Passover Parody by Julie Geller

What would a Jewish holiday be like without a new music video from Julie Geller? In the last two years she's  given us new musical creations for Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and two for Chanukah.

This year she's composed a funny parody of the pop song U Can't Touch This called Can't Eat This, focusing on the do's and don'ts associated with food on Pesach.
 
Julie, raised in Colorado where she now lives with her family, also spent time in Boston, San Diego, and Israel. She has taken on a mission to bring love and healing into the world through her music. 
  
Julie is a graduate of Harvard University and the New England Conservatory of Music. She studied at Bar Ilan University and Midreshet Lindenbaum in Israel. 
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.)    

Continuing Our Countdown to Passover with Uptown Funk

With the seder only two days away, we still have a few more music videos to share. Today we're featuring Uptown Passover, a Pesach-themed parody of Uptown Funk, the hit Mark Ronson song featuring Bruno Mars. 

Six13 is a six-man vocal band that brings an unprecedented style of Jewish music to the stage, with songs ranging from hip-hop dance tracks to rock anthems. The members of the New York City-based group sound like a full band – while using nothing but their voices.

Six13 has recorded five award-winning albums, whose songs have been played all over Jewish radio and been chosen to appear on nine different “best of” compilation albums. The group has over 20,000 CDs in circulation, and are among the top Jewish music artists on iTunes.
 
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 New Multi-Genre Twist on Dayenu by the Maccabeats

The Maccabeats, an a cappella group that started out in 2009 as Yeshiva University's student vocal group, has come a long way. 

Now an independent musical ensemble, and often traveling with little more than the shirts on their backs and the ties on their necks, the Maccabeats have entertained and inspired hundreds of audiences worldwide, from Alabama to New Zealand and everywhere in between. 

Using nothing more than the unadulterated human voice, a clean-cut presentation, and a little Jewish humor, this unique group of singers is able to connect with fans of all backgrounds and ages.

This week they released their latest holiday video, a version -- actually multiple versions -- of Dayenu, one of the most popular songs in the Passover Haggadah. In the space of four minutes, they offer doo-wop, polka, funk, metal, island, dubstep (electronic music), and barbershop.

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 Joke to Start the Week - "Actor in an Ape Suit"

We're counting down the days to Pesach, and lining up some good videos to post through the holiday. But it's Monday morning, and we're taking a break from Passover videos to post a joke to start the week.

Passover marks the beginning of a new year (yes, Tishrei and Rosh Hashanah also mark the start of a new year, but we're not going into that now).  Our way of getting this new year off to a good start is to introduce some new sources of Jewish jokes.

Until now, most of our Monday morning jokes have come from Old Jews Telling Jokes, and we're grateful to Sam Hoffman for pioneering this genre, but now we're branching out into our own series of Jersey Jews Telling Jokes, Florida Jews Telling Jokes, Israeli Jews Telling Jokes, and others.

Today's joke teller is Al Kustanowitz, entertainer, author, lecturer, and Jewish Humor Central's Blogger-in-Chief. Al is blogging from Jerusalem this month, having just returned from a month of performances in South Florida. He's now accepting bookings for his hour-long programs of Jewish humor for the rest of the year and for next winter in South Florida.

Here's the setup: Herschel, a Jewish actor, is so down and out that he's ready to take any acting job that he can find. Finally he finds a classified ad that says "Actor Needed to Play an Ape." 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.)   

Dancing up a Storm to Share Passover with Israel's Needy

Yad Ezra v'Shulamit, an Israeli charity that feeds over 3,000 hungry families a week, has set an ambitious goal for itself as we count down the days to Pesach (Only 5 left to go).

It plans to distribute 20,000 baskets of Passover food this week. To create awareness of the project, it enlisted a talented team of dancers and singer Ari Goldwag to drive the point home.

Last Chanukah we posted a video of Rabbi Ari Goldwag, a prolific writer, lecturer, singer and musician singing Chanukah Lights that got a very good reception from our readers.  He is the featured singer in this new video just released by Yad Ezra v'Shulamit.

While we generally don't solicit donations on this site, we thought the dancing and positive energy emerging from this number justifies its inclusion in our collection of new Passover videos. If Yad Ezra v'Shulamit gets some new contributors because of it, we wish them every success.

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.)   

Hasidic Comedian Mendy Pellin on a Seder That You Don't Want to Attend

Hasidic comedian Mendy Pellin performed a stand-up Pesach comedy routine before a Hasidic crowd. 

In the routine, he describes the ordeal he had to go through as a guest in a house with 17 kids who recited Ma Nishtanah, one after the other. Oy vey!

And if that wasn't enough, there was the nemesis who stands in the way of the food with extra questions after every paragraph in the Haggadah. And some hilarious speculation about what would happen if separation of men and women went too far.

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.) 

Israel's Technion Students Give Us a Rube Goldberg Seder

Technion students are always eager to demonstrate their scientific and engineering talents, and the Jewish holidays give them the opportunity to apply their knowledge in humorous ways.

Their creativity flourishes on Chanukah, and we have posted some of their funny videos on Chanukah and also on Rosh Hashanah.

This year, as they get ready for Passover, the festival of freedom, they let their imagination run wild. Watch closely as this Rube Goldberg Machine created by students from the Faculties of Mechanical Engineering and Architecture and Town Planning relates highlights of the Passover story.

The video was produced in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in The Sydney & Shirley Gendel and Emanuel Friedberg Family Creative Design Student Laboratory, a Project of the American Technion Society, Cleveland Chapter

You can also watch Behind the Scenes to see how it was made: https://youtu.be/pOpryQ_tmUs

(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.) 

350 HaZamir Teens Give Rousing Choral Performance at Lincoln Center

If you weren't seated in Avery Fisher Hall in New York's Lincoln Center last Sunday, you really missed something big.

For two hours, 350 teenagers from 26 chapters of HaZamir Jewish High School Choir across the United States and in five cities in Israel gave a stunning performance to a packed house, singing 20 traditional and contemporary songs in Hebrew, English, and Yiddish.

HaZamir, the International Jewish High School Choir, is an international network of choral chapters for Jewish teens. Local HaZamir chapters meet weekly in cities across America and Israel to rehearse and perform Jewish choral music.

HaZamir provides Jewish teenagers the unique opportunity to sing at the highest performance level, build pluralistic community, and create strong Israel-Diaspora relations in the next generation.

Each local HaZamir chapter is directed by a talented conductor whose devotion to the highest standard of Jewish music-making helps to inspire the next generation of Jewish choral singers.

In this excerpt from the performance, filmed at a rehearsal, Dr. Marsha Bryan Edelman of HaZamir Philadelphia conducts the choir in her arrangement of Ahinoam Nini's song Mishaela, accompanied by Lior Ben-Shlush of HaZamir Kfar Saba at the piano.

Just below is another video of the same choir two years ago performing David Burger's Tefila l'shlom Eretz Yisrael - the prayer for the State of Israel that is said in many synagogues on Shabbat.


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.)