Welcoming Shabbat with "Shabbat Hamalka" by Chaim Nachman Bialik

Today we welcome Shabbat with Shabbat Hamalka, a song with lyrics by Chaim Nachman Bialik, one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry. The music was composed by Martin Widerker.

The version in the video clip below is performed by Cantor Yaakov Rosenfeld and the Kehal Chassidim Choir.

Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry. His poems have been translated into at least 30 languages, and set to music as popular songs. These poems, and the songs based on them, have become an essential part of the education and culture of modern Israel. He was the uncle of actress Mayim Bialik's great-great-grandfather.

Enjoy, and Shabbat Shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Dennis Wolfberg and "The Double Bris"

In the 1980s, stand-up comedian Dennis Wolfberg headlined at comedy clubs across the country as well as working in Las Vegas and Atlantic City on a regular basis. He was twice named America's top male comic in votes by clubgoers and owners nationwide. In 1990 he won an American Comedy Award as best male standup.

Wolfberg appeared twice on The Tonight Show. In addition, he was a frequent guest on The Merv Griffin Show, The Pat Sajak Show and The Arsenio Hall Show. He starred in his own half-hour comedy special on HBO in 1990.

His talented comedy career was cut short when he died of melanoma in 1994, at the age of 48. Though he battled cancer for at least two years, he continued to work through the end of August 1994. At the time of his death, he was negotiating a deal for his own TV show.

We're lucky to have some of his routines that were captured on video and posted on YouTube. Here is one of his appearances at Comic Strip Live in which he describes in graphic detail the bris of his twin sons who were born seven weeks before his performance.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Comedy Showcase: Keith Barany on Driving in New York City

The comedy of Keith Barany (“Bare-a-knee”) is often described as original, gentle & brilliant. In fact The NY Post called him “The wittiest comedian working”. It’s his lightning fast “ad-libs” that most amaze audiences. 

From time to time Keith has written for well known TV shows such as: “The Emmy Awards”, “Politically Incorrect”, “The Jimmy Kimmel show” and most notably, “SEINFELD”. 

He’s performed in concert with: John Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, Joan Rivers, Ray Romano, Bob Hope, Joy Behar, Lewis Black & Ray Charles. Keith has entertained our US troops MANY times in the last 20 years. 

In this video clip, Keith tells of his experiences in job interviews and teaching driving in Manhattan.

Enjoy!

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Keeping Kosher and Shomer Shabbat in Singapore

Singapore is a small-but-prosperous island nation, both a city and a country, located just off the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia.

The first Jewish settlers came to Singapore over 200 years ago, most originally from Baghdad, Iraq.

Today, over 2,000 Jews call Singapore their home. How do they observe their Sabbath and where do they find kosher food products? 

What happens when national duty conflicts with the religious customs of a Jew in Singapore? Do Jews in Singapore experience any anti-Semitism? 

Here’s how one orthodox Jewish family fit into Singapore society while keeping to their traditional customs. 

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Desert Island Romance"

It's Monday again, and time for another Joke to Start the Week. We have another one today from Sheldon Horowitz, the retired attorney and adjunct professor who attended the annual Camp Hazak week with us in the Catskills in July.

The camp, which was held at the newly refurbished Honor's Haven Resort and Spa in Ellenville, New York, attracted about 70 seniors, mostly from Hazak groups at Conservative synagogues from up and down the east coast. Sheldon had previously given us a few jokes at another Hazak retreat six years ago at Kutsher's Resort. Today we're sharing another one of his new old ones.

Here's the setup: This woman is single. She has no social life. She has no boyfriends, she doesn't go out on dates and doesn't go to parties. She's very down. So her friend says to her "You've got to break out of this. Why don't you go on an ocean cruise?" And then...

Enjoy! 

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Where Can You Get the Best Ice Cream? Gelato in Italy? How About Bamba in Israel?

When you live in a hot country, you take your ice cream seriously. And when you live in Israel, where the diversity of food is phenomenal, well… be prepared for something spectacular. Whether you eat it in a cone or cup, Israeli ice cream is rapidly gaining a reputation as some of the best in the world. 

