Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Mezinke Wedding Dance in Bulgarian Swimming Pool

The Mezinke dance is a dance done at Ashkenazi weddings when a youngest child is married off, after all of the elder siblings are already married.

The parents, siblings and their spouses take part (there are both mixed and separate versions). Each dancer is armed with an ornate tinsel-decorated broom and dustpan. With these festive implements, they mime sweeping the youngest child out of the door as the dance music rises to a joyous, frenzied tempo.

The origins of the Mezinke dance are obscure, but it appears to be a Chasidic custom. There are obviously a number of politically correct reasons not to do the Mezinke dance - it may hurt the feelings of guests who have older, unmarried children, and it suggests that the parents are, heaven forbid, delighted to be offloading their youngest child.

We never expected to see the dance performed, minus the broom and dustpan, in a swimming pool in Bulgaria. But that's exactly where the video below was recorded and posted by folk dance teacher Ira Weisburd.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Shalom Aleichem by Andrew Susman and the Megiddo Project

Today we welcome Shabbat with Shalom Aleichem sung by Andrew Susman and his band. Andy is a Song Leader, Cantorial Soloist, and founder of The Megiddo Project, a band that performs at Shabbat Journey and Sound Healing, a Yoga center in Coral Springs, Florida. 

The service announcement invites attendees to "Inhale Peace, Exhale Release. Nurture Your Soul with Music, Movement, Mantra and Meditation."

Andy has more than 25 years of experience as a song leader and been affiliated with numerous synagogues in both Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.  He was a member of JNF’s National Performing Artists’ Troupe, on staff for over 20 years at various JCC and BBYO Summer Camp programs, and twice attended HAVA NASHIRA, the National Song Leaders Institute sponsored by the Reform Movement.  He is also a member of the Folk Club of South Florida ( Dade ) and Broward Folk Club.

Andrew started playing in college as a hobby, later evolving into a song leader and cantorial soloist, using the guitar as a vehicle to tell stories whether through words or melody alone.

Andy considers himself to be an eclectic Jew, gleaning from all movements and ‘Schools of Thought.’ His goal is the creation of a meaningful service that speaks to the heart, mind and soul of the congregation.  His repertoire includes a blend of Traditional Hazzanut, Israeli Folk, Traditional American Folk  & Contemporary  “Pop”/American Jewish Folk melodies. 

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Gilda Radner as Roseanne Roseannadanna on King Tut

Today's throwback skit goes back 40 years to 1979 when the late, great Gilda Radner was riding high on Saturday Night Live with her brilliant cast of invented characters. 

One of our favorites was Roseanne Roseannadanna, a character based on Rose Ann Scamardella, a former anchorwoman on WABC-TV's Eyewitness News in New York City. The character also appeared later in Radner's live one-woman shows.

Let's turn the clock back 40 years to 1979 when Gilda appeared as Roseanne Roseannadanna on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update to report on the King Tut exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Enjoy!

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Comedy Showcase: Meet Helaine Witt, Retired Schoolteacher and Standup Comic

Helaine Witt has been writing jokes and doing standup comedy for 32 years. She has written for Joan Rivers and other comedians, and has been touring the comedy club circuit. 

Her work includes one liners, current event jokes for presentations, speeches, and comedy roasts.

A retired schoolteacher, she includes anecdotes from her teaching days in her routines.

Here's an appearance by Helaine at New York City's Gotham Comedy Club.

Enjoy!

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Comedy Showcase: Wendy Liebman Shares What It's Like Being a Woman on "America's Got Talent"

Wendy Liebman has been performing stand-up comedy for more than 20 years. We like her style. It's mostly clean and reminds us of Rita Rudner, another of our favorites.

Wendy has been called the master of the one-liner with subliminal afterthought. Her distinctive style includes quick, clever follow-ups after her jokes. She starts the joke leading it to one direction then changes it. As in "This Thanksgiving I made a 28 pound turkey ... pot pie," or "I really like to shop....lift."

She has appeared at comedy clubs and most of the late night TV shows. According to her website, she counts among her accomplishments the American Comedy Award for Best Female Standup in 1996, and clue #23 down in a New York Magazine crossword puzzle in 2010.

In this video Wendy appears on America's Got Talent and talks about being a woman comedian. 

