Monday, August 25, 2025

A Joke to Start the Week - "Job Interview"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. This week we're posting another joke from Dr. Jay Orlikoff, a retired dentist from Centereach, New York, a community on Long Island in Suffolk County.

After a distinguished and meritorious dental career, he is shifting his focus to telling and posting jokes on YouTube. We were fortunate to find some of his jokes and we're sharing one of the family-friendly ones with you today. 

Here's the setup: An employer puts an ad in the paper. He's looking for someone who can type, can operate a computer, and is also bilingual. And then...

Enjoy!

Sunday, August 24, 2025

Long Story Short - A New Animated Jewish Family Dramedy is Now Available on Netflix

Netflix has just released a new very Jewish 10-episode animated comedy drama created by Bojack Horseman creator Raphael Bob Waksberg. We think it's worth watching the 25 minute episodes.

As Mira Fox, PJ Grisar, Olivia Haynie and Nora Berman wrote in The Forward

The Schwooper family, the central figures in the new animated Netflix series Long Story Short, are diverse and unique — religious and atheist, gay and straight, farmers and businesswomen. Simultaneously, they are basically like every Jewish family you’ve ever met. 

Naomi (Lisa Edelstein), the family’s domineering matriarch, is constantly nagging her kids to do better — her youngest son Yoshi (Max Greenfield) should be more professional; Shira (Abbi Jacobson), the middle child, should wear more dresses; her oldest, Avi (Ben Feldman) should be more observant. Her kids are constantly rolling their eyes and responding with sarcastic jabs. You’ve certainly seen this family. Maybe you’ve lived it.

Here's the official trailer. Enjoy! 

Friday, August 22, 2025

Welcoming Shabbat with Yismechu by Madeleine LeBeau of Rodef Shalom Congregation in Virginia

Madeleine LeBeau is a cantorial student at the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music of Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion. Her love of Jewish music and passion for the Jewish community took root in her home congregation, Temple Rodef Shalom in Northern Virginia. 

From age four through her graduation from high school, Madeleine took every opportunity to be engaged with Jewish life, from singing in multiple choirs to performing in Purim Shpiels to taking on leadership opportunities in her synagogue community. Through these experiences, Madeleine began to appreciate how building community – a true sense of connection and belonging – is essential to sustaining Judaism. 

In this video, Madeleine leads the congregation in singing Yismechu.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Israeli Comedy Showcase: Yohay Sponder Spars With His Audience at Funny Monday Comedy Club

Social media sensation Yohay Sponder has gone viral with his charming and unapologetic comments on Jews in general, Israeli Jews specifically, and overall audience interaction on topics ranging from political correctness (or not), Muslims, women, terrorists, gays, and the Holocaust — many things people are feeling, but stand back from expressing.

Since 2016, Sponder has been producing “Funny Monday,” an Israeli standup comedy show in English that, among other things, touches upon current events from an Israeli-Jewish point of view.

In this video, Sponder engages in banter with non-Jewish members of his Funny Monday audience from Panama and China.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: High Rise Delivery - A Candid Camera Classic

Candid Camera was an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947. 

After a series of theatrical film shorts, also titled Candid Microphone, Funt's concept came to television on August 10, 1948, and continued into the 1970s. 

The show involved concealing cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations, sometimes involving trick props, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed or a car with a hidden extra gas tank. When the joke was revealed, victims would be told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera."

Peter Funt joined the show professionally in 1987 when he became a co-host with his father. During this time the show was being broadcast on the CBS television network. In 1993, Allen Funt had a serious stroke, from which he never fully recovered. This required Peter to host the show full-time. 

The show went through a few revivals. During his time on the show Peter was a producer, host and acted on the show. He also produced and hosted over 200 episodes.

In this episode the Candid Camera crew raised a house 10 feet off the ground and waited while a succession of delivery people became frustrated in their attempts to deliver pizza, a taxi, flowers, Chinese food, and a singing telegram.

Enjoy!  

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Comedy Showcase: Actor/Comedian Paul Reiser on Lying About Our Age

Paul Reiser is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He comes from a Romanian Jewish family and attended the East Side Hebrew Institute, a Jewish Day School which merged with the Park East Synagogue in the early 1980s to become the Park East Day School.

