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: A Martian is having trouble with his spacecraft and he's forced to land on Earth. So he lands in this vacant parking lot and he's looking around for parts when he spots a deli across the street. And then...
Enjoy!
Since we started posting on Jewish Humor Central in 2009, we have shared 126 renditions of this song with you. So here comes number 127.
Just yesterday, the 9th Grade Chorus of the Pennfield Middle School in a Pennsylvania suburb started off its winter concert with a performance of Hava Nagila.
Enjoy!
Thanks to a symphonic mashup of five festive Hanukkah songs arranged by Bill Holcombe, the Beaufort Symphony Orchestra of Beaufort, South Carolina under the direction of Fred Devyatkin, recently performed this work for our enjoyment.
Happy last day of Chanukah and a Happy New Year!
Having performed for Jewish organizations and causes all over the globe, Modi’s unique vantage point lends a birds-eye view of what it means to be Jewish in today’s day and age.
Modi’s performance represents a modern interpretation of the Borscht-belt comedians who came before him. Drawing inspiration from Jackie Mason and Alan King, Modi’s larger-than-life stage presence sends a clear message: be true to your audience and the rest will follow.
In this hilarious video clip from Know Your Audience,
Modi skewers anti-semitism and gives advice to Gentiles who want to become Jewish. Along the way he gives his own funny spin on some Jewish and Christian religious practices.
Enjoy!
Noa Tishby is an Israeli activist, actress, model, producer, and writer. As an actress, she appeared in a variety of American television shows and movies, including The Affair, The Island, Nip/Tuck, Big Love, NCIS, and others.
Tishby was born in Tel Aviv, Israel in May 1975 into a Jewish family involved in the establishment of Israel. The kibbutz her grandfather co-founded was among the first in Israel's history. Tishby began acting at an early age, appearing in commercials by age 8. As a teenager, she earned a drama scholarship from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and acted in several stage productions and television shows. She also served two and a half years in the Israel Defense Forces.
Tishby also focuses on Zionist activism, founding the advocacy organization Act for Israel in 2011. In 2021, she published her first book, Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth. She served as the Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and the Delegitimization of Israel for one year, from 2022 to 2023.
This year Tishby has been posting a video each night of Chanukah in which she lights the menorah with another celebrity while discussing elements of their Jewish background.
On the second night of Hanukkah Noa Tishby was joined by actress Mila Kunis, who was born in Ukraine, where she and her family had to hide most of their Jewish identity.
It wasn’t until she moved to the U.S. and started a family that she began to reconnect with Judaism. Join them as we watch them light the candles together—and even get a little help from Ashton Kutcher over the phone!
Enjoy, and Happy Chanukah!
On the first night of Chanukah this year on the Ellipse across from the White House, the National Menorah Orchestra and the “8th Day Band” performed a medley of popular Chanukah songs at the National Menorah Lighting in Washington D.C.
The event was hosted by American Friends of Lubavitch.
Here's the video. Enjoy, and Happy Chanukah!
Tishby was born in Tel Aviv, Israel in May 1975 into a Jewish family involved in the establishment of Israel. The kibbutz her grandfather co-founded was among the first in Israel's history. Tishby began acting at an early age, appearing in commercials by age 8. As a teenager, she earned a drama scholarship from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and acted in several stage productions and television shows. She also served two and a half years in the Israel Defense Forces.
Tishby also focuses on Zionist activism, founding the advocacy organization Act for Israel in 2011. In 2021, she published her first book, Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth. She served as the Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and the Delegitimization of Israel for one year, from 2022 to 2023.
This year Tishby has been posting a video each night of Chanukah in which she lights the menorah with another celebrity while discussing elements of their Jewish background. We'll backtrack to the first night of Chanukah when she appeared together with actress Gwyneth Paltrow and then to the next few nights with different guests.
Enjoy, and Happy Hanukkah!
Ari Heiman is a rising star who just released his debut project: a heartfelt cover of Ana Be'Choach composed by Ovadia Hamama.
Ari is a new voice on the Jewish music scene and we hope to see more of him soon.
