Chicken Soup: The Story of Jewish Penicillin

Now that we're into the fourth day of Passover, have you had your fill of chicken soup with matzo balls? Probably not, since this quintessential Jewish dish has found a place in American cuisine far beyond its original presence on the Pesach table. 

This week CBS Sunday Morning had a special segment on Chicken Soup: The Story of Jewish Penicillin that traced its origins and validated its place as a treatment for colds and other ailments.

For centuries chicken soup has been prescribed by grandmothers and doctors alike for all manner of ailments, but many believe there really is evidence to support the prescription. Correspondent Nancy Giles talked with food historian and cookbook author Joan Nathan, and with New York's 2nd Ave. Deli owner Jack Lebewohl and executive chef David Teyf about the universal love for chicken soup.

Enjoy!

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Mix a "Passover in a Glass" Cocktail with Maggid Jhos Singer

After two days of Passover feasting we bet you've enjoyed a delicious variety of Pesach meals and culinary delights, but have you tasted a cocktail made from matza, Manischewitz wine, and karpas?

Maggid Jhos Singer of San Francisco's Jewish Community Center is a mixologist who created a special kosher cocktail that combines key elements of the seder.

Maggid Jhos Singer received ordination/semicha from Rabbi Gershon Winkler in 2002, and has served the Coastside Jewish Community in Half Moon Bay, California, as their rabbi/maggid since 2000. Jhos holds a degree in music from UCLA and when he isn’t preaching to the flock he is playing and singing with them.

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Welcoming Shabbat with Shalom Aleichem by Central Synagogue's Rabbi and Cantor

As we welcome the last Shabbat before Passover, we're interrupting our series of Pesach videos to make room for a new version of Shalom Aleichem, sung by Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Cantor Julia Cadrain of New York City's Central Synagogue.

 This year in the Diaspora we are experiencing a three-day holiday weekend with Passover and its two sedarim coming right after Shabbat. We'll be with our family attending the sedarim Saturday night and Sunday night and remote services on Sunday and Monday. Jewish Humor Central will be back on Tuesday with more Passover videos.

Wishing you and your families a Chag Kasher v'Sameach!

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Passover Videos: The Maccabeats Take Us Through the Seder Finale

In 2010 The Maccabeats, an a cappella group from Yeshiva University, released their first Hanukkah music video, Candlelight, and every Hanukkah (and other holidays) since then we've seen many more videos by them and lots of other groups.

 Originally formed in 2007 as Yeshiva University’s student vocal group, the Maccabeats have recently emerged as both Jewish music and a cappella phenomena,  with a large fan base, more than 20 million views on YouTube, numerous TV appearances, and proven success with three albums, 2010′s Voices From The Heights, 2012′s Out Of The Box and 2014′s One Day More.

Many of the songs are parodies of pop hits, but this Pesach we're sharing their latest hit, a musical trip through the seder finale with traditional seder melodies. Starting with Chasal Siddur Pesach (Nirtzah) we revisit L'Shana Ha'Ba'ah BiYerushalayim, Ki Lo Naeh, Adir Hu, Echad Mi Yodeah and Chad Gadya.

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Passover Videos: "Red Sea Shanty: A Pirate Passover" by Six13

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.

Last Pesach we shared Six13's  A Lion King Passover, in which they harmonize singing original Pesach-related lyrics to Circle of Life, I Just Can't Wait to be King, and Hakuna Matata, hit songs from The Lion King.

This year they're giving us Passover​ on the high seas, diving right in to the sea shanty craze -- and dropping anchor and celebrating freedom with a hearty round of sailing songs including The Wellerman, Drunken Sailor, and the theme from Gilligan's Island.

Enjoy! 

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(A tip of the kippah to Mannie Young, who brought this video to our attention.)

Here Come the Passover Videos: Aish HaTorah Breakdances into The Weeknd

No, we didn't leave out the letter "e" in Weekend. The Weeknd is the name of a Ethiopian-Canadian pop singer who has won many music awards. We had never heard of him until he showed up as the halftime act in the Superbowl last month.

But Aish HaTorah did hear his music, and adapted it into a Passover video released just yesterday.

Aish HaTorah, the Israel-based outreach organization, has been using breakdancing as a vehicle for spreading their message. Ten years ago they collaborated with a professional breakdance group to record a popular Rosh Hashanah video greeting. This year it looks like they've learned the moves as they create a new breakdance video set to music by The Weeknd.

Headquartered in Jerusalem near the Western Wall, Aish.com is a division of Aish HaTorah, an apolitical network of Jewish educational centers in 35 branches on five continents. This partnership enables Aish.com users to experience the richness of community at an Aish branch.
 