He played the roles of Michael Taylor in the 1980s sitcom My Two Dads, Paul Buchman in the NBC sitcom Mad About You, Modell in the 1982 film Diner, and Detective Jeffrey Friedman in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise. He has gained recognition for his roles as Jim Neiman in the 2014 film Whiplash and Dr. Sam Owens in the Netflix series Stranger Things

Reiser is ranked 77th on Comedy Central's 2004 list of the "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time". The name of his production company, Nuance Productions, is inspired by one of his lines in the film Diner, where his character explains his discomfort with the word "nuance".  

In this excerpt from his first standup special in over 30 years, Reiser talks about the consequences of lying about our age as we get older.

Enjoy!

Monday, August 18, 2025

A Joke to Start the Week - "The Little Girl's Dog"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one to share with you. Here's the setup: Sol and Sophie are both 62 years old. They're celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in a very romantic restaurant. It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one. Here's the setup: A man was walking through a park in Paris and he saw a little girl playing with her dog, a Rottweiler. All of a sudden the dog attacked the girl and started to bite her. And then...

Enjoy! 

Sunday, August 17, 2025

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: An Early (1969) Performance by Rodney Dangerfield

Some of the best standup comedy was on TV shows in the 1960s. Today we continue our Sunday Standup series, sharing some of the classic routines by iconic comedians on Sunday editions of Jewish Humor Central.

Born Jacob Cohen and initially going by the stage name of Jack Roy, the 19-year old Rodney Dangerfield ventured into the world of stand-up only to find disappointment.  After nine years of going nowhere, he completely dropped out of showbiz and, to support his family, sold household aluminum siding.  Twenty-five years later, at the age of 45, Rodney decided to give comedy another try, appearing in clubs at night while still selling siding during the day.  He ultimately found success, due to luck, persistence and his enormous comedic talent.  

On March 5th 1967, he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.  Having seen what the show had done for other comics like Richard Pryor on The Ed Sullivan Show and Joan Rivers on The Ed Sullivan Show, Rodney knew that he was finally getting somewhere.  Luckily for viewers, Dangerfield had twenty-five years worth of pent-up comedy when he finally “made it.”  He appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show a total of 17 times between 1967 and 1971.   Audiences loved his stand-up routines and related to his famous catchphrase, “I don’t get no respect! No respect at all…” His self-deprecating style of comedy, ranging from childhood stories to shopping trip tales, to problems with his wife always resonated with middle America.  

Here's a classic performance by Rodney Dangerfield on the The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969.  

Enjoy!

Friday, August 15, 2025

Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam by Israeli Harpist Rivka Arki-Amar

Rivka Arki-Amar is a professional harpist and professor in Jerusalem
. She is a dedicated and accomplished musician with experience performing in various settings and genres, including classical, contemporary, and folk music. 

Her focus is on technique and expression, and she is known for her professionalism and ability to adapt to diverse performance environments. She also collaborates with other musicians and artists.

Today we welcome Shabbat with Rivka Arki-Amar playing Uzi Hitman's version of Adon Olam on her harp as filmed in Jerusalem's City of David.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Thursday, August 14, 2025

Comedy Showcase: Violinist Itzhak Perlman Tells a Funny Story for Music Lovers

Israeli-American violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman is a man of many talents. In addition to an extensive recording and performance career, Perlman has continued to make appearances on television shows such as The Tonight Show and Sesame Street as well as playing at a number of White House functions. 

Itzhak Perlman's home videos have been going viral with over 6+ million views across all his social media channels (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram). 

On the lighter side, Perlman has a YouTube channel on which he posts some of his cooking achievements and funny stories.

Here's a joke about Hollywood actors and classical composers that includes a pun that he loves to share. Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Israeli Comedy Showcase: Shahar Hason on Tourism and Living in Israel

Shahar Hasson is one of the leading stand-up comedians in Israel, appearing on Israeli stages for over 25 years, He is a graduate of Yoram Levinstein's acting school. 

