Avi Liberman Brings Latest "Comedy for Koby" Stand-Up Tour to Israel

Twice every year since 2002 Los Angeles comedian Avi Liberman brings a new group of three stand-up comedians from the US to major cities in Israel. That's where they are now, completing their current tour with performances Sunday in Gush Etzion, Monday in Jerusalem, and Tuesday in Tel Aviv.

Comedy for Koby has become a fundraising vehicle to support the Koby Mandell Foundation, which was started in 2001 by Rabbi Seth and Sherri Mandell, the parents of Koby Mandell, who with his friend Yosef Ishran was brutally murdered by terrorists near their home in Israel.  
 
The foundation provides a Jewish response to the impact of terror and tragedy— helping bereaved mothers, fathers,widows, orphans and siblings re-build their lives, and create meaning out of suffering.  

Here's a video report on last December's version of Comedy for Koby. The comedians performing this week, in addition to Liberman, are Modi, Joe Matarese, and Brian Kiley.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)  

Remembering Anne Meara With a Video Clip on Computer Dating

Anne Meara, the comedy actress wife of Jerry Stiller and mother of Ben and Amy Stiller, died in Manhattan last Saturday at the age of 85.

As the Irish Catholic half of the comedy team of Stiller and Meara, she made many appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and other TV programs.

A lot of their humor focused on their different religious backgrounds, but actually Meara converted to Reform Judaism six years after marrying Stiller.

According to the biographical website NNDB,

She has long stressed that her conversion wasn't at Stiller's request, but because "Catholicism was dead to me", and she simply came to prefer the more "lively" character of Jewish culture. And she took the conversion seriously, studying the faith in such depth that her born-Jewish husband quipped, "being married to Anne has made me more Jewish".

Here is a video clip of Stiller and Meara in a skit about computer dating when it was first introduced.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)  


(A tip of the kippah to Meyer Berkowitz for bringing this to our attention.)

A New Generation of Jewish Joke Tellers Grows in Brooklyn

After years of associating Jewish jokes with old Jews, it's refreshing to see a new generation of Jewish joke tellers emerge. Where? At the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue Religious School, students can join a Jewish Jokes Chug.

What's a chug? It's pronounced like challah and Chanukah. The Hebrew word actually means a flat circle, but it's used to describe a circle of people engaging in an activity together, as in a class or a club.

At the school, kids can participate in the fellowship of Jewish joke telling. The jokes are supposed to be original, but we recognized a few oldies but goodies. The kids look like they're enjoying themselves, and we may soon have a new crop of funny Jews to keep stand-up comedy alive.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

A Gilda Radner Flashback: It's the Judy Miller Show!

It's hard to believe that it's been 26 years since the death of Gilda Radner, the brilliant Jewish comedy star of Saturday Night Live. Her hilarious characters made the show a must see every week.

Thanks to the Internet, we still have some of her landmark sketches available to watch and laugh. In the coming weeks we'll post some of her other character skits including Roseanne Roseannadanna, Emily Litella, Lisa Loopner, and Baba Wawa.

Here's a classic visit to the room of Judy Miller, Gilda's stand-in for every little girl who imagines herself the star of her very own show and acts out every role.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)




(A tip of the kippah to Esther Kustanowitz for bringing this video to our attention.)

A Saturday Night Live Flashback: Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy Explains Passover (With a Little Help from Billy Crystal)

As we take leave of Shavuot and return to our humor mix, we came across a Saturday Night Live comedy skit that's only a couple of months old. But it's one that we missed while we were celebrating Passover in Israel. We thought you may have missed it too, so we're posting it now.

In this return of Vanessa Bayer in the role of Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy, one of our favorite characters, Jacob welcomes his father the podiatrist (played by Billy Crystal). Watching Billy in his role, it quickly becomes apparent where Jacob got his quirky and awkward style of reading his script and handling his interviewer.

Enjoy! 

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

Shavuot - The Scandalous Backstory of Ruth and Boaz

The holiday of Shavuot starts this Saturday night. Although the two day holiday (one day in Israel) commemorates the giving and receiving of the Torah, it is the least well known and the least observed of the three pilgrimage festivals.