The name Aish HaTorah literally means "Fire of Torah." As Elie Weisel said: "Aish HaTorah means to me the passion of teaching, the passion of learning. The study of Torah, the source of Jewish values, is the way to Jewish survival."

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Day - "Special Diet"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. This week we're posting another joke from Dr. Jay Orlikoff, a retired dentist from Centereach, New York, a community on Long Island in Suffolk County.

After a distinguished and meritorious dental career, he is shifting his focus to telling and posting jokes on YouTube. We were fortunate to find some of his jokes and we're sharing one of the family-friendly ones with you today. 

Here's the setup: A doctor comes in to his patient and says "I"ve got bad news for you. The tests came back and you've got COVID, TB, and leprosy.  And then...

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Passover Videos: Marcus Freed in The Hebrew Hamilton - A Biblical Epic

We're in a six day countdown until the Passover seder, so expect some Passover videos this week. Today we're starting with The Hebrew Hamilton - A Biblical Epic by Marcus Freed.

A trained actor, Marcus performed his Biblical comic plays in over 20 countries and appeared in the movie Saving Lincoln. His latest production is based on the Broadway show Hamilton and retells the Pesach story in choreographed rap.

A student of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l, Marcus dedicates this production to his late teacher.

Enjoy!

Havdalah with Congregation Beth Sholom of Teaneck

On Fridays we usually post a musical welcome to Shabbat with a version of Shalom Aleichem, Lecha Dodi, or Adon Olam. But this week we're skipping to the end of Shabbat and continuing the series of Havdalah services that we started in 2017. 

 

Because we don't post on Shabbat, we haven't been paying much attention to the closing minutes of Shabbat, when beautiful melodies are sung as part of Havdalah, the ceremony marking the transition from the holiness of Shabbat to the work week.

But there's a rich lode of musical endings to Shabbat, and Havdalah ceremonies around the world reflect the traditional and local musical tastes of each location.

Here's a video to save for tomorrow night at the conclusion of Shabbat. Playing it after dark will give us a reminder of the sweet taste of Shabbat and energize us to face the challenges of the coming week.   

For this Havdalah service we don't have to travel far. This version comes to us from Congregation Beth Sholom in Teaneck, New Jersey. The lead singer is Cantor Ronit Wolff Hanan.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Nostalgia: Mel Brooks as a Waiter at the Last Supper

One of Mel Brooks' funniest bits is a scene from his 1981 film A History of the World: Part 1, in which Brooks, in the role of a waiter, is assigned to serve a group attending a private supper in Jerusalem.

He enters the room to find Jesus and his disciples sitting around a long table. Oblivious to the background of the diners and unsuspecting of the significance of what would later be seen as a seminal event, he asks for their dinner orders and whether the diners want separate checks.

When Leonardo da Vinci enters to capture the Last Supper in the famous painting, Brooks manages to insert himself into the picture.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Israel's Comic Renny Grinshpan Sends a Love Letter from Tel Aviv

We're holding on to our airline tickets to Israel, just waiting for the pandemic to be over so we can once again fly to one of our favorite places. In the meantime, we're sharing a love letter from Tel Aviv sent by Israeli comic exploring the city that never sleeps. 

Let's visit Tel-Aviv's authentic shuk and enjoy the city's stunning shores with this comic sensation as our guide. And find out just how much Israel is missing its visitors.

Enjoy!

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Yiddish Word of the Day: Righteous People

Last year the Forverts launched a daily series of short informal video clips called Yiddish Word of the Day. The series, written and narrated by Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter, aims to give non-Yiddish speakers an introduction to familiar Yiddish words and phrases and how they might be used in everyday situations. 

Schaechter, who was appointed the new editor of the Forverts in 2016, is the first woman to helm the paper in its 119-year history, its first editor to have been born in the United States, and likely its first editor who is shomeret Shabbat.

We posted the first of this series in May 2020. Now that the Forverts is continuing the series, we're
sharing some of the words and phrases as a regular feature of Jewish Humor Central.

Today we'll look at the Yiddish words for righteous people and some proverbs based on them.
 
Enjoy! 

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Split Decision"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one to share with you. Here's the setup: Four rabbis are arguing about a very obscure point in the Bible. They go on for an hour, two hours. Then they finally call a vote. And then...

Enjoy!

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Comedy Special: Yoely on the Meghan Markle Mishegas

We've been following the career and shtick of comedian Modi Rosenfeld ever since we started Jewish Humor Central in 2009. Whether it's his standup comedy or clever skits and short films, he always leaves us laughing. With comedy clubs closed during the coronavirus lockdowns, Modi has had to find new ways of reaching his audience.

As Brianna Kovit wrote in the Long Island Press, 

Since 1999 when he left his position as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch to pursue comedy full time, Modi has been constantly booked for shows across the country.

