Welcoming Shabbat with Shalom Aleichem by Isaac and Rubenstein

Dan Isaac and Binyomin Rubenstein have been making music together since 2010. 

Their new and inspiring Jewish music project comes from an array of nigunim (songs) written by Binyomin and developed, recorded and produced by the duo in Israel. 

Isaac and Rubenstein create acoustic, live, real, and beautiful music with memorable melodies and rich harmonies that will touch the soul. 

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Happy Thanksgiving! Watch Israelis Try to Explain the American Holiday Foods and Traditions

The Jewish Agency for Israel asked some Israelis to explain American traditions and foods served on Thanksgiving Day. The responses are interesting and funny. 

Why did the Pilgrims come to America? The gold rush? Listen to some of the explanations of the origin and traditions of the holiday.

Watch the Israelis struggle with opening and eating a can of jellied cranberry sauce, and enjoying pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

For 90 years, The Jewish Agency for Israel (Hasochnut HaYehudit) has worked to overcome the biggest challenges facing the Jewish people. It played a major role in building the State of Israel, and it continues to create links globally—bringing Jews to Israel and Israel to Jews.

Enjoy, and have a happy Thanksgiving!

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Comedy Showcase: French Moroccan Jewish Comedian Gad Elmaleh on English Expressions

Gad Elmaleh is a Jewish Moroccan-born French stand-up comedian and actor. He has starred in several feature films, including Coco, Priceless, La Doublure and Midnight in Paris.
 
He has been voted the funniest person in France and was named knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Minister of Culture. He was also named knight of the National Order of Quebec.
He is often referred to as the "Seinfeld of France". In 2015, Elmaleh did a national comedy tour across the United States. His new comedy special American Dream is now available on Netflix.

In this video clip from the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Gad talks about Indian taxi drivers, the hypocrisy of encore performances, and dating language difficulties.

Enjoy!

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Comedy Showcase: Freddie Roman at the Just For Laughs Festival

Freddie Roman has had a long successful career as a stand-up comedian in the Catskills and in Las Vegas. He has been the Dean of the Friars Club for more than 20 years.

Roman was born Fred Kirschenbaum in Jamaica Queens, New York in 1937. He got his start in the Borscht Belt after working in his father's shoe store and then sold life insurance for a few years before making comedy his full-time job.

Starting out as social director at the Homowack Lodge in Spring Glen, New York, worked his way through the Catskill mountain resorts and got to know all of the comedians who performed in the hundreds of hotels situated 90 miles from New York City.

He is still active and is now appearing in the Amazon Prime sitcom series Red Oaks, together with Jennifer Grey, Paul Reiser, and Richard Kind.

Here is an excerpt from a Freddie Roman performance at the Just for Laughs Festival some years ago.

Enjoy! 

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Three Texans"

It's another Monday, and it's time for another joke to start the week. Here comes another one from Toronto's Jewish Folks Telling Jokes, a night of comedy to benefit Jewish Family and Child, one of the foremost Jewish service agencies in North America.

We previously posted a few jokes that were told at the event, a Canadian contribution to the world of Jewish humor, probably inspired by the off-Broadway show Old Jews Telling Jokes, still touring around the USA.

We'll be posting more of these jokes on upcoming Mondays. Here's another oldie but goodie, told by Bernie Federman.

Here's the setup: Three Texans are sitting around in the restaurant. And as they sometimes do, talking about the largeness of their material possessions. And then...

Enjoy!

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Comedy Showcase: Rita Rudner at Her Best at Palm Beach Gala

We've been big fans of Rita Rudner ever since she started to appear on late night TV in the 1980s.

One of the hallmarks of her comedy is that it's clean, free from the vulgarity and shouting that many stand-up comics find necessary.  Her delivery is demure, tasteful, full of wry observations, and very funny.

Rudner started her career as a dancer, then switched to stand-up comedy about her dating experiences.  She married British producer Martin Bergman about 30 years ago and they have a daughter.  She is fond of Jewish humor but generally reserves it for when she performs for Jewish audiences.

 

Earlier this year Rita performed one of her best stand-up comedy routines at a Lady in Red fund raiser for disabled veterans in Palm Beach.

It's 29 minutes long, much longer than most of our posts, but we think you'll agree that it's worth watching.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi in Maui, Hawaii

On November 8, Cantor Bryce Megdal of Los Angeles visited the Jewish Congregation of Maui/Beit Shalom Synagogue in Hawaii to lead a special Shabbat service followed by dinner under the stars.