Shahar is an entertainer who paved his way through the best entertainment programs in Israel: Eretz Nehederet, Zahirut TV, TV at its best, Laughter from Work, Limited Edition, Fun Night, Express Hearts and more.

In this performance before a live audience, Shahar engages the crowd with funny observations about Israeli and Japanese names, tourism, and living in Israel in a time of war.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Comedy Showcase: Actor/Comedian Paul Reiser on "The Arc of Life"

Paul Reiser is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He comes from a Romanian Jewish family and attended the East Side Hebrew Institute, a Jewish Day School which merged with the Park East Synagogue in the early 1980s to become the Park East Day School.

He played the roles of Michael Taylor in the 1980s sitcom My Two Dads, Paul Buchman in the NBC sitcom Mad About You, Modell in the 1982 film Diner, and Detective Jeffrey Friedman in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise. He has gained recognition for his roles as Jim Neiman in the 2014 film Whiplash and Dr. Sam Owens in the Netflix series Stranger Things

Reiser is ranked 77th on Comedy Central's 2004 list of the "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time". The name of his production company, Nuance Productions, is inspired by one of his lines in the film Diner, where his character explains his discomfort with the word "nuance".  

In this excerpt from his first standup special in over 30 years, Reiser talks about The Arc of Life and funny aspects of getting older. Enjoy!

Monday, August 11, 2025

A Joke to Start the Week - "Buying a Boat"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today we're sharing a joke by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak (YY) Jacobson, one of America's premier Jewish scholars in Torah and Jewish mysticism.

Rabbi Jacobson, an American Chabad rabbi from Monsey, New York, is one of the most sought after speakers in the Jewish world today, lecturing to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences on six continents and in forty states, and serving as teacher and mentor to thousands across the globe. 

He is considered to be one of the most successful, passionate and mesmerizing communicators of Judaism today, culling his ideas from the entire spectrum of Jewish thought and making them relevant to contemporary audiences. 

He served as editor-in-chief of the Algemeiner Journal, and as a choizer (transcriber) for Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

He also loves to tell jokes, and here's the setup: This guy tells his wife "I'm buying a boat." She says "Absolutely not!" And then...

Enjoy!

Sunday, August 10, 2025

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: Jackie Mason on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

Some of the best standup comedy was on TV shows in the 1960s. Starting today we will be sharing some of the classic routines by iconic comedians on Sunday editions of Jewish Humor Central.

Today we're starting the series with a 1969 performance by Jackie Mason on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.  Mason launches into a discussion about how sex is permeating our entire culture and how the average entertainer thinks he has to resort to sexual references when he walks onto the stage.

A Jackie Mason classic. Enjoy!

Friday, August 8, 2025

Welcoming Shabbat with Shalom Aleichem by Ein Lanu Zman of Agudas Achim Congregation of Northern Virginia

Ein Lanu Zman (We Have No Time) is the name of the house band of Agudas Achim Congregation of Northern Virginia. Together with Hazzan Elisheva Dienstfrey they play and sing a wide variety of songs as part of Shabbat and Holiday services.

Led by Rabbi Steven Rein and based in Alexandria, Virginia, the congregation describes itself as a community built on covenantal relationships, generating the connections that bind one individual to another and one generation to the next.

Today we're welcoming Shabbat with Hazzan Dienstfrey and the band easing into the Kabbalat Shabbat service with a touch of country and bluegrass sound.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Thursday, August 7, 2025

Israeli Comedy Showcase: Shahar Hason on Israeli Avocados and Flattened Bagels

Shahar Hasson is one of the leading stand-up comedians in Israel, appearing on Israeli stages for over 25 years, He is a graduate of Yoram Levinstein's acting school. 

Shahar is an entertainer who paved his way through the best entertainment programs in Israel: Eretz Nehederet, Zahirut TV, TV at its best, Laughter from Work, Limited Edition, Fun Night, Express Hearts and more.

In this performance before a live audience, Shahar carries on about worshiping the avocado as the god of sandwich and Israelis flattening bagels into a packaged snack.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase - "Hotel Extras" - A Candid Camera Classic from 1998

Candid Camera was an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947. 

