Welcoming Shabbat with a Cappella Lecha Dodi by Pittsburgh Hillelujah

Hillelujah is a relatively new a cappella group established in 2015. The group is comprised of students from Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh and Point Park.

Hillel Jewish University Center is currently conducting auditions for the Hillelujah a cappella group. All Jewish students from Pittsburgh colleges and universities are welcome to try out for the group. 

In this video, Hillelujah sings one of the traditional melodies for Lecha Dodi, a hymn sung to welcome Shabbat every Friday night. The music is Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and the arrangement is based on a Pentatonix video.

Sing along and Enjoy. Shabbat shalom!


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Throwback Thursday Chanukah Comedy Special: Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy Tells the Chanukah Story on Saturday Night Live

One of our favorite characters on Saturday Night Live is Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy, played to perfection by actress/comedian Vanessa Bayer.

Despite Seth Meyers’ best efforts, Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy (Vanessa Bayer) can’t break away from his prepared speech about the miracle of Hanukkah... which is almost as big a miracle as his mom leaving a sale empty-handed. 

This skit is from 2013, Vanessa's third year as a cast member.

With this video clip, we continue our funny Chanukah-themed videos and also add to our Throwback Thursday collection.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday #TBT 

Here Come the Chanukah Videos: Six13 Sings "Bohemian Chanukah" - A Tribute to and Parody of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody

Six13 is a groundbreaking, six-man a cappella 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.

They’re driven by a mission to connect Jews around the globe with their heritage through music, anchored by a strong Jewish identity, and fueled by thumping beatbox, intricate arrangements, and soulful harmonies. 

Six13 has recorded an Chanukah-inspired parody of Bohemian Rhapsody, the pop song made famous by the British rock band Queen and viewed more than 700 million times on YouTube.

It's one of the best Chanukah music videos that we've seen so far this year.

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Chanukah Videos: Shir Soul a Cappella Sings Chanukah Parody of Pop Hit "Africa"

Four years ago we introduced you to Shir Soul,  a wedding band and a cappella singing group founded in 2005 by David Ross.

With their eclectic mix of Jewish rock, pop, and soul music, Shir Soul has recorded a few albums and plays at weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and other occasions with musical instruments or a cappella.

Shir Soul has just released their latest video, a parody of Africa, the pop hit by Toto.We're glad to add it to our collection of Chanukah music videos to share with all of our readers.

Enjoy!

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Israeli Comedian Yuval Hakal Searches for the Perfect Chanukah Donut

While the rest of the Jewish world associates the holiday of Chanukah with latkes (potato or otherwise), in Israel the preferred fried food is Sufganiyot (donuts without the hole but with lots of different creative fillings.)

On Israel21c, the Israel video network, comedian Yuval Haklai takes a whimsical look at Hanukkah in Israel.

He visits a donut bakery in Tel Aviv and checks out the machinery that injects strawberry jam, the most popular filling into the donuts. The bakeries are experimenting with new and unusual fillings, such as wasabi mayonnaise marshmallow, onion jam, and blood diamond.

Then he's off on a visit to Roladin, the "Temple Mount of Sufganiyot" where on our last visit to Israel we found 18 unique flavors. 

An estimated 24 million sufganiyot (donuts) are eaten in Israel every year during the eight day holiday of Hannukah. (Yes, we know that we've spelled it three different ways.)

Enjoy! 

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Here Come the Chanukah Videos: The Rugrats "Miracle of Chanukah"

Have you checked your calendar lately? We just realized that the first night of Chanukah is next Sunday night. This year the eight-day holiday starts on December 2 so we'd better check our candle supply and start shopping for gifts for the kids.

There are only seven more days until Chanukah begins, and we'll try to fill them with appropriate videos. There'll be a combination of new music videos and flashbacks to old TV shows and movies that had a Chanukah theme.

We'll start with a flashback to a video clip of Miracle of Chanukah from The Rugrats episode A Rugrats Chanukah. This is a special episode of Nickelodeon's animated television series Rugrats. The first episode of the show's fourth season and the sixty-sixth overall, it tells the story of the Jewish holiday Chanukah through the eyes of the Rugrats, who imagine themselves as the main characters. 

Meanwhile, Grandpa Boris and his long-time rival, Shlomo, feud over who will play the lead in the local synagogue's Chanukah play. Since most American children's television programs have Christmas specials, this was the first Chanukah episode of a children's television series.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with D'ror Yikra by Robin Helzner and the Zemer Chai Chorus

Zemirot are table hymns sung during or immediately after Shabbat meals. These medieval songs represent a unique blend of the holy and the secular, the serious and the playful, and allow family and friends to enhance the Shabbat experience.

