A Catskills Oldie But Goodie: Jay Jason, the Comedian's Comedian

If you were a guest (or waiter or busboy) at the Concord, Grossinger's, Nevele, Kutsher's, Raleigh, Pines, the Laurels, the Granit, or Tamarack Lodge during the 1950's to 1990's, you probably saw Jay Jayson entertaining on the big stage in the hotel nightclubs.

Jason, who changed his name from Jonas Levy after spending two years at the University of Rochester, became a regular comedian at all the big Catskills hotels. Jason's humor had self-deprecating aspects, and all subjects were grist for his comedy routines. 

He also impersonated celebrities such as Alfred Hitchcock, Jackie Mason, Jack Benny, Maurice Chevalier, Rudolph Valentino, Jimmy Stewart, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Arthur Godfrey, and Franklin Roosevelt, and he also did voice-overs for cartoon characters.

In this 12 minute segment from his 90 minute routine, we see Jason in folksy conversation with the band leader, showing his talent as a ventriloquist, delivering some classic jokes and one-liners, and doing some of his impersonations, including Jackie Mason and Jack Benny.

Enjoy!

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It's Catskills Week at Jewish Humor Central!

We're declaring this to be Catskills week at Jewish Humor Central. 

Yesterday we posted a joke that we captured at Kutsher's Resort last month as part of our new series, Jews at Kutsher's Telling Jokes, admittedly inspired by Sam Hoffman's Old Jews Telling Jokes web site, book, CD, DVD, and the off-Broadway show bearing the same name.

Tomorrow night we'll be at the JCC in Manhattan, attending the premiere of When Comedy Went to School, Robert Klein's new documentary reliving the good old days of stand-up comedians in the famed resorts in the Catskill mountains.

This coming weekend, we'll be on stage at Kutsher's Resort in Monticello and at Vacation Village in Loch Sheldrake, presenting our entertaining lecture, Jewish Humor on Your Desktop: A Whole Lot More Than Catskills Comedy.

We gave this same performance on Sunday at Encore Monroe, a 55+ gated community in Monroe Township, New Jersey. Including this weekend's acts, we will have given 17 performances so far this year and left a lot of people laughing at the many layers of Jewish Humor, as shown through the funniest Jewish video clips on the internet.

For the first time, we have video of the show, and in this post we're sharing the opening monologue that includes the first joke of the set.

If you're a rabbi, president of a synagogue, temple, Men's Club, Sisterhood, JCC, or in charge of programming for any organization, you may want to consider this presentation for an evening of laughs and good clean fun.

We're now accepting bookings for these entertaining lectures in 2013 and 2014 in Florida, California, and everywhere in between. For more information and more video clips, send email to Al at akustan@gmail.com or call him at 201-796-9273.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Where's the Ball?"

It's Monday morning and time for another joke to start the week. We're still working with jokes that we recorded at Kutsher's resort in the Catskills at the beginning of July.

Today's joke is the fourth in this series, Jews at Kutsher's Telling Jokes, delivered by 79-year-old Gerald Goldberg, a retired teacher.

Like the other three jokesters in the series, he volunteered to tell this one in the lobby of the famed resort hotel as we were preparing to go onstage for a 90 minute show during Camp Hazak week at Kutsher's.

Here's the setup: Morris and Joey have been golfing pals for 40 years. Finally Morris meets him and says "I can't play golf any more." Joey says "Why? What's the matter?" And then...

Enjoy!

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Jerry Seinfeld and Don Rickles - Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

Today we're going for a virtual ride in a 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Seville with Jerry Seinfeld and Don Rickles as they head for a breakfast shmooze in Factor's Famous Deli in Los Angeles.

This is another episode in a web series that Seinfeld is running on the internet, interviewing fellow comedians while riding in classic cars to various restaurants and coffee shops in Los Angeles.
 
Like his TV show, it's "a show about nothing," but we feel it's energizing to be in the presence of these geniuses of comedy. It's not a rip-roaring hilarious session, but it's fun to see these masters of the stage and screen enjoying themselves in a casual setting.

Enjoy!

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(A tip of the kippah and a copy of the Kindle version of our book, Jewish Humor on Your Desktop: Old Jokes and New Comedians to Steve Smedresman for bringing this video to our attention.)