After a series of theatrical film shorts, also titled Candid Microphone, Funt's concept came to television on August 10, 1948, and continued into the 1970s. 

The show involved concealing cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations, sometimes involving trick props, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed or a car with a hidden extra gas tank. When the joke was revealed, victims would be told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera.

Peter Funt joined the show professionally in 1987 when he became a co-host with his father. During this time the show was being broadcast on the CBS television network. In 1993, Allen Funt had a serious stroke, from which he never fully recovered. This required Peter to host the show full-time. 

The show went through a few revivals. During his time on the show Peter was a producer, host and acted on the show. He also produced and hosted over 200 episodes.

Twenty-seven years ago Peter posed as the reception clerk at a hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As guests checked in they were offered many extras including towels, shampoo, lotion, hangers with a charge for each item. Their reactions are priceless.

Enjoy!  

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Comedy Showcase: Rabbi Bob Alper Headlines Comedy Show at Borscht Belt Festival

The Borscht Belt Festival in Ellenville, New York, is in its third year. Last weekend, Catskills fans from all over descended on the festival at the Borscht Belt Museum for a dose of nostalgia, Jewish comedy, and classic Jewish food as it was served in the hotels of Sullivan and Ulster Counties.

Entertainment for the weekend featured standup comedy headlined by 80-year-old Rabbi Bob Alper who has been performing standup for more than 30 years in addition to his rabbinical duties in Philadelphia and Vermont, where he lives.

In this excerpt from his comedy routine, Rabbi Bob reminisces about his first pulpit and the funny encounters he had with children when he was first ordained in Buffalo and teaching in Hebrew school.

Enjoy!

Monday, August 4, 2025

A Joke to Start the Week: 35th Anniversary Wishes

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one to share with you. Here's the setup: Sol and Sophie are both 62 years old. They're celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in a very romantic restaurant. It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one. Here's the setup: Sol and Sophie are both 62 years old. They're celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in a very romantic restaurant. They talk about the good times they've had. It's a very sweet evening. And then...

Enjoy! 

Sunday, August 3, 2025

Today is Tisha B'Av -- We Sing Eli Tzion on a Day of Mourning for the Holy Temples

Eli Tzion is the last piyut of the Ashkenazi collection of kinot and is customarily sung in a recitative style on Tisha B'Av by the entire community. In this kina, the poet turns to Zion, comparing her to a woman who has suffered both destructive and redemptive pain: the pain of a young woman who is widowed, and the pain of a mother bringing new life into the world.  

Taken as a whole, the poem is a mournful call to Zion to mourn her tragic destruction. Only in the final verses do we come to understand that this kina is also a call to G‑d to hear the cry of the Jewish people. 

In this video, Eli Tzion is sung by Cantor Ari Litvak, Hazzan of the Bet El Community in Mexico since 2003. He was trained mainly in his native Buenos Aires and has been a community musical director since he was 13 years old.

We wish you an easy and meaningful fast.

Friday, August 1, 2025

Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi Sung by Kol Kinor Choir of Birmingham, UK

Kol Kinor Choir was formed in Birmingham, UK in September 1990, under the able musicianship of Joyce Rothschild and Jane Ward. Alexander Knapp is the honorary Patron. Jacob Fifer is the musical director and principal conductor.

Kol Kinor is a small mixed voice choir of singers who perform, enjoy and enthuse about Jewish music. It has a rich and diverse repertoire covering many aspects of Jewish culture including liturgical and synagogue pieces set to modern, traditional and folk arrangements. It has Jewish and non-Jewish members.

The choir sings in Yiddish, Hebrew, English and Ladino, and complement this with commentaries on the history and significance of each piece in relation to musical development and religious emphasis within individual festivals and services.

Over the years, the choir has performed all over the UK in many varied venues including cathedrals, churches, synagogues, music festivals, City of Birmingham events; the choir has also sung in the USA. 

In this video, Kol Kinor sings Lecha Dodi, a traditional part of the Kabbalat Shabbat service.

Shabbat shalom!

