A Joke to Start the Week: Best Doctor for Memory Loss

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: This old guy goes to the doctor and says "Doc, I'm really worried. I think I may be getting Alzheimer's." And then...

Enjoy!

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A Minute of Yiddish: Cookie Kibitznik on Chazerai in Junk Food and TV Entertainment

Meet Cookie Kibbitznik – your favorite Jewish mother! She's a technically-challenged Boomer fashionista – a tell-it-like-it-is, unfiltered, power-walking, pool-jogging, brisket-making giver of sage advice! She's here to teach you Yiddish, and you'll be plotzing from laughter! Brav-OY, Cookie, on your new hit comedy show! 

These videos are not meant to compete with serious Yiddish language tutorials such as the new Duolingo  course or Rukhl Schaechter's Word of the Day lessons from the Forward. They focus on Yiddish words that you probably already know, but illustrate their use in hilarious ways. They are produced and acted out by a woman who reveals only her first name, Perri. In today's video and other that we will be sharing in the coming weeks, she assumes the identity of Cookie Kibitznik, a yenta if we ever saw won.

In this episode, Cookie explains that the Yiddish word chozzerai describes not only different kinds of junk food but also lots of the entertainment that we're being fed today on TV.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with a Costa Rican Inspired Version of Lecha Dodi

This Lecha Dodi melody was composed by Harold Messinger, Hazzan of Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania, who "heard this melody in my head on a trip to Costa Rica." It's sung by Harold Messinger and Caroline Freiwald.

Beth Am Israel is a Conservative synagogue that was founded in 1924 in Southwest Philadelphia and moved to a new building on the Main Line in 2003. 

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Myron Cohen Tells Story Jokes on the Ed Sullivan Show

A few weeks ago we posted an old Myron Cohen routine that got a lot of likes, so today we're posting another one of his routines that we found in the same treasure trove of video clips from The Ed Sullivan Show.

Let's turn the clock back 52 years to June 1969 for a few minutes with this legendary comedian masking his perfect English diction with a Yiddish accent.

Cohen is a perfect example of comedy depending on timing and delivery and he was a master of both. His jokes are better described as funny very short stories with a twist. In this segment he moves effortlessly through jokes about a coffee shop, taxi, lumberjack, and divorce.

Enjoy!

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Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: A Classic SNL Coffee Talk Episode with Mike Myers as Linda Richman

One of Saturday Night Live's most popular recurring features was the Coffee Talk series featuring Mike Myers as his former mother-in-law Linda Richman.

Back in May 1993, SNL started a show with a cold opening skit featuring Myers as Linda getting farklempt because her daughter Robin didn't show up on Mother's Day. She took three calls from Coffee Talk listeners and unleashed a volley of Yiddishisms in the process, while challenging the callers to "talk among yourselves" about two topics.

Enjoy! 

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European Association of Jewish Choirs Sings Hevenu Shalom Aleichem

Last month Jewish choirs from Ukraine, UK, France, Italy, and Austria united to perform a unique version of Hevenu Shalom Aleichem. The occasion was the 76th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and the song was chosen as a message of peace, hope, and friendship

The singers are all members of the European Association of Jewish Choirs.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Molly Has a Baby"

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: It was a miracle of science. 65-year-old Molly Schwartzman conceived and delivered a baby. And then...

Enjoy!

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A Minute of Yiddish: Cookie Kibitznik Shows Lots of Ways to Act Like a Meshugana

Meet Cookie Kibbitznik – your favorite Jewish mother! She's a technically-challenged Boomer fashionista – a tell-it-like-it-is kind of unfiltered gal ... a power-walking, pool-jogging, brisket-making, mah jongg maven ... your new favorite Funny Girl and giver of sage advice! She's here to teach you Yiddish, as you fall out of your chair, laughing! 