Funky Shabbat Comes to Jerusalem as New "First Station" Shopping and Dining Complex Opens

A touch of Tel Aviv has come to Jerusalem. Conversion of the vacant old train station to a trendy new First Station complex with restaurants, shops, and entertainment, has brought new life to a mostly unused outpost at the edge of the Emek Refaim neighborhood in Jerusalem's German Colony.

During the week, it's been welcomed by residents and tourists. But on Friday afternoon, as Shabbat approaches and the rest of the city's culinary and artistic venues shut down for 24 hours, there is ambivalence and uncertainty about where this may lead. 

Orthodox residents are concerned about Shabbat violations and a loss of the special qualities of a day of rest, but some are taking advantage of having a new destination for Shabbat walks and window shopping for purchases to be made after Shabbat is over.

Secular Jerusalemites are happy to have dining options (kosher and non-kosher) on Shabbat, and some are finding new ways to find spiritual meaning in Shabbat observance with music and dance.

As Nathan Jeffay reported in The Forward this week, 

The 400 people assembled include Jews from secular to Orthodox. All of this is taking place in Jerusalem, the city that has a reputation as dominated by Haredi zealotry — just a few minutes drive from the Western Wall where this year women holding communal prayers have been pelted with eggs.

As of this spring the city has a new trendy recreational venue called the First Train Station with cafes, restaurants and in the middle a stage and seating. During the summer every Friday a group of musicians takes to the stage and performs a funky version of the synagogue service to welcome the Sabbath, Kabbalat Shabbat. The performance varies depending on which group leads it, but there tends to be original tunes and catchy chants that help those unfamiliar with the service to get involved.

When Jerusalem’s Bridge of Strings opened in 2008 the city famously insisted that the girls in a performance troupe wore shapeless clothing on top of their outfits for the sake of modesty — and there have been numerous controversies in Israel about women being prevented from singing at public events.

But here, two energetic women dominate the stage, one in a sleeveless top and one with short sleeves, singing and jumping up and down.

“Maybe this is the beginning of a new development of non-religious people coming to see Jewish culture as something that doesn’t necessarily need to be done the Orthodox way,” said Adi Talmon, a middle-aged secular Jerusalemite as he looked at the scene approvingly.

Talmon has become a regular because “as a non-religious person I think it’s great to finish the week with Kabbalat Shabbat — every person has his own Shabbat and this is to separate between the sacred and the mundane.”

So where is this headed? Take a stroll through the First Station in the video below and share your thoughts with fellow readers via the comments box.

Enjoy and Shabbat Shalom!

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Buddy Hackett: Not Only Funny, But Smart and Caring

Buddy Hackett (1924-2003) was one of the funniest comedians ever to perform on hotel stages in the Catskills. Most people remember him for his jokes and stories that usually crossed the line into family-unfriendly territory.

We've been able to post a few of Buddy's jokes and interviews, but it wasn't easy to find clean ones. He wasn't a foul-mouth comic like many of today's stand-up performers, but part of the fun in watching him go through his act was anticipating the off-color references that crept into his stories and his delivery of the punch lines with a cherubic smile.

But behind his funny lines, Buddy was a smart and caring person. Not too many examples of his wisdom and caring nature made it through the generations of media conversion to find a place on the internet, but we found two that we'd like to share with you.

When appearing on the 1970s TV game show The Hollywood Squares, Buddy was asked "What country has the highest ratio of doctors to population?" Without hesitation, he blurted out his answer: "The country with the most Jews. I would say Israel." And then he went on to elaborate the reasons why, reasons that we instantly recognize and find intuitive. An easy score for the master comic.

In 1983, Buddy got involved with Jerry Lewis' telethon to provide financial and emotional assistance to children with neuromuscular disease. He delivered an emotional pitch for people to donate to the Muscular Dystrophy Association while delivering a special message to children with neuromuscular disease.

Hackett's Message: "Nobody is perfect. Everybody is different." We waited for a funny punchline at the end of the message, but there was none. This time Buddy was just being a mensch.

Enjoy both videos!

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Comedy Classic: Jackie Mason at the London Royal Opera

In 2003 Jackie Mason performed his one-man show Night at the Opera before a sold out audience at London's Royal Opera House. He was the first comedian in the 271 year old history of the opera house to have that honor.

Mason got his start in the Catskills at the Fieldston Hotel in Swan Lake, New York in the summer of 1955. He was let go because his act was considered too far ahead of its time. The patrons had never been exposed to a comic who seemed to be ridiculing them. A few years later, Don Rickles came along, but by then audiences had become open to this type of humor throughout the borscht belt.

