A Funny Yiddish Chad Gadya by the Jewish People's Philharmonic Chorus

The Jewish People's Philharmonic Chorus is part of a modern Yiddish renaissance -- more than forty members strong, from students to retirees, a good number of whom speak or are learning Yiddish.

Their repertoire spans a century -- exciting oratorios and operettas, labor anthems, folksongs, and popular tunes -- all in Yiddish. Committed to strengthening Yiddish as a living language, they have commissioned and premiered new Yiddish choral works by half a dozen composers.

In recent years we've posted their versions of California Dreamin', Baby It's Cold Outside, Rumania Rumania, Auld Lang Syne, and The Star Spangled Banner.

They recently recorded a funny Yiddish version of Chad Gadya, just in time for Passover, which is only 10 days away. The musical arrangement is by Binyumen Schaechter, a member of a leading family in Yiddish language and cultural studies.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "It's Never Too Late"

It's another Monday, and time for another Joke to Start the Week. This week we're sharing a joke that we found on Vimeo, told by David Shtulman.

Here's the setup: A man goes to a doctor for a regular checkup, and the doctor says to him afterwards "You know, for a 65 year old man, you're in remarkable health." And then...

Enjoy!

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Tom Lehrer on the Perils of Ignoring Social Distancing

This short, humorous ditty was written and performed by Tom Lehrer in 1953. Although it doesn't mention the disease that was transmitted back then, he could have written it today about the coronavirus.

For some of our younger readers who may not know who Tom Lehrer is, he's a 91-year-old retired American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, and mathematician. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater. 

He is best known for the pithy, humorous songs he recorded in the 1950s and '60s. His work often parodies popular song forms, though he usually creates original melodies when doing so.

Enjoy!

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(A tip of the kippah to Dan Mosenkis for reminding us about this 1953 classic.)

Welcoming Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh from Beth Shalom in Sacramento

This week we welcome Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh played on an oud by Jeff Swatt from Congregation Beth Shalom in Sacramento, California.

The oud is a short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped stringed instrument with 11 or 13 strings grouped in 5 or 6 courses, commonly used predominantly in the music of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries.

Congregation Beth Shalom celebrated its 40th anniversary on February 15, 2014. The congregation was formed in 1973 and 40 years later is still a thriving home to many in Sacramento's Jewish community.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom! 

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What's Worse? Coronavirus or Distance Learning? An Israeli Mom Speaks Out

The coronavirus pandemic has brought stress and anxiety to people all over the world. But clouds can sometimes have a silver lining, and one of the positive developments in this time of isolation and quarantine is the emergence of distance learning.

With millions of children taking lessons at home on a computer, tablet, or smart phone, you would think this is a positive development, with children being able to share their lessons with parents at home.

But there can be unintended consequenses. The rant of an Israeli mother about the chaos that distance learning has inflicted on her household has been circulating around the Internet and praised by parents everywhere for expressing their love-hate relationship with this innovative technology.

Enjoy!


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A Coronavirus Lament: Nobody Comes to the Minyan No More

Getting a quorum of ten every day for early morning or evening services has always been a problem and a subject for discussion in too many synagogues.  Since most shuls have been closed until the coronavirus crisis passes, the situation is affecting many more worshippers.

Now we have a song to add a humorous musical dimension to this unfortunate situation. It's Country Yossi's 2011 song Nobody Comes to the Minyan No More, a parody of Day-O (The Banana Boat Song), one of Harry Belafonte's most popular calypso songs in the 1950's.  

It was written by Joseph Toiv, known professionally as Country Yossi, an American Orthodox Jewish composer, singer, radio show host, author, and magazine publisher. A pioneering composer and singer in the Jewish music genre, Toiv has to his credit three albums as a member of the group Or Chodosh ("New Light") circa 1971–73, seven albums under the name Country Yossi and the Shteeble Hoppers, and a series of six albums for children called Kivi and Tuki. He also released "Country Yossi's Classic Calls" a humorous collection of actual on-air phone calls to his radio show.