Shavuot doesn't have the vibrant visual symbolism of Pesach and Sukkot. Besides the festive meals that are part of every Jewish holiday, there is an emphasis on all night study and the reading of the Megillah of Ruth in the synagogue.

Today we came across an explanation of the Megillah of Ruth that we hadn't seen before, describing it as a tale of seduction that has links to similar stories about Lot and his daughters and Judah and Tamar.

The story is told by Rabbi David Fohrman, founder of Aleph Beta Academy, on the Orthodox Union website with the use of animation. It's an interesting take on a story that we thought we knew well.

We'll be spending the two days of Shavuot on Sunday and Monday attending classes at night, eating cheesecake, and reading the Megillah of Ruth with new insight. We'll be back on Tuesday with our usual mix.

Shabbat shalom and chag sameach!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

Jewish Home at Rockleigh Residents Perform Songs From Tony Award Winning Musicals

The Tony awards for Broadway shows will be presented on June 7. The residents of The Jewish Home at Rockleigh are already in the mood, having just performed a concert titled A Century of Song.


The concert took place last Thursday, May 14, and included many songs from award-winning musicals from 42nd Street to Les Miserables.

Many decades were represented in excerpts from Fiddler on the Roof, Damn Yankees, The King and I, Annie, Man of La Mancha, Cats, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. 

The Jewish Home at Rockleigh, Russ Berrie Home for Jewish Living, is a state-of-the-art, kosher, skilled nursing facility. Situated on a breathtaking 16 acre park-like setting, the 180 resident facility offers exceptional care to its long-term care residents, those suffering from dementia, and those in need of respite care, hospice care, sub-acute care, speech, physical and occupational inpatient/outpatient rehabilitation.

Below is a video clip from the concert, with the residents singing Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King. Here is a link to the playlist if you would like to hear all of the songs.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

A Bissel of Romance From the Jewish Home in Australia

The word bissel means "a little bit" in Yiddish. "A Bissel Of..." is a new series of short videos featuring residents of Jewish Care of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, who give us their answers to a range of questions.

This Bissel of Romance is the fifth video in the series. We previously posted "Bissel" videos with the seniors' answers to questions about Chanukah, Shabbat, food, technology, and Pesach.
In this video the seniors tackle these questions:

1. Do you remember your first kiss?
2. Did you ever date someone your parents didn't like?

You asked for more of this series, so here goes! Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

 

Orthodox Jewish Graduate Finds a Kosher Way to Give His Speech on Shabbat

Don Greenberg, a triple major in computer science, finance and math at Binghamton University, was scheduled to speak at the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science graduation ceremony on Saturday.

But there was one problem. The ceremony was scheduled on Shabbat, and Don is an Orthodox Jew whose use of the school's microphone and sound system with lights illuminating a sound board would be a violation of Shabbat.
  
The solution? The school allowed him to videotape his speech three days earlier. So on graduation day Don stood at the podium and watched the video of himself delivering the speech on the jumbo screens on both sides of the podium.

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

A Joke to Start the Week: "The Guru"

Today's joke to start the week is connected to yesterday's post about connections between Judaism and Buddhism. 

It's a very old joke that can stand on its own but makes a lot more sense when you're aware of the Jewish Buddhists and Buddhist Jews who flourished, especially in the fields of arts and entertainment, in the 1960s and 1970s.

Here's the setup: Mrs. Bernstein, an elderly Jewish lady from New York, bounces into her travel agent's office and announces: "I vant to go to India." And then...

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

Unexpected Traces in Jewish Places: Judaism and Buddhist Meditation

In its series of Yiddish videos, the Jewish Daily Forward reported on elements of Buddhism appearing in some Jewish communities. (There's an old joke about this, but we'll save it for tomorrow's Joke to Start the Week.)

Today we're not joking, but just sharing reporter Shmuel Perlin's observations as a Jew in China. Speaking in Yiddish with English subtitles, Perlin says that in the 1960s and 1970s many Jews were attracted to Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. 