Since September 2013, Cantor Megdal has been one of two B’nai Mitzvah teachers at Kehillat Israel (KI) Reconstructionist Synagogue of the Pacific Palisades. In May 2015, she received a Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies with an Emphasis in Music in Jewish Life from ARJCA, and in August 2015, she transferred into the Cantorial Program.  

The Jewish Congregation of Maui maintains a warm, friendly environment for all Jews, regardless of personal affiliation or observance level. As the only synagogue on this beautiful island, it is non-affiliated. Its doors are open for any Jew who wants to have a place to worship and connect with other Jews.

Beit Shalom has a kosher dairy kitchen, and is also a Shomer Shabbat facility. The sanctuary has both mixed and separate seating areas, with a mechitza available. The congregation welcomes visitors with a spirit of Aloha and does its best to ensure that everyone is comfortable and feels at home.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Musical Special: Bob Dylan Sings Hava Nagila at Chabad Telethon in 2005

In 2005, for the 25th anniversary of Chabad telethons, Bob Dylan, Peter Himmelman, and Harry Dean Stanton appeared on stage to sing Hava Nagila for the nationwide Chabad telethon audience.

Bob Dylan, one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 20th century, is known for songs that chronicle social and political issues. He was born Robert Allen Zimmerman (Hebrew: שבתאי זיסל בן אברהם Shabtai Zisl ben Avraham) in in Duluth, Minnesota, and raised in Hibbing, Minnesota, on the Mesabi Range west of Lake Superior. 

Dylan's paternal grandparents, Zigman and Anna Zimmerman, emigrated from Odessa, in the Russian Empire (now Ukraine), to the United States following the anti-Semitic pogroms of 1905. His maternal grandparents, Ben and Florence Stone, were Lithuanian Jews who arrived in the United States in 1902. Dylan's father, Abram Zimmerman – an electric-appliance shop owner – and mother, Beatrice "Beatty" Stone, were part of a small, close-knit Jewish community. 

The late Harry Dean Stanton was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in the films Cool Hand Luke (1967), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Dillinger (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), Alien (1979), Escape from New York (1981), and many other films. He was given rare lead roles in Wim Wenders' classic Paris, Texas (1984) and Lucky (2017), his last film. One of his most memorable roles was Roman Grant, the self-proclaimed polygamist prophet on the HBO series Big Love.

Peter Himmelman, Bob Dylan's son-in-law, is an American singer-songwriter and film and television composer from Minnesota, who formerly played in the Minneapolis indie rock band Sussman Lawrence before pursuing an extensive solo career. Himmelman, an Orthodox Jew who has never performed on Shabbat, famously turned down The Tonight Show when the date coincided with the Sukkot holiday.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Jewish Food: More Than Just Matzo Ball Soup

Talking about Jewish food is both mouth-wateringly delicious and just a little complicated.

While Ashkenazi Jews (Jews from Eastern Europe) are used to foods like gefilte fish and matzah ball soup, these dishes would be foreign to a Jew from The Middle East, North Africa or Ethiopia who would prefer to chow down pkaila, shakshuka, t’bit or doro wat. 

What connects Jewish foods, apart from being delicious, is that they developed from economic necessity and were often a way for poor communities to create something tasty from very little. 

While some of these dishes have been forgotten over time, others are enjoying a culinary renaissance and gaining new generations of fans. So pull up a seat and join us on this delicious culinary journey as we take the lid off the culinary melting pot of Jewish food.

Yasher Koach to Unpacked (formerly Jerusalem U) for this enlightening video.

Enjoy!
 
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Watch Comedian Mike Fine's Funny Interview on the Jake Ehrenreich Show

Actor, comic and author Jake Ehrenreich hosts music acts, comics and guests on his weekly show on the Jewish Broadcasting Service. 

Ehrenreich, who gained fame with his one man show A Jew Grows in Brooklyn, entertains audiences from the small stage of the Triad theatre and mixes his own comedy and music with interviews of Jewish show business guests.

In this clip from a recent episode of The Jake Ehrenreich show, Jake conducts a funny interview with funnyman Mike Fine that includes jokes and funny anecdotes from the lives of both comedians.

Besides being a standup comic, Fine is also an ordained rabbi and incorporates his experiences as a rabbi into his comedy act and into this interview.

Enjoy!


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A Joke to Start the Week - "20th Anniversary Present"

It's another Monday, and it's time for another joke to start the week. Here comes another one from Toronto's Jewish Folks Telling Jokes, a night of comedy to benefit Jewish Family and Child, one of the foremost Jewish service agencies in North America.