Mason reminisces about the old days in the Catskills in his featured role in the new documentary, When Comedy Went to School. The 78 minute long film narrated by comedian Robert Klein makes its debut next Wednesday, July 31 at the JCC and at the IFC Center, both in Manhattan.

In the video below, he does his familiar shtick about differences between Jews and Gentiles, from what they say during show intermissions to how they relate to doctors.

Enjoy!

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"Soul Doctor" - Musical of Life of Shlomo Carlebach - Finally Comes to Broadway

Soul Doctor, a musical based on the life of Shlomo Carlebach, the charismatic rock star singing rabbi, is now in previews at the Circle in the Square theater on Broadway. It will have its formal opening on August 15. The show had previous short runs off-Broadway and in Florida and New Orleans, but now it's ready for prime time.

We were in the audience last night attending one of the preview performances and joined other attendees in singing and clapping to the familiar Carlebach songs, even though most of them were rendered in English translation. The cast was energetic, ebullient, and talented, and painted a convincing portrait of the rabbi who came to America from Vienna as a baby, was nurtured in a traditional Yeshiva environment, and left it to embrace a Hasidic outlook with music at its core.

The musical uses Carlebach's friendship with Nina Simone, the African-American singer, songwriter, and pianist as the focal point of the story. They have a chance encounter when they are both trying to find their musical direction early in their careers, and renew their friendship along the way to fame and broad recognition of their talents.

Carlebach is shown singing his songs in Brooklyn, Greenwich Village, San Francisco, Jerusalem, and Vienna. His role is played by Eric Anderson.

Tickets are listed on the show's web site at $135, but they can be ordered from BroadwayBox.com for $69 from now through August 14, and for $85 from August 15 through September 29. There are no Sunday performances. We enjoyed the show and recommend it for a fun evening. It runs three hours, including a 15 minute intermission.

We found a video with a behind-the scenes look at a rehearsal and interviews with some of the cast members.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week: "The Revival Meeting"

Another Monday, another joke to help start the week off with a laugh. 

Here in the northeast US, we're happy just to have normal weather back after a blistering heat wave that ended yesterday. But we're even happier to share a joke that we recorded up in Kutsher's in New York's Catskill mountains a few weeks ago.

Today's jokester is 82-year-old retired businessman Sy Harnik. After our performance in Kutsher's Stardust nightclub, we heard Sy telling jokes to friends in the lobby. So we invited him into a quiet corner and videotaped his delivery of this joke.

Here's the setup: There's a revival meeting on the top of a mountain. And everybody was whipped up in a frenzy. And the fellow who was in charge said...

Enjoy!


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California Kosher Agency Approves, Then Rescinds Personal Lubricant Certification

Here's something from the "You just can't make this stuff up" category.

We've all heard of Kosher food products, but how about kosher personal lubricants?

Last Wednesday Trigg Labs, manufacturer of a line of the "Wet" brand of personal lubricants announced that 95% of their lubricants and intimate items are now certified kosher. 

The following day, the Rabbinical Council of California, the certifying agency, decided to rescind its approval of the kosher status of the products.

The first Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) report prompted "punny" headlines in The Jerusalem Post (Kosher lube slides onto shelves ahead of Jewish Valentine's Day) and Haaretz (A kosher climax: Wet personal lubricants get rabbinic certification).

The reference to Jewish Valentine's Day is about Tu B'Av, the 15th day of the month of Av, which occurs tomorrow, July 22. It's A very ancient holiday that went almost unnoticed in the Jewish calendar for many centuries. But in recent decades, especially in Israel, it has taken on the trappings of Valentine's Day -- a Hebrew-Jewish day of love and romance.

Originally a post-biblical day of joy, it served as a matchmaking day for unmarried women in the second Temple period, before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E..

The products qualified as kosher following a 2-year long ordeal of rabbinic certification by the Rabbinical Council of California. As part of the process, every ingredient and piece of equipment at the 52,000 square-foot manufacturing facility was subject to "Kosherization" procedures and reviews.

The packaging for the sexual wellness products now has the letter 'K' on the back, certifying the items are kosher. The founder of 'Wet', Michael Trigg stated "With Kosher certification, in the coming months, we plan to introduce Wet® in Israel. The 'K' imprint on our packages says that we maintain the highest standards of purity and answer to a higher authority."

After the lengthy and complicated process, Wet was set to become the only kosher certified personal lubricant in both Canada and the United States. Kosher Wet products were scheduled to appear on the market within the next three months.