Come on a quick journey to see how Israelis are using their extraordinary approach to food to conjure up new tastes in ice cream. Bamba ice cream, ice cream infused with mozzarella and basil, watermelon and Bulgarian cheese, orange, olive oil and salt, and even ice cream for dogs … Israelis aren’t afraid to try anything new. And of course, there’s all the regular flavors too.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Oseh Shalom by Rick Recht

Rick Recht is one of the top touring musicians in Jewish music playing over 150 dates each year in the US and abroad.

Rick has revolutionized and elevated the genre of Jewish rock music as a powerful and effective tool for developing Jewish pride and identity in youth and adults across the US. 

Rick is the national celebrity spokesman for the PJ Library and is the Executive Director of Songleader Boot Camp – a national songleader training immersion program held in various cities around the U.S.

The last 18 summers, Rick and his band played at literally hundreds of URJ, Ramah, JCC and private camps around the country.  Rick has been featured in concert and as scholar in residence at the NFTY, BBYO, and USY International conventions, the URJ Biennial, the American Conference of Cantors, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and Jewish communities across the US.   Rick has 13 top selling Jewish albums including his most recent release, Halleluyah.

Let's welcome this Shabbat with Rick singing Oseh Shalom.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner in "The Two Hour Old Baby"

Fifty-eight years ago in 1961, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, riding high on the success of their comedy album The 2000 Year Old Man, couldn't resist producing a follow-on album called 2000 and One Years with Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks.

One of the funniest tracks on this album is The 2 Hour Old Baby, in which Carl Reiner finds his way into the maternity ward of the UCLA Medical Center to interview a two hour old baby who was born with the power of speech and intelligence.

The nurses have told him that the baby has been speaking nonstop since he was born and Reiner, the interviewer, has been given permission to ask questions of the baby, who is played by none other than Mel Brooks.

We don't have video for this skit, only audio, so you'll have to be content listening to the audio and looking at the album cover. It's still a riot, and we hope you'll enjoy the dialogue.

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Standup Comic Rita Rudner Talks About Her New Musical Comedy

Rita Rudner, one of our favorite standup comedians,stopped by the New York Live TV show to tell hosts Sara Gore and Jacque Reid about her new musical comedy Two's a Crowd, working with her husband and more.

As Marina Kennedy wrote in Broadway World,

The NYC premiere of a marvelous new musical, Two's a Crowd is now onstage at 59E59 Theaters through August 25. It has a book by Rita Rudner and Martin Bergman, directed by Mr. Bergman, with music and lyrics by Jason Feddy. Not only is the show humorous with laugh out loud moments but it also has plenty of heart. With Rudner starring, her fans and many more will want to see this delightful production.

The premise for the Two's a Crowd is a clever one. Wendy is a very organized and particular woman in her early 60's who embarks on a solo vacation to Las Vegas to reflect on the problems with her unfaithful husband. But when she arrives in her room, Tom, who seems to be Wendy's polar opposite, already occupies it. Tom is an easy-going type and a recent retiree who is in Vegas to play in a poker tournament. With the hotel being totally booked, the two decide they will have to work out rooming together. But what can these two find in common and will this cozy situation result in an unexpected attraction?

Here's a clip from the show and the New York Live interview.  Enjoy! 

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"Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles" - A New Documentary Arrives This Friday

A new documentary, Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles will be starting its run in select theaters this Friday, August 23.

It's the origin story behind one of Broadway's most beloved musicals, Fiddler on The Roof, and its creative roots in early 1960s New York, when "tradition" was on the wane as gender roles, sexuality, race relations and religion were evolving.  

As David Gordon wrote in his Theatermania review,

The film presents a deep dive into the cultural history of the show, which will no doubt thrill theater aficionados. There's production footage from Broadway and world productions, demos performed by songwriters Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, and interviews with everyone from Chaim Topol (the Tevye of the 1971 film adaptation) to Lin-Manuel Miranda.

As the documentary shows, whether it's presented as a traditional Fiddler on Broadway with professional actors, or in Brownsville, Brooklyn with a cast of African-American elementary school students, or in Thailand with an all-Thai company, the performers and audience find a way into the material. 