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Stopped by a Cop"

In August 2012 we started a weekly feature on Jewish Humor Central -- the Monday Joke to Start the Week. We find it hard to believe that in the last seven years we've posted 280 jokes from many sources -- all of them clean and family-friendly.

Jewish jokes, especially those told by old Jews, tend to be somewhat risque or off-color. If we didn't have a policy of posting only family-friendly jokes, we would have a virtually unlimited supply of new (well, actually not new but previously unposted) jokes to share with you.

We haven't run out yet, and we still have a small supply of these jokes to post for the rest of this year. As we get to the bottom of the list, we're asking for your opinion on whether we should end the series when the clean jokes run out or whether we should start re-running some of the more popular old jokes. Please let us have your opinion in the comments section below.

In the meantime, here's today's joke. It's another one from Toronto's Jewish Folks Telling Jokes, a night of comedy to benefit Jewish Family and Child, one of the foremost Jewish service agencies in North America.

We previously posted a few jokes that were told at the event, a Canadian contribution to the world of Jewish humor, probably inspired by the off-Broadway show Old Jews Telling Jokes, still touring around the USA.

We'll be posting more of these jokes on upcoming Mondays. Here's another oldie but goodie, told by Ellen Levine.

Here's the setup: Sam is driving down the highway, minding his own business. He looks in the rear view mirror and he sees that the police are after him. And then...

Enjoy! 

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Teaching Dogs Yiddish in Central Park

In September and again in October, the historic Yiddish organization The Workmen's Circle invited owners to bring their dogs for an event in Central Park where dogs are taught commands like 'sit' and 'down' in Yiddish.

As Alix Strauss wrote in The New York Times,

The class was organized by Workmen’s Circle, a progressive Jewish community and education nonprofit. “People want to teach their dog Yiddish,” said David Dossick, the event manager at the Circle. “It’s a New York thing to do.”

Steve Zelman, 69, from Sutton Place, Manhattan, was there with Ollie, his longhaired miniature dachshund to “meet some nice Jewish dogs,” he said.

Edna Schwartz, also 69, came in from Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, with Puma, her miniature poodle, for the training aspect. “My family would yell at us in Yiddish, so this reminds me of my childhood,” she said. “My dog is here to learn how to behave, listen and respond.”

Enjoy!


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Welcoming Shabbat with a Motown Version of Shalom Aleichem

Every Friday we try to welcome Shabbat with a musical variation on the liturgical poems that comprise the Kabbalat Shabbat service. Over the years we've posted 30 versions of Shalom Aleichem, 28 versions of Lecha Dodi, 52 versions of Adon Olam, and many other renditions of familiar Shabbat melodies.

They represent all points on the Jewish spectrum, from Reform to Orthodox. But no one synagogue or group has given us more to post than the Los Angeles community known as Beit T'shuvah. In addition to regular weekly services, it's mission is to guide individuals and families towards a path of living well, so that wrestling souls can recover from addiction and learn how to properly heal.
 
The Beit T'Shuvah faith-based model, founded on authenticity and wholeness, integrates spirituality, psychotherapy, Jewish teachings, the 12 Steps, and the creative arts. They are a compassionate, supportive community, devoted to building an empowering sense of belonging and purpose to everyone who seeks it.
 
They also have a knack of fitting the familiar Shabbat tunes to different pop music genres, including, Rock and Roll, Country and Western, The Beatles, and most recently, the Motown Sound.
 
Here's an excerpt from last week's service with the shul band welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi set to the 1961 Motown song Please Mr. Postman, the debut single by the Marvelettes and the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. 

Please Mr. Postman became a number-one hit again in early 1975 when the Carpenters' cover of the song reached the top position of the Billboard Hot 100. It has been covered several times, including by The Beatles in 1963.
 
Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Sid Caesar as a Performing Seal on Your Show of Shows

One of Sid Caesar's many talents was mastering the art of pantomime. His weekly TV program, Your Show of Shows, was the venue for Sid to display this talent. We have posted episodes of Sid pantomiming a piano concerto and a woman getting dressed.