Thursday, July 31, 2025

Comedy Showcase: Ariel Elias on Jewish and Christian Holidays and Miracles

Ariel Elias is a comedian living in New York City. Growing up, this Kentucky Jew made everyone laugh at her bat mitzvah, and the rest is history.

Today, her comedy is a fun mesh of unique, personal stories mixed with witty and wry observations. Described as “a sly young comic from Kentucky” by the "New York Times", Ariel has also been featured in "Rolling Stone", the "Washington Post", and on "Good Morning America". 

As a traveling stand up comedian, she has performed on the set of the "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and was named a “New Face” at the 2021 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival.

After catching Jimmy Kimmel’s attention with a viral stand-up clip that displayed her cool, calm, and hilarious composure, he invited Ariel to make her late night television debut on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

In this clip from her comedy special debut, Ariel contrasts Jewish and Christian holidays and miracles. Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase - "Taste-Free Food" - A Candid Camera Classic From 2002

Candid Camera was an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947. 

After a series of theatrical film shorts, also titled Candid Microphone, Funt's concept came to television on August 10, 1948, and continued into the 1970s. 

The show involved concealing cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations, sometimes involving trick props, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed or a car with a hidden extra gas tank. When the joke was revealed, victims would be told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera."

Peter Funt joined the show professionally in 1987 when he became a co-host with his father. During this time the show was being broadcast on the CBS television network. In 1993, Allen Funt had a serious stroke, from which he never fully recovered. This required Peter to host the show full-time. 

The show went through a few revivals. During his time on the show Peter was a producer, host and acted on the show. He also produced and hosted over 200 episodes.

There's fat-free food and sugar-free food. What about taste-free food? Twenty-three years ago the Candid Camera team asked shoppers in a supermarket if they would sample a new cookie that had no taste. Let's watch their reactions when eating the cookie and when they were told they're on Candid Camera.

Enjoy!  

Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Remembering Tom Lehrer -- Singer, Songwriter, Satirist, and Mathematician

Tom Lehrer, the master satirist of the 1950s and 1960s who was a big hit on college campuses and the nightclubs of Greenwich Village, died at 97 in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Saturday.

A Harvard-trained mathematician, his sarcasm touched on the major issues of that era, including, politics, the Cold War, and a variety of social issues.

Growing up in a secular Jewish home, he wrote two songs that had Jewish elements, Hanukkah in Santa Monica, and National Brotherhood Week. 

As Phylissa Kramer wrote for JTA,

“(I’m Spending) Hanukkah in Santa Monica” debuted in 1990, well after Lehrer’s peak as a performer, on a come-from-retirement performance on Garrison Keillor’s radio show.

Keillor commissioned the new song from Lehrer because, he observed, Jews had written many popular Christmas songs but none for their own holidays.

“There was thus a deplorable lacuna in the repertoire, which this song, a sort of answer to ‘White Christmas.’ was intended to remedy,” Lehrer said on air.

The resulting song — which also mentions spending “Shavuos in East St. Louis,” “Rosh Hashanah in Arizona” and “Yom Kippur in Mississippi” (try saying it out loud with a Southern accent) — has grown more popular in recent years. The writer Sarah Weinman attributed its rise to the New York City nightclub impresario Michael Feinstein, whom she said had turned the gossip columnist Liz Smith, composer Marvin Hamlisch and writer Nora Ephron on to the song. 

While “(I’m Spending) Hanukkah in Santa Monica” was the Lehrer song that put Judaism in the title, at least one other famous song contained Jewish content as well. The 1965 song “National Brotherhood Week,” which pilloried an event promoting togetherness at a time of rising tension over race, drew laughs when he got to the verse about religion.

“Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics, And the Catholics hate the Protestants,” he sang. “And the Hindus hate the Moslems, And everybody hates the Jews.”

Here are two videos of Lehrer playing the songs. Enjoy! 

 

Monday, July 28, 2025

A Joke to Start the Week - "The Cairo Gazette"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today we're sharing a joke by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak (YY) Jacobson, one of America's premier Jewish scholars in Torah and Jewish mysticism.