As the first JTA article reported,

Menachem Lubinsky, president of Lubicom, the marketing company that hosts the annual Kosherfest trade show, said he wasn’t sure if certification was necessary from the standpoint of Jewish law.

“I usually deal with supply and demand,” he said. “I’m not aware of any large demand for this. I’m more aware of people looking for kosher-for-Passover dog food. Having said that, there’s been a trend in recent years to make more over-the-counter drugs and cosmetics with certification for people that don’t want to bring anything into the house that isn’t kosher certified.”

In the follow-up JTA article on Thursday titled "Kashrus Interruptus: Certifier Pulls Out", JTA's Ben Harris reported:

Sorry kosher sex fans, but the California rabbinical group that was set to certify personal lubricants as kosher has yanked its hechsher.

We know this is hard to swallow, especially for those who may have come to rely on Wet’s line of sexual wellness products.

Here’s the certification group’s deliciously worded statement:

As reported in the media, the Rabbinical Council of California’s Kashrut Division was in the final stages of certifying products produced by Trigg Laboratories. Certification of non-edible items is common in the kosher industry, but the intended uses of these items as now revealed, was misunderstood. The RCC has rescinded its certification with immediate effect, and deeply regrets the widespread consternation that this error caused.

Oy!

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Hakadosh BBQ, Texas-Style Pop-up Restaurant, Has to Change Name to Satisfy Rabbis

When Ari White opened Hakadosh BBQ, his kosher pop-up barbecue restaurant, using a wood burning smokehouse trailer that produces Texas style brisket and smoked turkey legs, he thought it was a clever name. 

It caught the fancy of his customers who delighted in the experience of eating high quality barbecue and smiling at the play on words.

But he didn't expect the name to catch the ire of some rabbis who didn't appreciate the humor.

As Dani Klein wrote in The Jewish Week,

By playing on Hakadosh Baruch Hu, “The Holy One, Blessed Be He,” White has invoked the wrath of some rabbis, who feel his barbecue equipment trivializes God’s name.

After a recent Philadelphia-area fundraiser for the Kohelet Yeshiva High School featured White’s barbecue, some rabbis in attendance complained to the kosher certifying agency of White’s businesses, the Baltimore-based Star K. The actual names of White’s concerns — Gemstone Catering, which does events, and Got Cholent, which provides catering on Shabbat — were not the problem.

Star K rabbis conferred and decided earlier this month that the smoker’s name should be changed, White said.

This week White announced the new name of the venture, Wandering Que, another play on words combining Wandering (as in Wandering  Jew) and Que (as in Barbeque). Maybe this time the rabbis will not feel offended, or maybe they just won't get it. 

So be on the lookout for White's smoking contraption as it visits locations in the Catskills and on the streets of New York. You never know where it will pop up, so there's a web site and a Facebook page for BBQ lovers to keep track of this latest addition to the kosher food scene.

Aaron Herman of The Jewish Week got a taste of White's specialties and interviewed him at a New York street food fair. Here's the video.

Enjoy!

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Comedy Classic: Sid Caesar and Nanette Fabray Act Out Argument to Beethoven's 5th Symphony

Sid Caesar got his start in the Catskill Mountains in 1936 at the age of 14 as a saxophone player. While playing in the dance band at the Vacationland Hotel in Swan Lake, he appeared in sketches and learned the art of comedy.

In 1954, on the TV show Caesar's Hour, Sid performed a classic routine with Nanette Fabray known as "Argument to Beethoven's 5th" in which they pantomime the argument of a married couple. 

They provide the action in complete silence in synchronization with the soaring music of the first movement of Beethoven's famous symphony.

Watch it a few times and it will forever change the way you listen to this symphony.

Enjoy!

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When Comedy Went to School - A "Must See" New Film About the Catskills

"From the nineteen thirties to the late sixties, the Catskill hotels were the setting for the most important, fascinating era in American humor. During that time, comedy went to school, and what a graduating class."

Those are the opening lines in When Comedy Went to School, a new movie that's slated to debut on July 31 in selected cities. Hosted by comedian/actor Robert Klein, the 83 minute documentary film features interviews with comic greats who redefined standup and sketch comedy, and forever altered the course of American humor. 

Such comic legends as Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar, Jackie Mason, Mort Sahl, Dick Gregory, Jerry Stiller and others, offer their unique heartfelt and oftentimes hilarious anecdotes about what the Catskills meant to their careers.