Lets turn the clock back 67 years to April 1952 when Sid appeared in pantomime on Your Show of Shows as a performing seal with Imogene Coca as his trainer.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Comedy Showcase: Orthodox Comedian Ashley Blaker on Jews Wearing Baseball Hats

Ashley Blaker is an internationally acclaimed British Orthodox comedian, seen and heard on TV and radio across the world. He has performed on five continents including tours of the UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, Israel and Australia.

His five week run Off-Broadway was called ‘a slickly funny stand-up show’ by the New York Times. In August 2018, Ashley made his debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a sold-out run of his show ‘Observant Jew’. 

Today we're sharing another stand-up routine by Ashley Blaker.  In this video, Ashley reflects on Jewish men walking around in suits and wearing baseball caps to avoid looking Jewish.   

Enjoy!

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Leonard Cohen Tribute in Yiddish: Batsheva Sings "Dance Me to the End of Love"

In February 2017, Toronto's Beth Tzedec Congregation celebrated the life, words and music of the legendary Leonard Cohen with a Kabbalat Shabbat service and dinner, special Shaẖarit service and a community concert. 

Batsheva Capek is a Canadian Jewish folksinger who is living in the USA with her song writer – composer husband. At the Leonard Cohen Tribute Concert, she sang her own Yiddish translation of Cohen's classic Dance Me to the End of Love.

She preceded the song with a short story about how she met Cohen at a dinner in Toronto's King Edward Hotel.

Enjoy!

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If you'd like to see Cohen's original music video of this song, here it is. So far it has been seen 50 million times on YouTube.

A Joke to Start the Week - "A Sudden Change"

We were lucky to discover a collection of more jokes from the talented Toronto joke tellers who put on a performance of Jewish Folks Telling Jokes, a night of comedy to benefit Jewish Family and Child, one of the foremost Jewish service agencies in North America. 

We previously posted a few jokes that were told at the event, a Canadian contribution to the world of Jewish humor, probably inspired by the off-Broadway show Old Jews Telling Jokes, still touring around the USA.

We'll be posting some of these jokes on upcoming Mondays. Here's another oldie but goodie, told by Norman Gilbert.

Here's the setup:  The restaurant opens. Every day Moishe comes in and he sits at the same table. The waitresses love to see him come in. One day he doesn't come in. And then...

Enjoy!

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Koolulam Brings 8,000 Strangers Together to Sing About Love

The amphitheater in the Mini Israel Park at Latrun is home to some of Israel’s greatest outdoor summer concerts. The concerts at Latrun are conveniently located for the center of the country, and attract some of Israel’s greatest musicians every year. The intimate venue, with beautiful peaceful surroundings is a brilliant place to enjoy great music.

On August 15th, 2019, 8,000 people came together at the Latrun amphitheater to sing about love and how it triumphs everything. This happened thanks to one newlywed couple called Yariv and Elinore, who after participating in Koolulam events that strengthened their love, decided to fund a mass singing event instead of a traditional wedding. 

This enabled thousands to experience what they had felt while attending a Koolulam event almost two years ago. And this is what it looked like... Koolulam is a social-musical initiative, meant to bring together people from any and all walks of life. The idea is to simply stop everything for a few hours and just sing - together.

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Welcoming Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh by the Ramatayim Men's Choir

Late in 1995, four enthusiasts gathered in the Ramot suburb of Jerusalem, to sing choral music they recalled from synagogue services in their youth. Since then the choir has grown to 40 choristers, native Israelis and Olim from 4 continents who share a love of the great tradition of Jewish liturgical music and of singing together.

 

The choir appears regularly at concert halls and synagogues throughout Israel. Their list of approximately 250 performances includes appearances alongside some of the finest cantors in the world as well as artists in different genres. They have appeared in concert with the Israel Symphonette Orchestra on national television and radio and have also performed at the residence of the President of Israel.

The choir's repertoire consists mainly of Jewish liturgical music and includes Chassidic and Israeli songs, pop, opera and folk music. All activities are performed on a voluntary basis. They perform regularly in support of various Israeli and Jewish charitable and social causes. A distinctive feature of the choir's activity is their active collaboration with ensembles of the same genre, inaugurating and hosting joint concerts in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The choir's name derives from Ramatayim-Tzofim, in the hill country of Ephraim, birthplace of Samuel the Prophet, mentioned in the Book of Samuel 1 (1:1) and associated with the suburb Ramot, Jerusalem.