Rabbi Jacobson, an American Chabad rabbi from Monsey, New York, is one of the most sought after speakers in the Jewish world today, lecturing to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences on six continents and in forty states, and serving as teacher and mentor to thousands across the globe. 

He is considered to be one of the most successful, passionate and mesmerizing communicators of Judaism today, culling his ideas from the entire spectrum of Jewish thought and making them relevant to contemporary audiences. 

He served as editor-in-chief of the Algemeiner Journal, and as a choizer (transcriber) for Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

He also loves to tell jokes, and here's the setup: A Jew came to shul every day for Mincha and he would read The Cairo Gazette. So somebody asked him "You have to bring this trash into a holy place?" And then...

Enjoy!

Sunday, July 27, 2025

Comedy Showcase: The Sklar Brothers Bring Their Standup Comedy to St. Paul, Minnesota

Randy and Jason Sklar, professionally known as the Sklar Brothers, are American identical twin brother comedians and actors best known for hosting the show Cheap Seats, which aired for four seasons on ESPN Classic. 

Randy and Jason grew up in suburban St. Louis in a Jewish family. They went to the University of Michigan, where they joined the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. While enrolled, they decided to pursue a career in comedy.

In 1994, they moved to New York where they developed their comedy style at stand-up comedy clubs. In 1997, Jason and Randy starred in and wrote for MTV's sitcom/sketch/standup program Apt 2F. It was their first television work. The show lasted one season.

The Sklar brothers have also appeared in television shows such as CSI, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Mighty Med, Childrens Hospital, Law & Order, Becker, Providence, The Oblongs (as conjoined twin brothers Biff and Chip Oblong), Entourage, Grey's Anatomy (as conjoined twin brothers Peter and Jake Weitzman), Curb Your Enthusiasm (Jason only), and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

They appeared in two episodes of season 3 of Better Call Saul as the owners of a music shop called ABQ In Tune. The Sklars have appeared in the films My Baby's Daddy, Bubble Boy, Wild Hogs, and The Comebacks

Today we're sharing a video clip from their 2018 standup show in St. Paul, Minnesota. Enjoy!

Friday, July 25, 2025

Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam...in Margaritaville

Adon Olam is the song that marks the end of the Shabbat service in most congregations. Over the years we have posted 99 versions -- not just Ashkenazic and Sephardic interpretations, but also melodies taken from films, Broadway shows, and pop music.

Today we're sharing a version in the spirit of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, as interpreted by Cantor Danny Mendelson of Congregation Kol Ami, a Reform synagogue in White Plains, New York.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Israeli Standup Comedy Special: Shahar Hason on Too Many Holidays

Shahar Hasson is one of the leading stand-up comedians in Israel, appearing on Israeli stages for over 25 years, He is a graduate of Yoram Levinstein's acting school. 

Shahar is an entertainer who paved his way through the best entertainment programs in Israel: Eretz Nehederet, Zahirut TV, TV at its best, Laughter from Work, Limited Edition, Fun Night, Express Hearts and more.

In this performance before a live audience, Shahar carries on about Jewish holidays --how there are so many of them, which is his favorite, and the wonders of Moroccan food.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: "Newspaper Recall" - A Candid Camera Classic from 2002

Candid Camera was an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947. 

After a series of theatrical film shorts, also titled Candid Microphone, Funt's concept came to television on August 10, 1948, and continued into the 1970s. 

The show involved concealing cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations, sometimes involving trick props, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed or a car with a hidden extra gas tank. When the joke was revealed, victims would be told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera."

Peter Funt joined the show professionally in 1987 when he became a co-host with his father. During this time the show was being broadcast on the CBS television network. In 1993, Allen Funt had a serious stroke, from which he never fully recovered. This required Peter to host the show full-time. 

The show went through a few revivals. During his time on the show Peter was a producer, host and acted on the show. He also produced and hosted over 200 episodes.

Twenty-three years ago the Candid Camera show sent Linda, a team member, to knock on doors of homes where the local newspaper was just delivered. She informed the home owner that the paper is being recalled because it had too many mistakes. Recalls of cars and consumer products have become frequent, but newspapers???

Enjoy!