Former Catskill busboy Larry King recounts his experiences, and displays a surprising comedic touch himself. Hugh Hefner discusses his role in supporting the "New Comedy", specifically Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce and Dick Gregory. Historian Professor Joseph Dorinson and noted sociologist/author Lawrence Epstein provide cogent, informative perspectives on subjects including humor as a survival tool and defense mechanism in Jewish history, immigration and assimilation, and the correlation between anti-Semitism and the rise of the Catskills.

Through rare archival clips, When Comedy Went to School pays homage to many other Catskill veterans, including Danny Kaye, Mel Brooks, Red Buttons, Buddy Hackett, Lenny Bruce, Henny Youngman, Don Rickles, Totie Fields, and Rodney Dangerfield. In later years, Billy Crystal, Joan Rivers, Woody Allen and a very young Jerry Seinfeld built on this foundation.

If you love Jewish comedy, this is a film not to be missed. We had the privilege of seeing it in a special showing in Manhattan a few weeks ago. We watched with a mixture of laughter and wistfulness about the old days and the old comedians who were able to participate in the project and show that they still have their magic touch.

The film debuts in New York City on July 31, and you can see it at the IFC Center and the JCC in Manhattan. It rolls out on August 2 in Malverne and Kew Gardens, New York, followed by Denver, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Lenox, Massachusetts later in August. Here's a link to the playdates. 

During the coming weeks we'll be focusing on the comedians who graduated from comedy school in the Catskills and we'll bring you some of their funniest classic bits.

We've been sitting on this story for a few weeks until we could show you some film clips. They became available today, so Jewish Humor Central readers are the first to see these three glimpses of When Comedy Went to School.

Enjoy and share with your friends!

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Today is Tisha B'Av: Holy Temple Visitors Center Opens in Jerusalem

Today is Tisha B'Av, the saddest date in the Jewish calendar. So we're taking a day off from humor and instead reflecting on the loss of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and imagining what it would be like when it is rebuilt. 

Although Tisha B'Av commemorates the destruction of both Temples, the main historical sources are in dispute about exactly when the Temples were destroyed. Some say the first Temple was destroyed either on the seventh or the 10th of Av in 586 B.C.E. by Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylonia), and the second Temple was destroyed on the 10th (70 C.E. by Titus).

The rabbinic authorities decided to mark the ninth as the official date of remembering their destruction. Over the centuries many other tragic events happened--or were traditionally said to have happened--on this date. 

These include the capture of Betar, which marked the final defeat of Bar Kokhba's rebellion against the Romans, and the razing of Jerusalem by the Romans. The edict of King Edward I compelling the Jews of England to leave the country was signed on the ninth of Av in 1290, the Jews were expelled from Spain on that day in 1492, and World War I broke out in 1914. 

The sadness and mourning that Jews feel on this day are reflected in the various practices of Tisha B'Av, including abstaining from joyous activities like study of Torah, from eating and drinking, from sexual activity, and from wearing leather.

With Jews around the world focusing on the First and Second Temples, a new Holy Temple Visitor's Center is preparing to open its doors in the Old City of Jerusalem.

As Yoni Kempinski wrote in Arutz Sheva,

The new exhibition includes a highly advanced, state of the art presentation of the Temple-ready sacred vessels created by the Institute, garments of the High Priest, oil-paintings depicting aspects of the Divine service of the Holy Temple and model of the Holy Temple Complex.

Visitors will also be able to see a scaled-down stone altar, made in accordance with Torah law, transportable and completely ready for use on the Temple Mount.

Here is a video walkthrough of the new center.

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A Joke to Start the Week: "A Doctor's Suggestion"

When we lectured at Kutsher's resort in the Catskils two weeks ago, we were approached by some of the guests who had their own jokes to tell us. Since we happened to have a video camera in the trunk of our car we invited some of the joke tellers for a recording session in the Kutsher's lobby. 

The result: Jews at Kutsher's Telling Jokes. We've got enough to last a few months, and today we're running the second joke of this series.

Today's joke comes from Irwin Kahn, a retired teacher.

Here's the setup: So this gentleman goes to visit his doctor for his annual physical, and the doctor says...

Enjoy!

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Italian Secular Jewish Photographer Casts Ultra-Orthodox Women in a New Light

The world of ultra-Orthodox women can seem to be a mysterious one, when seen from the outside looking in. For documentary photographer Federica Valabrega, a secular Jew herself, her interest in this world led to a photo project which would ultimately challenge her own assumptions about these women.