Enjoy, Shabbat shalom, and Chag Chanukah sameach!
The Voices of Liberty have been performing this song as part of their celebration of December holidays. Dates and times of performance vary, so check the Disney schedule to be sure they're singing when you're there.
Here's a performance that was recorded earlier this month at Epcot.
Enjoy, and Happy Chanukah!
On February 13, stars of Broadway and the Jewish world gave us a preview of this hopeful season by combining the candle lighting with the song Tomorrow from the musical Annie.
The songs were performed in the New York theater district while walking on Broadway and in Times Square by Julie Benko (Broadway’s “Funny Girl” and “Harmony”) and Cantor Azi Schwartz of Park Avenue Synagogue with a chorus of Broadway talent.
It's a timely juxtaposition of two themes that combine to give us hope as we enter a new era of American optimism.
Enjoy, and Happy Chanukah!
They pride themselves on both their energy and their depth, and are extremely deliberate about the music they choose, ensuring every song has both uniquely Jewish undertones and a universally resonant message.
In this new video, the Y-Studs perform a medley of songs with the Motown sound made popular by the Jackson 5 with a unique Chanukah twist.
Enjoy!
We've already featured some of his videos on the Evolution of Chassidic Dance, High Fiving Strangers in New York, Dancing Behind People in Jerusalem, How to Lift the Torah Like a Boss, and Looking for a Leader in the Park.
In this video Meir, inspired by Billy Eichner's Billy in the Street For a Dollar street interviews, approaches random strangers walking the streets of New York City in December 2022, and offers them a free donut if they can answer his trivia questions about Chanukah.
Enjoy!
Just in time for Chanukah, Yoni and Nina posted a Hebrew translation of the song Be a Light, written in English by Rabbi Neal Katz, rabbi of Congregation Beth El in Tyler, Texas.
Rabbi Katz has released three CDs of his original Jewish music. His
songs have become popular in congregations, camps, and Religious Schools
around the country. In 2009, Neal also released a folk-music CD, and in
2010, he was a finalist in the Kerrville Musical Festival's New Folk
Contest. The website for his music can be found at KatzMusic.com.
In
addition to his musical travels in the States, when Neal travels
abroad, he likes to share his music with member congregations in the
World Union for Progressive Judaism. Neal has been honored to share his
music and help lead Shabbat worship services at Progressive Jewish
congregations in Warsaw, Paris, Prague, Budapest, London, St.
Petersburg, and Copenhagen.
Enjoy!
Last week cantors Azi Schwartz and Mira Davis transformed the Wicked song Popular into a rendition of Adon Olam.
Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!
In 2010 The Maccabeats, an a cappella group from Yeshiva University, released their first Hanukkah music video, Candlelight, and every Hanukkah (and other holidays) since then we've seen many more videos by them and lots of other groups.
Originally
formed in 2007 as Yeshiva University’s student vocal group,
the Maccabeats have recently emerged as both Jewish music and a cappella
phenomena, with a large fan base, more than 20 million views on
YouTube, numerous TV appearances, and proven success with three albums,
2010′s Voices From The Heights, 2012′s Out Of The Box and 2014′s One Day More.
Many of their songs are parodies of pop hits, and this Chanukah they're continuing the tradition with new lyrics for the movie's signature song Defying Gravity that celebrates the spirit of the Jewish people. The lyrics appear below.
Enjoy!
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.
Enjoy, and Chag Chanukah Sameach!
Hanukkah has been glaringly missing from these movies, except for the last few years where its blue and white decorations have made minor appearances. Usually the theme for the annual Hanukkah movie is a chance encounter between a Jew and a Gentile that leads to a joint celebration of the two holidays. In the last two films, the revelation that either the boy or the girl is Jewish gets us to a scene where both families play Dreidel (although one confuses the Nun and Gimmel as the signal to win all of the coins.)
But last week the Hallmark Channel redeemed itself by posting a new movie called Hanukkah on the Rocks, where Christmas is hardly mentioned and the entire focus is on the celebration of the Jewish holiday.