Like many performers right now, the stay-at-home order has forced Modi to remain home in New York City for longer than he has in the last 20 years. Without a face-to-face audience, Modi has turned to social media to fuel his creativity and engage with his followers.

Modi’s breakout quarantine success came from a new character he created called “Yoely.” In this character, Modi appealed to his niche Jewish following with a comedic take on a Hasidic man reacting to mainstream trends while in quarantine.

With a new administration in place in Washington, Yoely has been appointed (or appointed himself) as Secretary of Simcha, In that role, Yoely has reacted to the Oprah Winfrey interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Here's his take on the Meghan Markle Mishegas.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Veshamru by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried and Atalya Lavi in Tel Aviv

Rabbi Esteban Gottfried is the rabbi, co-founder and director of Beit Tefilah Israeli (BTI), a fast-growing community in Tel Aviv that is renewing and revitalizing the notion of prayer. Services at BTI combine live music, modern poetry and literature with the traditional prayer book. 

In recent years BTI became famous for its Summer Kabbalat Shabbat service at the Tel Aviv port, which attracts up to 800 worshippers each week. This phenomenon—attracting many secular Israelis who once felt marginalized by the Jewish community—is now being replicated in Jerusalem and throughout Israel.

In this video, Rabbi Gottfried and Atalya Lavi sing Veshamru, from the Shabbat service. 

Atalya has been singing from a very young age. When she was in the army she was chosen as the lead singer in the IDF orchestra. After her military service she continued on to major in music in Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. Since 2009 she has been performing all around Israel and abroad. 

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Groucho and Chico Marx in Password Scene from "Horse Feathers"

It's another Throwback Thursday and we're going back to 1932 (that's 89 years ago!) to laugh at the password scene from Horse Feathers, a Marx Brothers comedy starring Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo.

Horse Feathers, a wacky comedy about college football and and how eligibility rules are stretched by collegiate athletic departments. The film has many references to Prohibition. Groucho plays a college president and Chico plays an "iceman", who delivers ice and bootleg liquor from a local speakeasy.

The term "horse feathers" was a colloquial American expression for "nonsense" in the 1920s and 1930s but is now archaic.

In this scene Chico is guarding the speakeasy and Groucho is trying to get in. The password for entry is "Swordfish". This sequence degenerates into a series of puns.

Enjoy! 

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   #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Buddy Hackett Pays a Surprise Visit to David Letterman

Whenever we hear the word "wacky" the first name that comes to mind is Buddy Hackett. Probably the funniest comedian to hit the nightclub and TV circuit, Buddy had a way of making you laugh by just making eye contact.

Buddy's video clips are getting harder to find on the internet, but over the years we've managed to share 18 of them with you that don't go into blue territory.

We're ever on the alert for unshared moments and we have one for you today. In 1984 (that's 37 years ago) Buddy did a surprise walk-on in the middle of David Letterman's late night TV show and the audience loved it.

Enjoy!

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YidLife Crisis Meets Elon Gold at Montreal Airport for "ADARABLE" Funny Jewish National Fund Commercial

ADARABLE is a special presentation in honor of the festive Jewish month of Adar and a world in quarantine. YidLife Crisis comedians Chaimie and Laizer (Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion) start out doing a commercial for the Canadian Jewish National Fund. 

They end up meeting fellow comedian Elon Gold in an empty Montreal airport.In their opening sequence and later at the airport they have fun with Amazon, JNF blue boxes, paper tree certificates and Bar Mitzvah certificates, with lots of puns.

With Gold they have some Jewish National FUN with comparisons of Israel and Disneyland.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Home Therapy"

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

We're always surfing the internet and looking for new jokes. Of course we know there are no new Jewish jokes, but there are different ways of telling the old ones, and each joke teller has a unique way of getting to the punch line.

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need for humor to put us in a better mood as we gradually find our way back to normalcy. The rise of Zoom and other live streaming technologies have made it easier for organizations to present humorous programs to reach large audiences. 

Last September the Gold Coast Arts Center in Great Neck, New York sponsored a book talk with author Joseph Telushkin about his book Jewish Humor: What the Best Jewish Jokes Say About the Jews.

Rabbi Telushkin, named by Talk magazine as one of the 50 best speakers in the United States, is the prolific and scholarly author of many books that have been hailed by leading figures in politics, religion, ethics, values, social action, and humor, among the topics that he has covered in his writings. He has written for television, including programs for PBS, CNN, ABC TV; as well as film. He appeared in a CNN eight-part documentary on The History of Comedy in America broadcast in early 2017. In that same year, he was the featured speaker before a live audience of 1,800 people speaking on The Best Jewish Jokes and What They Show About the Human Condition.