So when and where can you see it? The hour and a half long documentary will be playing in Manhattan at the Landmark Theatre on West 57th Street starting Friday August 23. It will also be at select AMC Theatres. Dates and times will be posted at the AMC website starting tomorrow.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Overcoming Fear of Flying"

Last month, some of our jokes to start the week came from a Jews Telling Jokes night earlier this year at Chabad of Downtown San Diego. Today we're sharing another joke from that event told by Rabbi Zalman Carlebach, spiritual leader of the shul. 

Rabbi Carlebach was born in Johannesburg and went to Torah Academy. He studied in Morristown, Leeds, England, and Pretoria where he received his Rabbinical Degree. As a student Rabbi, he traveled from rural Australia to Kathmandu, Nepal to share the beauty of Torah with others.

Somewhere along the line he learned to tell jokes. 
Here's the setup for this one: The first time that Sadie was flying on an airplane, the air hostess realized that she was so scared that she gave her a magazine to keep her mind off her flight. And then...

Enjoy!

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Comedy Showcase: Canadian Actor and Comedian Robert Cait

Whenever we find a really funny Jewish comedian who tells clean jokes, we consider it a very good day. So today's a very good day since we came across the comedy of Robert Cait, a Canadian actor and comedian who is fluent in Hebrew and Yiddish and is very aware of the Jewish scene.
 
A graduate of The Associated Hebrew Day Schools Talmud Torah in Toronto, Cait has talents beyond stand-up comedy. You've  probably heard his voice in documentaries and TV commercials.

From the unaffordable, high cost of Jewish education, to what makes Israelis tick, to bizarre holiday foods, Cait connects with Jewish audiences at their deepest and most hysterical levels.
 
Audiences have enjoyed Cait on A&E’s Evening at the Improv and on MTV’s Half Hour Comedy Hour. He has played at The Laugh Factory and The Comedy Store and was the opening act for headliner Dennis Miller’s Las Vegas show.
 
In this stand-up segment, Cait touches on Bibi Netanyahu, the cost of day school, lashon hara, his bubbe, Hollywood casting, and the planet Mars.

Enjoy!
 
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Welcoming Shabbat with Anim Zemirot by the UK Shabbaton Choir

London's Shabbaton Choir first took to the stage in 1986 as the B’nai Brith Festival Singers. It was formed by a young and talented musician, Stephen Glass, who sought a modern alternative to traditional choral music and composed new arrangements that brought out the mood and meaning of the prayers. 

In 1989 Lionel Rosenfeld, who had returned from Jerusalem to become Chazan of Marble Arch Synagogue, was introduced to Stephen Glass by Chazan Naftali Herstik. Lionel & Stephen found that they shared a common interest in developing innovative Friday night and Shabbat morning choral services, so that prayers that too often were said and sung as if by rote could be given new life. 

And so after six months of composing and rehearsing, the renamed Shabbaton Choir under Stephen Glass held its first ever Choral Shabbaton in April 1990 with Chazan Rosenfeld, at the Marble Arch Synagogue. Stephen & Lionel then continued to compose new music for Choral Selichot services.

Lionel has been joined over the years by Chazanim Steve Robins, Robert Brody, Shimon Craimer, Steven Leas, Jonathan Murgraff and, for the past thirteen years, by Jonny Turgel. Every year until his retirement, Chief Rabbi Sacks would set the mood with an inspirational address before the Service.

 

Anim Z'mirot is the Shabbaton Choir's newest album and was released in January 2016 to mark its 25th Anniversary. The title track, written by Musical Director Stephen Levey, features the Shabbaton Choir singing with children from Hertsmere Jewish Primary School as well as Chazanim Shimon Craimer, Lionel Rosenfeld and Jonny Turgel. It was recorded on Sunday 10 May 2015 at JCoSS in London.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom! 

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Groucho Marx's Funniest Contestant on "You Bet Your Life"

On this Throwback Thursday we're turning the clock and calendar back to 1955, when Groucho Marx was in his heyday as host of the weekly show You Bet Your Life.

The show debuted on ABC Radio on October 27, 1947, then moved to CBS Radio debuting October 5, 1949, before making the transition to NBC-TV and NBC Radio on October 4, 1950. Because of its simple format, it was possible to broadcast the show simultaneously on radio and television. 

The last episode in its radio format aired on June 10, 1960. On television, however, the series continued for another year, debuting in its final season on September 22, 1960, and with a new title, The Groucho Show. 