We watched the two-hour long movie and recommend it for Hanukkah viewing. The plot is a bit weak as it centers on a search for a special box of "Cohen Candles" that all the stores in Chicago seem to have run out of. Also we found it odd that while the blessings in Hebrew were pronounced correctly, none of the men saying them wore a kippah.
But both of the lead actors are Jewish, which is a plus for Jewish representation in today's world of film and TV.
Here's a video preview of the movie, which is streaming now on The Hallmark Channel and on YouTube.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Walt Disney World's Epcot Center is usually one of the first venues to get into the holiday spirit. As part of their International Festival of the Holidays, Zachary the storyteller sings and relates the story of Hanukkah.
He tells about the origin of the holiday, including observations in his travels of how Hanukkah is celebrated around the world, and sings some popular songs in Hebrew, English, and Ladino.
The performance is repeated daily through December 30.
Enjoy!
He has led numerous spirituality and meditation retreats, and has been a scholar-in-residence at a variety of different houses of worship.
He is located in the Greater Philadelphia area, serving Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware.
In today's video, he leads us in singing a new version of Lecha Dodi to welcome Shabbat.
Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!
His latest special ‘Jokes from the Underground’ was just included in the New York Times ‘Best Comedy of 2022’, where critic Jason Zinoman called it the funniest YouTube Special of the year, and said ‘his punchy and deliriously funny club comedy made me laugh after second and third viewings.’ His first special ‘Downhill Ever Since’ is almost at 200K views on YouTube. Raanan performs all over the world and is a regular at The Comedy Cellar.
In this video clip from The Tonight Show, Raanan rants about sobriety and getting older in America.
Enjoy!
The show involved concealed 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 were told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera." The catchphrase became a song with music and lyrics by Sid Ramin.
Today
we're sharing a classic episode from 1962 in which the Candid Camera crew placed a basket with a 26-year-old "baby" on doorsteps and waited to see the homeowners' reactions. A note attached to the baby said "Take good care of Johnny. He is a good boy."
Enjoy!
Hason performs regularly in Tel Aviv's comedy scene and many of his comments are right on target.
Enjoy!
Rabbi Taub writes about Jewish mysticism and is also known for his work in the field of addiction recovery. He is a weekly columnist for Ami magazine.
Here's the setup: There was a group of simple Jews discussing the story of the Akeda (The Binding of Isaac). They were trying to figure out how old he was at the time of the Akeda. And then...
Enjoy!
Every year thousands of Chabad shluchim (emissaries) gather for a kinus (international conference) and this year was no exception.
Last week 6,500 rabbis from all over the world convened for a group photo in Brooklyn in front of Chabad headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway. After the photo they headed for a banquet in Edison, New Jersey.
The group gets bigger every year. When we reported on the gathering in 2011, 2016, and 2018, the number of attendees was around 5,000. As you can see, the photo is of men only, and the female members of the Chabad couples have their own separate conference.
In 2011 we had some fun with the photo shoot and embedded an image of the popular Waldo character to give our readers a chance to find "Where's Waldo" in the crowd.
In 2016 comedian Meir Kay joined in the photo wearing a Batman costume. The black outfit was a perfect match for the black clothed rabbis.
This year we're playing it straight and just showing the actual photo and a snippet from the hour-long effort to position all the rabbis for the photo shoot.
Enjoy!
Before Kol Tikvah, Joel led services at many temples in New York and LA including B’nai Jeshurun and the Brotherhood Synagogue in Manhattan, B’nai Keshet in Montclair, NJ, and Nachshon Minyan and Shomrei Torah in LA.
Tonight we welcome Shabbat with a rendition of Yismechu by Cantor Soloist Joel Stein.
Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!
Some of the funniest episodes have had Jewish themes and one of our favorites was shown in Season 5, Episode 8. Titled Ski Lift Sundown, it finds Larry and Rachel (Iris Bahr), a single Orthodox Jewish girl, stranded on a ski lift that got stuck on a Friday evening and leaves them suspended in the air while the sun begins to set.
Rachel tells Larry that one of them has to jump because Jewish law forbids her to be in such proximity to a married man on Shabbat.
Enjoy!
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