One of the most popular zemirot is D'ror Yikra.

דְּרוֹר יִקְרָא לְבֵן עִם בַּת, וְיִנְצָרְכֶם כְּמוֹ בָבַת
נְעִים שִׁמְכֶם וְלֹא יֻשְׁבַּת,
 שְׁבוּ וְנֽוּחוּ בְּיוֹם שַׁבָּת

‬

D'ror yikra l'ven im bat

V'yintsorchem k'mo vavat.

Na'im shimchem velo yushbat

Sh'vu v'nuchu b'yom Shabbat.

"Freedom shall He proclaim for His sons and daughters

and will keep you as the apple of His eye.

Pleasant is Your name and will not cease to be;

repose (and) rest on the Sabbath day."

Today's video features Robyn Helzner and the Zemer Chai Chorus performing Robyn's version of D'ror Yikra.

A leading interpreter of World Jewish Music, Robyn has appeared in concerts in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and throughout North America. The moving story of her underground performances in the Soviet Union, which led to sold-out concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg, was told on the Public Television program, Chanukah–A Celebration of Freedom. 

Robyn has released five recordings. Hearts Awaken, A Fire Burns, and Signs & Wonders, feature the Robyn Helzner Trio. Clap Your Hands and I Live in the City are beloved by children worldwide. Robyn officiated at the first bar mitzvah celebrated in Beijing, China and served as the Cantor for the United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong. She currently serves as a cantor at Temple Sinai and leads the “Downtown Shabbat” service at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue in Washington, D.C. Robyn also leads Jewish Heritage Tours to China.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom! 

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca in "The Good Investment"

It's Throwback Thursday again and today we get another chance to go back 67 years to 1951 and another episode of The Hickenloopers on Your Show of Shows.

Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca starred in many episodes of the hilarious marital tribulations of Doris and Charlie Hickenlooper.

In this sketch, Doris Hickenlooper (Imogene Coca) invests $2200 of their savings in the stock market. Charlie (Sid Caesar) castigates her for squandering his life savings. The stock rises and falls and so do their emotions as they watch the roller coaster value of Consolidated U&M change by the minute.

Although the skit was performed in 1951 on Your Show of Shows, well before digital technology ruled Wall Street, it shows that investing hasn't really changed that much as we watch the stock market rise and fall in its current roller coaster ride.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers.

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT 

 

Hava Nagila Around the World - Turetsky Choir Sings in Russian Concert Hall

The Turetsky Men's Choir was established at the Moscow Choral Synagogue. The chorus made its debut in 1990 with Jewish liturgical and folk music in the philharmonic halls of Tallinn and Kaliningrad.

Their repertoire has grown since to include opera, spiritual, folk and pop music in ten different languages. It has been a vehicle throughout Russia for renewed interest in Jewish heritage, having resurrected music that had been near extinction since 1917 is and is now a staple throughout Russia's synagogues.

In his blog "Teruah Jewish Music" Jack Zaientz wrote, "I don't know if any of the choir members, including Turetsky, are Jewish or what being Jewish might mean to them ... And I'm not sure how much it matters. Seeing a bunch of seriously good male vocalists singing Jewish music to a huge crowd of Russians, in the face of the centuries of discrimination that Russian Jews have faced, does my heart proud."

Here is the Turetsky Men's Choir in a rousing rendition of Hava Nagila -- the 71st version that we've posted so far on Jewish Humor Central.

Enjoy! 

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Comedy Showcase: Woody Allen Standup Comedy 50 Years Ago

Before Woody Allen started writing plays and making a new film every year, he started his career as a comedy writer and standup comic.

From 1960 to 1969, Allen performed as a stand-up comedian to supplement his comedy writing. His contemporaries during those years included Lenny Bruce, Shelley Berman, the team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, and Mort Sahl, his personal favorite. 

Comedy historian Gerald Nachman notes that Allen, while not the first to do stand-up, would eventually have greater impact than all the others in the 1960s.

Here is Allen doing a standup comedy act on The Dean Martin Show in 1967.

Enjoy! 

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A Joke to Start the Week: "Fifty Bucks"

It's another Monday and it's time for another Joke to Start the Week.

Today we're taking a deep dive into the Internet and coming up with an oldie but goodie retold by Jerri Kane, a resident of the Los Angeles Jewish Home.

Here's the setup: A couple went to the Pomona Fair every single year. And every year the guy would ask his wife "Can we go for a ride in the airplane?" and the wife would say "It costs 50 dollars." And then...

Enjoy!