There was a lama from Tibet that remarked that most of his followers were Jews and that they should be called the Oy Vey school of Buddhism. Today there are a few lamas who were born Jews, such as Surya Das, who was born in Long Island as Jeff Miller. He is close to the Dalai Lama and travels, teaches, and leads meditation retreats around the world.

In today's video, Dr. Brenda Shoshanna, author of Jewish Dharma: A Guide to the Practice of Judaism and Zen, and Yael Shy, Co-Director of the NYU Center for Spiritual Life, discuss connections between Judaism and Buddhism.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

A Beatles Shabbat at Temple Avodah in Oceanside NY

 

Last November, the rabbi and cantorial soloist of Temple Avodah, a Reform congregation in Oceanside, New York, led a Shabbat service utilizing the words and music of The Beatles in a very creative and meaningful way.

Sure, there have been many services set to popular music and to songs from Broadway shows, and this wasn't the first use of Beatles songs in a synagogue service. 

But Rabbi Uri Goren, the Chilean-born and educated spiritual leader,went a step further and delivered an eight-minute-long sermon called "Speaking Words of Wisdom" that creatively incorporated lyrics from eleven Beatles songs.

Cantorial soloist Jessica Gubenko sang the Friday night service to seven Beatles songs.
Shalom Aleichem - A Little Help From My Friends
Lecha Dodi - Eight Days a Week
Borchu - Hey Jude
Mi Kamocha - Obladi Oblada
V'Shomru - And I Love Her
Shalom Rav - When I'm 64
Oseh Shalom (Kaddish) - Imagine

Rabbi Goren took key excerpts from the lyrics of Let It Be, All You Need Is Love, Can't Buy Me Love, Help, Love Me Do, Nowhere Man, Yellow Submarine, Here Comes the Sun, From Me to You, Eight Days a Week, and The Long and Winding Road and turned them into a sermon on how to be happy and find God.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

(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.)

Friday Night Shabbat Service With 7 Beatles Songs




Beatles Shabbat Sermon - "Speaking Words of Wisdom"

When You Don't Know the Difference Between a Jacuzzi and a Mikveh

Under-Dos is the name of an Israeli Orthodox comedy group which specializes in irreverent sketches on aspects of Jewish life that are hilariously and immediately recognizable to "insiders", that is, religious Jews.  "Dos" is an Israeli slang term for someone who is religiously observant. 

As Elad Benari and Yoni Kempinski reported in Arutz Sheva,

“Our sketches are religiously oriented,” group member Yair Ya’akobi told Arutz Sheva. “This means we take every day situations from the typical religious milieu, we try to take them to extremes and see what happens.”

Ya’akobi emphasized that while many comedy groups essentially make fun of religion, Under-Dos makes sure not to push the limit and not to make fun of the values in which its members and religious viewers believe, but just of the situations that can arise in their lives.

“What we try to do is to be 100% kosher, because it’s easy to push the limits and then you find yourself making fun of the values that you stand for, and we really don’t want that,” he said. “We just look at things from different angles and with a wink.”

Most of the sketches are in Hebrew, spoken so fast that they have Hebrew subtitles. 

We posted one of their sketches in October 2013. Here's another one that needs a little explanation, so please bear with us. 

The scene takes place in a Jacuzzi next to an indoor swimming pool where one guy is enjoying the bubbling warm waters. Along comes an Orthodox Jew with a bunch of kitchen utensils that he wants to immerse in the Jacuzzi, never having seen a Jacuzzi and thinking that it's a mikveh for dishes. (Orthodox practice calls for immersion of new dishes before their first use.) A brief dialogue ensues in which the guy in the Jacuzzi explains it to the guy with the dishes, who asks why the bather would want to bathe in a mikveh for dishes. The bather explains that the Jacuzzi is for pleasure, something the guy with the dishes doesn't seem to have a clue about. But he gets it pretty fast and very quickly jumps into the bubbling waters. 

So now he's an expert on Jacuzzis and when a black-hatted Haredi Jew arrives to dunk his pots in the water, he gets a quick education from the newcomer to the Jacuzzi, whereupon the Haredi joins the other two and exclaims: "Ah Jacuzzi, where have you been all my life?"