Valabrega, originally from Rome, Italy, moved to Brooklyn in 2009 to photograph the women in a project that she calls Bat Melech (Daughter of the King). She was surprised to find that "Jewish women are not just at home making soup and cooking matzo balls and changing diapers. I met women who work at Goldman Sachs. I met women who have their own business."

She also traveled to Israel and France, and plans to visit Morocco and Tunisia to include photographs of religious communities in those countries.

The project will be on display in Italy and Israel later this year. She is also working on a book to accompany the exhibit.

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Comedy Film Classic: Danny Kaye in The Court Jester (The Vessel with the Pestle......)

This is the centennial year of Danny Kaye's birth to Jewish Ukrainian immigrants as David Daniel Kaminsky.

Kaye (1913-1987), a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian, was best known for his physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire nonsense songs. He started his career at the age of 13, performing in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

One of the best tongue twister routines in film comedy came at a crucial point in The Court Jester (1955), considered the best of Kaye's films. The plot is too convoluted to explain here, but you can get a synopsis from the Wikipedia entry for it.

There are many funny parts to the movie, but the most memorable and most often quoted is the rhyme that Kaye, as the jester made a knight, has to repeat to himself before a joust in order to avoid drinking a poisonous beverage.

The classic line, a great tongue twister, is "the pellet with the poison is in the vessel with the pestle. The chalice from the palace has the brew that is true." Just after Kaye memorizes the rhyme, he is told that there's been a change, because they broke the chalice from the palace. Now, "the pellet with the poison is in the flagon with the dragon and the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true."

And as a special bonus for Danny Kaye fans, we add a video clip of him singing Anywhere I Wander from his portrayal of Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen in the 1952 film.

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.)

Unexpected Traces in Jewish Places: Haredi Musicians Play Beatles' Nowhere Man in Jerusalem

We've been running a series of occasional posts called Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places, where we share a slice of Jewish life in a location that you'd least expect to find it, such as bizarre versions of Hava Nagila and the Mud Men of Papua New Guinea reciting Sh'ma Yisrael.

Now it's time for a look at the reverse of this phenomenon that we'll call Unexpected Traces in Jewish Places. In this case the Jewish place is the Mamilla Shopping Mall in Jerusalem, and the unexpected trace is a couple of Haredi musicians playing guitar and singing one of the Beatles' most popular songs, Nowhere Man.

Not exactly what you'd expect a short distance from the Old City of Jerusalem, but thanks to Igor Trubin, who posted this and a few other selections that we'll be bringing you if you "like" this one, we can all enjoy this unexpected slice of Israeli life.

How do these musicians compare with the original? Below is a clip of the Beatles performing the same song live in concert in 1966.

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.)

Jerry Seinfeld - Once a Stand-Up Comedian, Always a Stand-Up Comedian

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld got his start in stand-up comedy, and went on to write and star in one of the most popular comedy series on television. But Seinfeld never strayed far from his stand-up comedy roots, and after his Seinfeld sitcom ended in 1998, he returned to guest appearances on TV shows, a new show called Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and stand-up comedy routines on late night TV.

A few weeks ago Seinfeld made a stand-up appearance on The Jimmy Fallon Show. In a five-minute segment, he performed jokes about his children, golf and what makes people whisper.

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.)
 

Mandy Patinkin Sings Take Me Out to the Ball Game and God Bless America - in Yiddish!

On Sunday we posted two videos of Brooklyn chasidim singing the National Anthem and God Bless America before a baseball game in Coney Island. This chorus, whose first language is Yiddish, sang the two American patriotic songs in English (with a little help from a smartphone.)

Today we're posting the flip side. American singer and actor Mandy Patinkin released a CD album a few years ago that included his rendition of Take Me Out to the Ball Game and God Bless America -- in

Yiddish! The audio clips were turned into a video by MyZeidi Video Productions.
  
We think it's appropriate to share this gem during this 80th anniversary year of Hank Greenberg's rookie year with the Detroit Tigers. Greenberg was the first Jewish superstar in all of American professional sports. He attracted national attention in 1934 when he refused to play on Yom Kippur, the holiest of Jewish holidays, even though the Tigers were in the middle of a pennant race and he never claimed to be a religiously observant, practicing Jew. Greenberg is widely considered as one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history.

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.)