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Kosherfest Discovery: Giant Leaping Asian Carp Find Home in Gefilte Fish

Back in 2010 we shared a video and a story about how giant flying Asian carp invaded the Great Lakes waters and were threatening the ecosystem by dominating lakes from Louisiana to Minnesota.

Last week at the Kosherfest 2018 expo in New Jersey we spotted some of these giants at a booth sponsored by Moon River Foods of Indianola, Mississippi. Speaking with Moon River president Andre Raghu, we found that Moon River was part of the solution to the problem by catching the flying carp and turning them into food, more specifically, gefilte fish.

So if you eat gefilte fish, you may be helping the environment by thinning the population of the giant carp. According to Andre, if you eat any brand of gefilte fish that contains carp (some are only whitefish and pike) it's very likely that you have tasted Moon River's silver carp, common carp, or the biggest of the species, the buffalo fish.

Here are videos of the flying carp and our interview from Kosherfest 2018.

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Welcoming Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh as an Israeli Folk Dance

Yedid Nefesh is a piyyut (poem) usually sung on Friday night just before the Kabbalat Shabbat (Welcoming Shabbat) service begins.
 
According to Wikipedia, this beautiful poem is commonly attributed to the sixteenth century kabbalist, Rabbi Elazar ben Moshe Azikri (1533-1600), who first published it in Sefer Charedim (published in Venice 1601), but Azikri did not claim authorship of it and there have been other suggested authors (e.g. Judah Halevi, or Israel Nagara).
  
The first letters of each of the four verses make up the four letter name of God, known in English as the tetragrammaton.

We're very familiar with Yedid Nefesh as a song for Shabbat but were surprised to find out that it is also a popular folk dance in Israel. We hope you enjoy this performance choreographed by Yonatan Gabai and sung by Gad Elbaz.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!


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EXCLUSIVE On-Site Report! Best In Show and Unusual New Products From Kosherfest 2018 - Part 2

 

Today we're bringing you part two of our report from Kosherfest 2018.

On Tuesday, the first day of the show, we interviewed representatives of companies exhibiting a variety of products, some of which were prize winners and others that just appealed to us as being unusual or of special interest. We posted four segments yesterday and we're posting another five today.

The products are Israeli style shwarma sausage, Kosher Cook kitchen utensils, a prize winning wine, cured smoked salmon, and a lightbulb designed for Shabbat use.

More than 400 exhibitors lined both sides of seven aisles to vie for the attention of visitors (trade only -- but some kiddush aficionados seem to have found their way into the hall) who tried to manage noshing and stuffing literature into the bags provided by some vendors (and rolling suitcases brought by attendees).  And there was plenty to nosh and to stuff.

Some of the samples were meat, some were dairy, and some were pareve.  But all three types were scattered around the show floor, so anyone trying to keep kosher had to make careful choices.

We apologize for the loud background noise from the 6,000 attendees milling about the exhibit space while we were conducting the interviews. Use of earbuds or headphones is recommended.

 
Enjoy!

 

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EXCLUSIVE On-Site Report! Best In Show and Unusual New Products From Kosherfest 2018 - Part 1 (Watch For Part 2 Tomorrow)

Mediterranean Crisp Tortas from Spain, healthy mini fruit pops, kosher barbecue, and Israeli craft beer.
  
These are some of the prize winning and unusual products on display yesterday and today for the thousands of visitors representing all aspects of the food industry at Kosherfest 2018 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey.
 
More than 400 exhibitors lining both sides of seven aisles are vying  for the attention of visitors (trade only -- but some kiddush aficionados seem to have found their way into the hall) who try to manage noshing and stuffing literature into the bags provided by some vendors (and rolling suitcases brought by attendees).  And there's plenty to nosh and to stuff.

Some of the samples are meat, some are dairy, and some are pareve.  But all three types are scattered around the show floor, so anyone trying to keep kosher has to make careful choices.

The vendors are hoping that visitors will make bulk purchases, and some of the newer, smaller, and foreign companies exhibiting for the first time are hoping to find distributors who will bring their wares to your local supermarket.

If you love kiddush, can make a case for being in some kind of food-related business, have a few hours to spare and don't mind walking a a quarter mile to a parking lot, this is the place for you.  It's still open all day today, Wednesday, from 10 am to 4 pm.  The on-site registration fee is $110.

We interviewed a few of the exhibitors and got closeups of some of the more unusual delicacies in this video for you to savor.  We're presenting them in two parts today and tomorrow.

We apologize for the loud background noise from the 6,000 attendees milling about the exhibit space while we were conducting the interviews. Listening with earbuds or headphones is recommended.

Enjoy!
  
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