That sets the stage for yet another dish dunker who is told by the black-hatter to go away because there's no more room for him in the Jacuzzi. Frustrated, he throws his dish into the big pool.

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.)

Comedy Spotlight: Benji Lovitt on the Shuk, Israel's Open-Air Markets

Benji Lovitt, a native Texan who moved to Israel about eight years ago, has brought his comedy impressions of Jewish life in Israel and America to audiences of all ages in both countries.

Last year he addressed a group of students attending the MASA Israel Leadership summit. MASA Israel connects Jewish young adults (ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. We previously published his funny recollections of learning Hebrew at a Jewish American summer camp, and the mismatch of the Hebrew taught in camp and the everyday Hebrew spoken in Israel.

In today's video clip, Benji focuses on the Shuk, the open-air fruit, vegetable, and everything market (both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have big ones), and goes through an imaginary interview to find qualified applicants to sell products at the shuk.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.) 

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

Masa Israel Journey connects Jewish young adults
(ages 18-30) to gap year, study abroad, post-college, and volunteer programs. - See more at: http://www.masaisrael.org/#sthash.jBUT7d8d.dpuf

The Ultimate Chasidic Food Taste Test

There seems to be a surge of videos showing reactions of non-Jews to eating Jewish food for the first time. 

We've already run a few of them in previous months, but we keep seeing new attempts by different posters to introduce these dishes to people who haven't a clue as to what they are and what they taste like.

Here's one of the latest videos called The Ultimate Chasidic Food Taste Test. We wouldn't categorize schmaltz herring, p'tcha (which they call gala), gribenes (which they call grieven), cholent (which they call yapchik), Yerushalmi kugel, and kishke as Chasidic, but simply as Jewish food from the old country. But if they want to call these delights Chasidic food, it's OK with us.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.) 

A Joke to Start the Week: "Strawberries and...."

It's beginning to feel a lot like summer here in New Jersey. But summer or winter, rain, snow or shine, when it's Monday, it's time for another Joke to Start the Week.

Still thinking of our February in Florida, we're telling a joke today that's set in South Florida.

Here's the setup: Morris retires and goes on a vacation to South Florida. He finds himself a nice little hotel just outside of Miami. And then...

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.) 

"It Shoulda Been You" Comes to Broadway With Singing and Kvetching

Broadway has a new musical hit show based on an old familiar theme, a Jewish-gentile marriage. Reviews of It Shoulda Been You have been mixed, and Ben Brantley of The New York Times didn't like it, summing up his critique as ""Oy." 

We haven't seen the show yet, but when it comes to Jewish themed productions, we tend not to see eye-to-eye with The New York Times, and look to other voices instead.

As Frank Scheck wrote in The Hollywood Reporter,

That old popular-comedy chestnut Abie's Irish Rose is given a modern twist in the new musical It Shoulda Been You, which plays like vintage dinner theater infused with a Borscht Belt sensibility. That it nonetheless manages to be truly amusing is a testament to the talent both on and offstage .

The plot concerns the impending nuptials of the Jewish Rebecca (Sierra Boggess) to the Catholic Brian (David Burtka), with family tensions inevitably rising to the fore. Rebecca's zaftig older sister Jenny (a charming Lisa Howard), while happy for her sis, wonders if she'll ever find similar happiness. Meanwhile, matriarchs Judy (Daly) and Georgette (Harris) are consistently at odds, with their hapless husbands (Chip Zien, Michael X. Martin) helplessly watching from the sidelines.

In USA Today, Elysa Gardner wrote:

This new musical, this Broadway season's freshest and funniest to date, defies skepticism, both in its wacky humor and its big, buoyant heart. Book writer and lyricist Brian Hargrove and composer Barbara Anselmi have taken a familiar premise — that of lovers from different backgrounds uniting — and crafted something that is both endearingly old-fashioned in spirit and decidedly cIontemporary in execution.

Under the whip-smart direction of David Hyde Piece (Hargrove's husband), the 100-minute Shoulda Been can feel like a revival of some lost screwball classic. But Hargrove's hilarious lines, in song and dialogue, take liberties that wouldn't have flown back in the day. The bride's parents express their frustration in Yiddish, while the groom's mom confesses to vaguely inappropriate feelings for her son.