These videos are not meant to compete with serious Yiddish language tutorials such as the new Duolingo  course or Rukhl Schaechter's Word of the Day lessons from the Forward. They focus on Yiddish words that you probably already know, but illustrate their use in hilarious ways. They are produced and acted out by a woman who reveals only her first name, Perri. In today's video and other that we will be sharing in the coming weeks, she assumes the identity of Cookie Kibitznik, a yenta if we ever saw won.

In this episode, Cookie illustrates the many ways that you can act like a meshugana.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Ein Keloheinu Sung by Hazzan Daniel Halfon to a Melody by Beethoven

Daniel Halfon is the Emeritus Hazzan of the Yad Harav Nissim synagogue in Jerusalem and a leading authority of the cantorial style of the western Sephardim. A classically trained baritone, Halfon was born in England and grew up in London's ancient Spanish and Portuguese community under the tutelage of Rabbi Dr Abraham Levy. 

He studied Hazzanut with three of the outstanding cantors of the Western Sephardi tradition: Eliezer Abinun z"l, Abraham Beniso z"l and Abraham Lopes Cardozo z"l. As a young man he received the call from Congregation Shearith Israel in New York to serve as Hazzan, and over the past 30 years he has been invited to sing in Sephardi synagogues across the world. 

In this video Hazzan Halfon sings a multitracked rendition of Ein Keloheinu, a song sung toward the conclusion of the Shabbat Shacharit service. The melody is based on the second (allegretto) movement of Beethoven's seventh symphony.

Scroll down to watch and listen to Zubin Mehta conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra as they play the full second movement.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom! 

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Sid Caesar in The Hickenloopers -- "The Boarder"

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 comes home from work to find a strange man sitting in his favorite chair. It's Howard Morris, playing the role of the boarder that Imogene Coca brought into their apartment to live with them for $16 a month.

Sid's reactions upon entering his home and finding another man there are priceless.

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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Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: Dick Shawn's Standup Act on the Johnny Carson Show

Comedian Dick Shawn was born Richard Schulefand in Buffalo, New York and raised in adjacent Lackawanna.  

He played a wide variety of supporting roles and was a prolific character actor. During the 1960s he played small roles in madcap comedies, usually portraying caricatures of counter culture personalities, such as deadbeat son Sylvester Marcus in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, the hippie actor Lorenzo Saint DuBois ("L.S.D.") in The Producers (1968), and as the voice of Snow Miser in The Year Without a Santa Claus.

In addition to roles in more than 30 movies and seven Broadway productions, Shawn made numerous television appearances, toured often, and periodically performed a one-man show that mixed songs, sketches, and pantomime. 

In this video clip of one of his appearances on The Johnny Carson Show, Shawn does a wacky wide-ranging monologue that includes the classic joke about a rabbi, priest, and minister giving their definitions of when life begins.

Enjoy!
 
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A Minute of Yiddish: Cookie Kibitznik Shows Off Her Ongepotchket Wardrobe

Meet Cookie Kibbitznik – your favorite Jewish mother! She's a technically-challenged Boomer fashionista – a tell-it-like-it-is kind of unfiltered gal ... a power-walking, pool-jogging, brisket-making, mah jongg maven ... your new favorite Funny Girl and giver of sage advice! She's here to teach you Yiddish, as you fall out of your chair, laughing! 

These videos are not meant to compete with serious Yiddish language tutorials such as the new Duolingo  course or Rukhl Schaechter's Word of the Day lessons from the Forward. They focus on Yiddish words that you probably already know, but illustrate their use in hilarious ways. They are produced and acted out by a woman who reveals only her first name, Perri. In today's video and other that we will be sharing in the coming weeks, she assumes the identity of Cookie Kibitznik, a yenta if we ever saw won.

In this episode, Cookie explains one of our favorite Yiddish words -- ongepotchket -- and displays her ongepotchket wardrobe.