 

In this video they sing Yedid Nefesh, a liturgical poem that is sung before the start of the Kabbalat Shabbat service on Friday nights. The lead singer is Yitzchak Meir, and the choir is conducted by director Richard Shavei-Tzion.

 

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

 

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Groucho Marx as the Hotel Clerk in "A Night in Casablanca"

In the Marx Brothers film A Night in Casablanca Ronald Kornblow (Groucho Marx) takes over as the manager of a luxurious hotel in Casablanca, in the aftermath of World War II. 

After discovering that both of his predecessors had been murdered, Kornblow begins to fear for his safety -- especially when Nazi Count Pfefferman (Sig Ruman) tries to take over Kornblow's job in a bid to get his hands on valuable items that were stashed in the hotel by the Nazis at the tail end of the war.

In this funny clip from the film, Groucho has his way in dealing with hotel guests. 

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Comedy Showcase: Orny Adams on The Signs You're Getting Old

 

Orny Adams (Adam Jason Orenstein) delivers a powerful, incisive stand-up routine that vacillates between the relevant and the absurd. Orny attacks what’s wrong with the world and sometimes even what’s wrong with Orny. He’s brutally honest, satirical and his performance is ceaselessly energetic.  

 

We first ran into Orny Adams at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal two years ago. Last year we posted a comedy clip of Orny in one of his Showtime specials. Orny has been performing on late night TV shows and other comedy venues, and he's a regular at the Just for Laughs Festival.

Here's an excerpt from one of his recent Just For Laughs Festival performances. In it he busts a texter and then talks about why he's glad he didn't grow up with Facebook and the different things you notice when you get older.

Enjoy!

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Netanyahu Gives Visiting Pompeo a Tour of His Sukkah

On Friday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Israel and the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a joint statement they reaffirmed the strong close relationship between the two countries.

At the end of the meeting, Netanyahu and US ambassador David Friedman showed Pompeo the residence’s sukkah, or temporary booth, built for the Sukkot holiday. “Since you’re visiting here on the holiday of Sukkot, we sit in the sukkah during the Feast of Tabernacles. We remember what it was like when we didn’t have a permanent home,” said Netanyahu. 

 “We sit here to have our family meals and visitors sit here in the sukkah.” “When you put the schach on the top, it is supposed to be porous enough so that you can see the stars. One problem is what do you do when it rains? The answer is you go in.” “This is a typical sukkah, and my kids used to draw drawings for it.”

Tonight and Monday we celebrate the holiday of Shemini Atzeret followed by Simchat Torah on Tuesday. We'll be back with more Jewish Humor Central postings on Wednesday.

Chag Sameach! 

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Welcoming Shabbat with Ana B'koach by Merav Brenner and the Hallel Chorus

This week we welcome Shabbat with Ana b'Koach, a liturgical poem from the Kabbalat Shabbat service that appears in the siddur just before Lecha Dodi. It's a Kabbalistic prayer composed by Rav Nehunia Ben Hakannah.

Known as the 42-letter Name of God, Ana b'Koach is a unique formula built of 42 letters written in seven sentences of six words each. Each of the seven sentences correspond to the seven days of the week, seven specific angels, and to a particular heavenly body. The letters that make up Ana beKo'ach are encoded within the first 42 letters of the book of Genesis.

The kabbalists explain that this combination of letters takes us back to the time of Creation, and each time we meditate on a particular sequence, we return to the original uncorrupted energy that built the world. By performing the Ana beKo'ach meditation, we enrich our lives with unadulterated spiritual Light and positive energy.

This version of Ana b'Koach is sung by Hallel, an Israeli women's chorus led by Merav Brenner. The Hebrew text and translation appear below the video.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom! 

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Don Rickles at His Audience-Insulting Best

On this Throwback Thursday let's go back to December, 12, 1972 when Don Rickles had fun with a TV audience, walking up the aisle and finding willing and unwilling subjects to poke fun at.

Don Rickles was one of comedy’s most famous funnymen. For over 55 years he appeared in top showrooms and concert halls throughout the world. He was regarded among the world’s top entertainers. Rickles earned the nicknames “The Merchant of Venom” and “Mr. Warmth” (coined affectionately by Johnny Carson) for his style of humor in which he poked fun at people of all ethnicities and walks of life. 