In this episode, Groucho banters with one of his funniest contestants, a printer's devil from Seattle who mesmerizes him with his googly eyes. We think it's impossible to watch this episode without laughing out loud.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT 

Comedy Showcase: Dan Naturman Pokes Fun at Family and Doctors on "America's Got Talent"

Dan Naturman entered the stand up comedy world as a Fordham University School of Law student. Following graduation, he abandoned law and became a full-time comedian. Dan’s endearing, self-deprecating wit has earned him fans around the country. 

Dan earned widespread critical praise for his comedy album, Get Off My Property, with Punchline Magazine proclaiming Dan’s act has “universal appeal.” He was the favorite comedian of judges Drew Carey and Brett Butler on the second season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. 

Dan has also made several appearances on The Tonight Show, The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Naturman has also earned rave reviews for his stand up spots on Last Call with Carson Daly, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! He is a regular at all of the top New York clubs, including the Comedy Cellar, Comic Strip Live, and Stand Up New York. 

Here's a clip of Dan performing a few years ago on America's Got Talent.

Enjoy!

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Hava Nagila Around the World - Gloria Dance School in Yerevan, Armenia

As we keep singing Hava Nagila and dancing to it around the world, we keep finding new interpretations in new countries.

In 2016 the Gloria Dance School of Yerevan, Armenia, performed a jubilant version of Hava Nagila as part of their 20th anniversary concert.

The Gloria Dance Sport School was founded in 1995, with doors of the dance center open to all
who love ballroom dancing and other forms of dance. The club provides training for children and adults, athletes and non-athletes. 

Take a look and see what they do with Hava Nagila. It's the 79th version that we've posted since starting Jewish Humor Central in 2009.

Enjoy!


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A Joke to Start the Week - "Reward and Punishment"

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

In early July, when we were presenting programs on Jewish humor at the annual Camp Hazak week in the Catskills, we were glad to run into Sheldon Horowitz, a retired attorney and adjunct professor who loves to tell jokes and has been telling them for many years.

The camp, which was held at the newly refurbished Honor's Haven Resort and Spa in Ellenville, New York, attracted about 70 seniors, mostly from Hazak groups at Conservative synagogues from up and down the east coast. Sheldon had previously given us a few jokes at another Hazak retreat six years ago at Kutsher's Resort. Today we're sharing another one of his new old ones. We still have one more that we're saving for a future week.

Here's the setup: This Jew dies and goes up to heaven. He's walking around there for a couple of weeks and he sees this old rabbi that he knew years ago, and there's the rabbi walking arm in arm with a beautiful blonde. And then...

Enjoy!

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Tisha B'Av Psalm Inspires Pop Song and Line Dance

Today is Tisha B'Av, an annual fast day in Judaism which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and the subsequent exile of the Jews from the Land of Israel to Babylon.

The day also commemorates other tragedies which occurred on the same day, including the Roman massacre of over 100,000 Jews at Betar in 132 CE. It was instituted by the rabbis of 2nd-century Palestine.

Tisha B'Av is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, a day in which all pleasurable activity is forbidden, and is marked by synagogue attendance the night before and during the day. But that doesn't mean there's no singing, or more accurately, chanting.

The highlight of the day's service is the chanting of the megillah of Eicha (Lamentations), written by the prophet Jeremiah. Eicha is read in synagogues and in groups meeting indoors and outdoors.

In some Jewish communities Psalm 137 is recited or chanted. It reads:

Psalms Chapter 137 1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, we also wept, when we remembered Zion. 2. We hung our lyres on the willows in its midst. 3. For there those who carried us away captive required of us a song; and those who tormented us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 4. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? 5. If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 6. If I do not remember you, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. 7. Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites, the day of Jerusalem; who said, Raze it, raze it, to its foundation. 8. O daughter of Babylon, you are to be destroyed! Happy shall he be, who repays you for what you have done to us. 9. Happy shall he be, who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock.