Here's Rabbi Telushkin, in an excerpt from his talk, telling a classic Jewish joke. 

Here's the setup: Goldstein has been in therapy for ten years, seeing his therapist an average of twice a week. And then...

Enjoy!

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A Ba Ni Bi, 1978 Israeli Eurovision Winner, Resurfaces in an Online a Cappella Version

It's been 13 years since A Ba Ni Bi, a seemingly nonsensical song, won first prize for Israel in the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest. In 2010 we noted that the song has taken off and found expression in many languages and in many venues that are surely surprising original singer Izhar Cohen, composer Nurit Hirsh, and songwriter Ehud Manor.

It's still a feature in the Jewish camp scene where it's a staple of the song and dance fesitvals that are focal points of the camp season.

A Ba Ni Bi is actually not nonsensical, at least when sung in Hebrew.  It gets a little weird when it's sung in Chinese, Spanish, Thai, and other languages. 

It's cleverly written in S'fat HaBet (B Language,) an Israeli variation of Pig Latin.  The phrase Aba Nibi Obo Hebev Obo Tabach is simply Ani Ohev Otach (I Love You) with the suffixes ba, bi, bo, and beh appended to each syllable.  If it were sung in English, the words would be Iby Lubuve Youboo.  But nobody sings it that way.

And even in the world of COVID-19, the song manages to survive in socially distanced performances. Here's a version we discovered as performed last year by Makela Kala, a Tel Aviv based Pop-a cappella group, conducted by Erez Tal.

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Here's a little nostalgia -- the original prize winning performance at the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest. Enjoy!

 

Welcoming Shabbat with Temple Avodah Adult Choir Singing Lecha Dodi to Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah

With Purim in the rear view mirror and Pesach coming up on the horizon, we're getting ready for our weekly holiday, Shabbat. Every Friday we select a song from the Shabbat services to put us in the right mood, and this week is no exception.

Today we're sharing another version of Lecha Dodi from the Kabbalat Shabbat evening service, as performed by the Adult Choir of Temple Avodah in Oceanside, New York. This one is sung to Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.

Temple Avodah is the center of Reform Judaism in Oceanside and the surrounding communities. Its congregants come from all over the South Shore of Long Island including Oceanside, Freeport, Baldwin, East Rockaway, Rockville Centre, Lynbrook, Island Park, Hewlett, Woodmere, Long Beach and all surrounding areas. 

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca in "Chinese Dinner"

It's Throwback Thursday again and today we get another chance to go back to the 1950s 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, Sid Caesar plays a husband who picks up a Chinese dinner on the way home from work, unaware that his wife has spent the whole day in the kitchen cooking a steak dinner for them.

Carl Reiner joins in the fun as their neighbor, who performs some impressive sleight-of-mouth with Chinese food. 

No date is available for this sketch, which has only been released on very rare out of print VHS/Betamax tapes. We're grateful to a Sid Caesar super fan who found these tapes, had them transferred digitally, and shared them with a poster who made them available on YouTube.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Chinese Hava Nagila at the Hong Kong Spring Lantern Festival

The most widely celebrated festival in China as well as Hong Kong, the Spring Lantern Festival is on the 15th day of the Chinese New Year. The festival is also known as the Yuan Xiao Festival, because of the popular Rice Ball that is eaten during the festival. 

The event is marked by lighting the iconic Chinese Red Lanterns and this year by the singing of Hava Nagila in Chinese.

This year's festival for the Year of the Ox was celebrated in February. Among the many performances was a Chinese version of Hava Nagila by the Yang Ming Cantonese Opera featuring Hong Kong Red Actress Liu Huiming as lead singer.

Enjoy!

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Comedy Special: Secretary of Simcha Yoely Gives Update on Vaccine Distribution

Former presidential candidate Yoely, played by comedian Modi Rosenfeld, recently appointed Secretary of Simcha, has released an update on the state of vaccine distribution. 

Always speaking in character, Yoely addresses two questions on everybody's mind: What should we do about new coronavirus strains arising from England, South Africa, and wherever, and how can we get our hands (or arms) on a vaccine? 

Yoely reassures us that different strains aren't any different from different strains of Chasidim -- one comes from Monsey, one from Monroe, one from Boro Park, one comes from Williamsburg, but it's just a chasid at the end of the day.

When it comes to vaccine distribution, he says it's hefker -- like there's nobody in charge, so we need a Chassidishe organization to take over.

Maybe he should run for president again the next time around.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "War of Words"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. He worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one to share with you. Here's the setup: A man is reading a newspaper with his wife. He comes across a study and he says "Honey, you know this article says that women use twice as many words a day as men." And then...

Enjoy!

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