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Haredi Comedy: Disturbing Daveners

Did you know that there is Jewish humor even in the solemn study halls in Haredi yeshivot? Yes, even the most serious students find room for fun, as we can see in this funny short called Disturbing Daveners.

Davening, or prayer, is supposed to be an intense encounter with God, but there are times when the fervor can overwhelm a person to the point where he loses touch with the world and the people around him.

The disturbing daveners include the Head Banger, Shtender Stealer, and Talis Eye Gouger.

This short film is a product of the Yeshiva of Waterbury in Connecticut, which has a group of amateur filmmakers who bring humor into their lives and share it on YouTube.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "The Shvitz"

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.

 

Here's another one, told by Sender Herschorn.

Here's the setup: Two successful businessmen are in the shvitz at the club. And then...

Enjoy!

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Hevenu Shalom Aleichem Around the World - Derbouka Version by Mehdi Ryan in Jerusalem

Hevenu Shalom Aleichem is such a popular Hebrew song that it's sung all over the world. Over the years we've shared videos of it being performed in Indonesia, by Mayan children in Guatemala, and in a Korean musical stage show. Among the 16 versions that we've posted you'll find it in France, India, and in an Irish pub in Phoenix.

And of course, it's still performed all over Israel. Today we're bringing you a version by Algerian musician Mehdi Ryan, a master of the derbouka.  

The derbouka is a single head membranophone with a goblet shaped body used mostly in Egypt, also in parts of the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and Eastern Europe.

Mehdi Ryan, at just 26 years old, is a prodigious young musician. A very talented percussionist specializing in Derbouka, he discovered the derbouka at the age of 5 and made it his favorite instrument. Here he is playing Hevenu Shalom Aleichem at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, a school for the music and the performing arts in Jerusalem. It is located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam by Harkham Hillel Academy of California

Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy is an independent Jewish Zionist Orthodox Day School in Beverly Hills, California. It consists of an Early Childhood department, an Elementary division and a Middle School division. 

The students of the academy are involved in a project to bring the siddur online, with video renditions of parts of the Shacharit service. Today we're sharing their version of Adon Olam as our way of joining K'lal Yisrael in welcoming the Shabbat.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Rodney Dangerfield Cracks Up Johnny Carson Again

It's another Throwback Thursday and we're sharing a very funny episode because they say laughter is the best medicine.

Until they can find an effective vaccine for the coronavirus it's the best medicine we can recommend to get us through this crisis.

Today we're taking you back 46 years to 1974 when Rodney Dangerfield made one of his hilarious appearances on the Johnny Carson Show.

In this 12 minute episode he delivers a few minutes of standup comedy and shares lots of laughs with Carson.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Here Come the Pesach Videos - What Mek' Dis Night - A Reggae Ma Nishtana

Paper products may be scarce during this coronavirus crisis, but with Passover three weeks away, empty supermarket shelves are filling up with boxes of matzah, gefilte fish, and grape juice.

We're already searching for Pesach videos to share with you as we do each year, and we found a great one to start the season. It's What Mek' Dis Night, a Ma Nishtana Reggae produced by Izzy Kieffer and Heshy Rosenwasser (full credits below).

Enjoy!

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WHAT MEK DIS NIGHT (Ma Nishtana Reggae) 
Produced by Izzy Kieffer and Heshy Rosenwasser 
Music by Frederick “Toots” Hibbert and H. Rosenwasser Chorus by Frederick “Toots” Hibbert and H. Rosenwasser 
Verses by H. Rosenwasser 
Musicians: Heshy “The Hesh Inc.” Rosenwasser—lead & backing vocals, piano, organ Izzy Kieffer—drums, vocals Steven Lopresto—bass Timothy “P-Dub” Boyce—guitar 
Video featuring: Bishop Alexander Miles Brown Gavriel Kieffer Izzy Kieffer Joseph Marciano Heshy Rosenwasser “Scratchie” the Barber 
Videography by Barry Brown/Brown Studios 
Editing by SR 
Scenes from the film “When Do We Eat?” courtesy of Salvador Litvak and Pictures From The Fringe. 
Copy of the Arthur Szyk Haggadah provided by Lester Katz, New York, NY. 
Special thanks to Stuart Wax and Allison Wright Clark. 
©2020 Reality Shock Music