We previously posted a few jokes that were told at the event, a Canadian contribution to the world of Jewish humor, probably inspired by the off-Broadway show Old Jews Telling Jokes, still touring around the USA.
 
We'll be posting more of these jokes on upcoming Mondays. Here's another oldie but goodie, told by Sam Winberg.

Here's the setup: A husband wakes up one morning and goes into the bathroom. He gets out of the shower and says to his wife: "Honey, next week is our 20th anniversary." And then...
 
Enjoy!

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Comedy Showcase: Iliza Shlesinger Tells About Her Texas Jewish Upbringing

Originally from Dallas, Iliza Shlesinger moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Emerson College. She is the only female and youngest comedian to hold the title of NBC'S Last Comic Standing. She was the host of CBS's syndicated comedy dating show Excused, in which she filmed 230 episodes.

Iliza's TV credits include her own half-hour Comedy Central Presents special, as well as NBC'S Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, E! Network's Chelsea Lately and The Soup, NBC'S Last Call with Carson Daily, TBS’ Who Gets the Last Laugh?, and Showtime's Pauly Shore and Friends and Bridging the Gap Comedy Festival.

In this standup comedy video clip, Iliza tells about her Jewish upbringing and how much Jews and Muslims have in common.

Enjoy! 

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Welcoming Shabbat in Sydney with Adon Olam (Scarborough Fair)

Adon Olam is the closing hymn of the Shabbat morning service in most synagogues, This song is sung to many different tunes, and can be sung to virtually any due to its meter. 

Many synagogues like to use "seasonal" tunes, for instance, on the Shabbat before Hanukkah, they might do it to Ma'oz Tzur. In Hebrew schools and Jewish summer camps, the Adon Olam hymn is sometimes set, for fun, to secular tunes like Yankee Doodle or Jamaica Farewell.

This year Jewish musicians in Sydney, Australia collaborated to create this magnificent cover of Simon and Garfunkel's Scarborough Fair with the timeless Hebrew words of Adon Olam. The collaboration is in support of Kesser Torah College, an Orthodox Day School in Sydney that offers education from pre-school through 12th grade.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca in "The Violin Recital"

Pantomime was always one of Sid Caesar's specialties, and so was satirizing classical performances of all kinds.

With Imogene Coca as his partner in pantomime, In this clip, Sid went through all of the paces in giving a violin recital while Imogene accompanied him on her virtual piano. 

The musical composition was Czardas by Vittorio Monti. During the pantomime performance everything that could go wrong did go wrong, including a few broken violins and Sid stabbing himself with the bow. 

This video is a very rare one and we don't have an exact date, but it was performed on Your Show of Shows which ran from 1950 to 1954, so it's a Thursday throwback of at least 65 years.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday   #TBT

EXCLUSIVE On-Site Report! Best In Show and Unusual New Products From Kosherfest 2019

Meatless BBQ brisket, burgers and bacon, kosher charcuterie, adult alcohol flavored push pops, and Korean rice noodles.
  
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 2019 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 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.

For more information about the products in this video, be sure to visit their websites:
Meatless Nation
Emes Charcuterie
Buzz Pop Cocktails
Kosher Korean

Enjoy!
  
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Mayim Bialik Explains the Difference Between Nerd and Geek

Do you know the difference between a nerd and a geek? Did you think they were synonyms or do they mean different things?

In 2017, when Big Bang Theory actress Mayim Bialik was on a book tour promoting her book Girling Up, she was a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The interview covered a range of topics but zeroed in on Colbert's pressing the neuroscientist actress on the difference between the terms nerd and geek. Watch the video below and you'll become an expert on the proper use of the two terms.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "The Art Collector"

It's another Monday, and it's time for another joke to start the week. Here comes another one from Toronto's Jewish Folks Telling Jokes, a night of comedy to benefit Jewish Family and Child, one of the foremost Jewish service agencies in North America.

We previously posted a few jokes that were told at the event, a Canadian contribution to the world of Jewish humor, probably inspired by the off-Broadway show Old Jews Telling Jokes, still touring around the USA.
 
We'll be posting more of these jokes on upcoming Mondays. Here's another oldie but goodie, told by Marvin Yontef.

Here's the setup: Schwartz has made a little money. Now he needs a new interest that's consistent with having a few dollars in his pocket. And then...

Enjoy!

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(From the Yiddish dictionary: Ongepotchket = Messed up, slapped together without form, excessively and unesthetically decorated.)