The message underlying this madness has to do with the importance of viewing others — as individuals, in families and relationships — with eyes wide open. And Pierce and his superb cast serve it with a delicacy befitting a fine soufflé.

A couple of weeks ago the cast of It Shoulda Been You made an appearance on the Today show. Here's a video of that appearance that should give you a good idea of what it's all about.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.) 

Mort Sahl Retells a Joke From Menachem Begin's Visit to the Reagan White House

Mort Sahl, the Canadian-born American comedian, will celebrate his 88th birthday on Monday. 

Sahl is widely considered the first modern stand-up comedian. He was the first comedian to dress casually and speak about current events in a matter-of-fact style.

During the Reagan years, Sahl was a guest at a White House dinner for Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Years later, on the Merv Griffin show, Sahl recalled the events of that evening, including the menu.

He related to Griffin that Begin told Reagan the joke about the telephone call to God. It's an old joke and you've probably heard it, but it's still funny every time we hear it.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.) 

Comedy Flashback: Jackie Mason on Smothers Brothers TV Show

Jackie Mason has been featured on Jewish Humor Central many times over the years and we always get a lot of likes whenever we post some of his shtick.

Today we're sharing a video clip of one of his performances on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour back sometime between 1967 and 1969.

In this video Jackie focuses on topics that were in the news at that time, such as the Vietnam War, President Nixon, Brotherhood, race and color.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.) 

Musical Flashback to 1960: Harry Belafonte Sings Hinei Ma Tov

Hinei Ma Tov is one of those songs, like Hava Nagila and Hevenu Shalom Aleichem, that has broken out of the world of Jewish music to achieve popularity in the general culture. 

Its lyrics are the first verse of Psalm 133, which reads, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
הִנֵּה מַה טוֹב וּמַה נָּעִים שֶׁבֶת אָחִים גַּם יַחַד

We found versions of the song in some unexpected places including Indonesia, where a college choir gave a performance that we shared here a few months ago.

In the 1977 television film Raid on Entebbe, Yonathan Netanyahu and Sammy Berg lead the Israeli commandos in singing the refrain while the commandos' plane is en route to rescue the hostages. It is also played during the closing credits. 

In 1960 Harry Belafonte performed Hinei Ma Tov on a TV program in England that was captured and uploaded to YouTube. We hope you'll enjoy this version.

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.) 

Comedy Flashback: Early Jerry Seinfeld Stand-Up on Why People Have Pets

Before Jerry Seinfeld scored big with his long-running TV series Seinfeld, he was a regular on the New York stand-up comedy circuit.

In this undated video clip of an early stand-up performance, Jerry explains his theory of why people have children, and then follows up with the reasons why people acquire dogs as pets.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

A Joke to Start the Week - "The Talking Dog"

It's a beautiful Monday in New Jersey and we hope the weather is just as beautiful where you are. And wherever you are it's time for a joke to start the week.

Since we ran out of family-friendly joke videos on the Internet, we've been making our own with better equipment each time and we thank you for bearing with us while we improve the video and sound quality. 

In the coming weeks we plan to recruit a new team of joke tellers and keep our Monday specials going. Here's the setup for today's joke:

This guy gets a new dog and he trains him. And he's so proud of the dog that he calls his best friend over, and then...

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

Israel Philharmonic and Bobby McFerrin Have Fun With William Tell Overture

Bobby McFerrin, the singer and conductor best known for his song Don't Worry, Be Happy, has been a guest conductor for many symphony orchestras. In 1995 he conducted a concert in Tel Aviv with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

If you thought that the Israel Philharmonic played only classical music, you would be wrong because this concert was more like a Boston Pops production. McFerrin fooled around with the orchestra and with the audience, and the more serious pieces were the overture from Carmen and the suite from West Side Story.

But the highlight that captured the audience's applause the most was the William Tell Overture by Rossini. After what seemed like an ordinary introduction, instead of playing their instruments, the members of the orchestra launched into an a cappella version, mimicking their instruments with only their voices.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)



(A tip of the kippah to Sharon Mosenkis for bringing this video to our attention.)