Rickles’ style was never mean-spirited—it was all just part of the act. In reality, most knew him to be quite genial and pleasant. It has been said that being “insulted” by Rickles is like “wearing a badge of honor.” This is classic television comedy, perfect for fans of Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Dean Martin Variety Show, and other great comedy. 

Rickles was one of the last of the great old-school comedians. This vintage segmeint from his 1972 special show him at his original, insulting best!

Enjoy! 

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Origins of Jewish Comedy Explored on PBS by Professor Jeremy Dauber

In a TV interview on the PBS show Metro Focus, host Jack Ford has a conversation with Jeremy Dauber, Columbia professor and author of the book Jewish Comedy: A Serious History.

The interview touches on an analysis of Jewish humor -- its nature, its development, and its vital role throughout Jewish history. Dauber's book contains plenty of jokes to illustrate the rich tradition of Jewish humor.

Dauber explains how humor has sustained the Jewish people, even through the harshest of times. Jewish comedy is not just an American phenomenon -- it goes all the way back to the Bible.

Enjoy!

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Sukkot is Here - Get Ready to Shake Your Lulav with Rebbetzin Tap!

With Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the rear view mirror, Sukkot is suddenly here. Starting tonight, we'll be spending lots of time in the Sukkah --eating, drinking, and spending special time with family and friends. Some of us may also be sleeping in the Sukkah, weather permitting.

As we head into a seven day period of saying special blessings while holding the lulav, etrog, myrtle and willow branches together and giving them a good shake, let's get the holiday off to a good start with Rebbetzin Tap and her entourage.

Rebbetzin Tap is Kerry Bar-Cohn, the only female chiropractor in Ramat Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem, where she lives with her husband David and four sons.
 
But that's only her day job. As "Rebbetzin Tap," she produces music and dance DVDs for children, as well as online courses and a plethora of YouTube videos, whose goal is to emphasize the “joy” component in Judaism and in life, and to teach self-esteem and empowerment.

Why Rebbetzin Tap? Because tap dancing is part of all her music videos.
She has a background in stage performance, first as a child, then attending the High School of Performing Arts in New York, and subsequently returning to performance ten years ago after making aliyah.

We'll be taking tomorrow and Tuesday off to celebrate Sukkot, and we'll be back with our usual Jewish Humor Central mix on Wednesday.

Chag Sameach!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi at a Simon and Garfunkel Shabbat in Georgia

Temple Kol Emeth is a Reform synagogue in Marietta, Georgia. Last month they featured a Simon and Garfunkel Shabbat, where they set most of the traditional Shabbat melodies to tunes made famous by the folk duo.

Today we're posting one of the Kabbalat Shabbat songs, Lecha Dodi, set to the music of Scarborough Fair, and performed by the Ahavat Torah Band, led by Cantor Blake Singer.

Singer has been the Cantorial Soloist for Temple Kol Emeth since 1986. His folk-style music for guitar and voice are used during worship services and lifecycle events. Blake incorporates a balanced blend of music into the worship experience, drawing from a wide variety of music genres that include traditional, Hassidic, camp, folk, country and rock & roll.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Buddy Hackett on the Johnny Carson Show in 1978

We thought that we had run out of Buddy Hackett videos and were pleasantly surprised to find another batch of Buddy's appearances on the Johnny Carson Tonight Show. It's rare to find a Hackett video these days, especially one that's clean.

So go back with us 41 years to 1978 when Buddy made one of his visits to Carson's late night show.

In this episode, Buddy tells stories about an unusual treatment for severe headache pain and his new vegetarian diet.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

An Amazingly Appetizing Yom Kippur Recipe from London's J-TV

J-TV: The Global Jewish Channel is based in London. It features weekly segments on Jewish wisdom, current affairs and entertainment. 

This year they've cooked up an amazingly appetizing recipe for Yom Kippur. There aren't many recipes for this fast day, but here's one you'll be sure to try.

We'll be attending synagogue services tonight and tomorrow, but we'll be back on Thursday with our usual mix at Jewish Humor Central.

Wishing you an easy and meaningful fast.

G'mar Chatimah Tovah!

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