פרק קלז א עַֽל־נַֽהֲרוֹת | בָּבֶל שָׁם יָשַׁבְנוּ גַּם־בָּכִינוּ בְּזָכְרֵנוּ אֶת־צִיּֽוֹן : ב עַל־עֲרָבִים בְּתוֹכָהּ תָּלִינוּ כִּנֹּרוֹתֵֽינוּ : ג כִּי שָׁם שְֽׁאֵלוּנוּ שׁוֹבֵינוּ דִּבְרֵי־שִׁיר וְתוֹלָלֵינוּ שִׂמְחָה שִׁירוּ לָנוּ מִשִּׁיר צִיּֽוֹן : ד אֵיךְ נָשִׁיר אֶת־שִׁיר יְהֹוָה עַל אַדְמַת נֵכָֽר : ה אִֽם־אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְֽרוּשָׁלָם תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִֽי : ו תִּדְבַּק־לְשׁוֹנִי | לְחִכִּי אִם־לֹא אֶזְכְּרֵכִי אִם־לֹא אַֽעֲלֶה אֶת־יְרֽוּשָׁלַם עַל רֹאשׁ שִׂמְחָתִֽי : ז זְכֹר יְהֹוָה | לִבְנֵי אֱדוֹם אֵת יוֹם יְֽרוּשָׁלָם הָאֹמְרִים עָרוּ | עָרוּ עַד הַיְסוֹד בָּֽהּ : ח בַּת־בָּבֶל הַשְּׁדוּדָה אַשְׁרֵי שֶׁיְשַׁלֶּם־לָךְ אֶת־גְּמוּלֵךְ שֶׁגָּמַלְתְּ לָֽנוּ : ט אַשְׁרֵי | שֶׁיֹּאחֵז וְנִפֵּץ אֶֽת־עֹלָלַיִךְ אֶל־הַסָּֽלַע

But the liturgy of Tisha B'Av has found an audience beyond traditional Jews observing a sad day.

The words of the Psalms (highlighted in blue above) were incorporated into Rivers of Babylon, a Rastafarian song written and recorded by Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton of the Jamaican reggae group The Melodians in 1970. The Melodians' original version of the song appeared in the soundtrack album of the 1972 movie The Harder They Come, making it internationally known.

The song was popularized in Europe by the 1978 Boney M. cover version, which was awarded a platinum disc and is one of the top ten all-time best-selling singles in the UK.

Somehow the song has been adopted by line dance devotees, primarily in Korea, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The two videos below show the original song with lyrics followed by one of the line dance interpretations from Korea.

If you're fasting today, we wish you an easy and meaningful fast.

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Welcoming Shabbat with "Mizmor Shir L'Yom HaShabbat" at New York's Central Synagogue

This erev Shabbat we're sharing a version of Mizmor Shir L'Yom HaShabbat, from the Kabbalat Shabbat liturgy. It was sung at New York City's Central Synagogue, where very Friday evening, more than 500 people attend Shabbat worship in the breathtaking Main Sanctuary (a National Landmark) and more than 1,000 virtual visitors join via live streaming.

It's sung by Cantor Julia Cadrain, who joined the Central Synagogue's clergy team in 2012, after being ordained by HUC-JIR’s Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. She loves serving the congregation in numerous and varied capacities. Some highlights include co-producing a record of music from Central’s Friday night service called Sounds of Shabbat, overseeing Central’s adult bnei mitzvah program, and conducting the teen choir.

This version of Mizmor Shir is based on Makom Bina, a nigun composed by Deborah Sacks Mintz. In addition to composing new Jewish music, Deborah can be found regularly performing and recording with a myriad of musicians and ensembles. A Wexner Graduate Fellow, Deborah is pursuing rabbinical ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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.  


 

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Jerry Lewis Dances His Way Through "Cinderfella"

In 1960 Jerry Lewis starred in Cinderfella, a takeoff of the Cinderella story, in which he plays a hard-working and honest lad mistreated by his wicked stepmother and his two boorish stepbrothers.

But miracles do happen when his Fairy Godfather (Ed Wynn) transforms the klutzy fella into an eligible, handsome bachelor, ready to win the hand of a suitable Princess Charming, played by Anna Maria Alberghetti.

Let's travel back 60 years for the famous stairway dance scene in which Lewis, accompanied by the Count Basie Orchestra,  makes his way to dance with the princess and to a quick exit when the clock strikes 12.

An interesting side note: When Jerry ran up the stairs at the end he collapsed as soon as he was out of frame and was rushed to hospital. Filming was postponed for a month.

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.  



#Throwback Thursday    #TBT