Comedians Moshe Kasher and Natasha Leggero Renew Their Vows in Las Vegas

Natasha Leggero and Moshe Kasher are both Los Angeles-based stand-up comics who have been married since 2015. In 2016 and 2017, Leggero and Kasher embarked on The Honeymoon Tour, in which they performed standup shows and provided humorous relationship advice throughout the United States.

Kasher, a son of deaf parents, had a father who was a Satmar chasid in Brooklyn. His brother is a rabbi. Leggero converted to Judaism before their original marriage.

In this segment of The Honeymoon Tour, they renew their vows in a Las Vegas wedding chapel. Enjoy!

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Update on A Joke to Start the Week - "The Buffalo Hunt"

UPDATE: Apparently some of our readers who don't understand Yiddish didn't get today's joke. The punch line was "Oy vey! Der milchiker tomahawk." 
EXPLANATION: The chief keeps kosher and just when he was about to use his tomahawk on the buffalo he was chasing, he suddenly realized that he had mistakenly taken his milchik (dairy) tomahawk which he couldn't use because the buffalo was fleishik (meat).


It's another Monday, and time for another Joke to Start the Week. This week we're sharing an English Joke with a Yiddish punch line.

In 1995 Saul Kaiserman, Director of Lifelong Learning at Congregation Emanu-El in New York, told one of his grandfather's jokes with a Yiddish punch line as part of the release party for A Fire Burns in Kotsk, a revealing and intimate portrait of Menachem Mendel of Kotsk. 

The book, written in Yiddish by Menashe Unger, was translated into English by Jonathan Boyarin, a Cornell University professor of Modern Jewish Studies.

Here's the setup: A chief on the American plains is out hunting for buffalo. He's hunting for days, going without food and water, just traveling across the plains. Day after day, no buffalo. And then...

Enjoy!

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Nissim Black Merges Hip-Hop with Hasidic Finery in "Mothaland Bounce"

Mothaland Bounce is Nissim Black's latest hip-hop production. It's definitely not your typical Jewish song.

But as Henry Abramson wrote for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency,

Fans of mainstream Jewish music may find Nissim Black’s latest single “Mothaland Bounce” jarring and alien, but they’re just not listening with an ear to the rhythm of Jewish history.

Set against the aural backdrop of an African basso profundo beat, and framed by scenes of gritty urban blight, the popular African-American-Israeli Hasidic artist boldly intones his rap-staccato credo in a manner that’s hard to square with his woolen tzitzit, long Polish bekishe and towering shtreimel.

Nissim Baruch Black (born Damian Jamohl Black) is an American rapper and producer from Seattle, Washington. Originally performing under the name D.Black, he released two albums, The Cause and Effect (2006) and Ali'yah (2009), and was featured on producer Jake One's debut album White Van Music (2008). 

He retired in 2010 to focus on his conversion to Orthodox Judaism, but returned in 2013 under his Hebrew name, Nissim, and began writing from a more positive standpoint.In 2016, he collaborated with Gad Elbaz on the song "Hashem Melech 2.0". The song was an instant hit peaking at #3 on iTunes world charts and over 350,000 Total downloads. 

In the fall of 2016, Nissim went on to release his single "A Million Years", which hit more than 1 million views on YouTube in one month. He followed up with his hit song "Fly Away" and the release of his latest LP "Lemala" in spring of 2017. Since then Nissim has been touring the world with dates in USA, Canada, Israel, Germany, Brazil, UK, South Africa, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and more. 

Enjoy!

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