Tonight we begin to celebrate the holiday of Shavuot -- one day in Israel and two days in the diaspora. So whether you will be attending services in person or virtually online, we wish you a chag sameach. We'll be back on Wednesday with our usual mix on Jewish  Humor Central.

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Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi by Leah Shoshanah

Leah Shoshanah is a singer, songwriter, cantorial soloist, guitarist and educator based in Chicago. She has performed worldwide, from intimate house concerts to on stage with the South African National Opera company “Opera Africa”. Leah performs original music and jazz/folk covers both solo and as the bandleader for various ensembles around Chicago. 

In concert, she creates an experience that echoes the American Folk traditions of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen; with music as moving poetry, woven with sing-a-longs and stories.

On this Shabbat before the Shavuot holiday, we're sharing Leah's original rendition of Lecha Dodi. In this version, Leah has adapted the nine stanzas of the original Hebrew into three English verses.

Enjoy, and Shabbat Shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: The First Sid Caesar-Imogene Coca Pantomime Ever

On this Throwback Thursday we're turning the clock back 72 years to the first pantomime performed by Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca on The Admiral Broadway Revue. The hour-long series was directed by Max Liebman, hosted by Sid Caesar, and also starred Imogene Coca. Liebman, Caesar, and Coca went on to work on NBC's Your Show of Shows , which debuted February 25, 1950.

The series was sponsored by TV-set manufacturer Admiral, a competitor of NBC's parent company RCA and of DuMont, both of which manufactured TV sets. Cancellation of the series resulted from demand for Admiral's TV sets exceeding the company's manufacturing capacity. Admiral's executives chose to shift the money spent on the program into an increase in manufacturing capabilities.

Its final episode aired June 3, 1949. This Caesar-Coca pantomime appeared on May 27, 1949.

Enjoy!

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Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: Milton Berle in the World of Vaudeville

From the early 1880's until the early 1930's vaudeville was the most popular form of mass entertainment in America. Dandy Danno and Diva G have posted archive video footage of some of the stars of vaudeville who made the move to radio and television.

One of the greatest comedy stars of vaudeville, radio, and TV was Milton Berle. In this undated excerpt from one of his comedy sketches, Berle runs into and performs most of the sight gags that you'll ever see on stage.

Enjoy!

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The Great Jewish Comedians: The Canadian Comedy Team of Wayne and Shuster

In the twelve years of Jewish Humor Central we've profiled and shared video clips of 56 great Jewish comedians. But in reviewing the list, we realized that until now we focused only on comedians from the United States. 

Wayne and Shuster, one of the funniest and most creative comedy teams of the last century came to us from Toronto, Canada. Johnny Wayne (born Louis Weingarten) and Frank Shuster were active professionally from the early 1940s until the late 1980s, first as a live act, then on radio, then as part of The Army Show that entertained troops in Europe during World War II, and then on both Canadian and American television. 

Wayne and Shuster appeared 67 times on The Ed Sullivan Show from 1958 to 1969. Their sketches ran for about 12 minutes and were elaborate in their use of costumes and had large casts of characters.

In the first five minutes of today's video, Wayne and Shuster present spoofs of TV commercials. Then they introduce the first part of a sketch called The Matzo Bowl, a football game version of the battle between David and Goliath. We'll show part 2 next week.

Enjoy!

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Celebrating Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) on the Mount of Olives with Yonina and "Jerusalem of Gold"

Today is Yom Yerushalayim - Jerusalem Day — the most recent addition to the Hebrew calendar. It is celebrated on the 28th day of Iyar (six weeks after the Passover seder, one week before the eve of Shavuot). 

Although Jerusalem has been considered the capital city of the Jewish people since the time of King David — who conquered it and built it as the seat of his monarchy in approximately 1000 B.C.E.–there has never been a special day in honor of the city until the Israeli army took over the ancient, eastern part of the city on the third day of the Six-Day War in June 1967.

Shortly after the Six-Day War, “a municipal unification” of the two sections of the city took place, ending 19 years of separation between predominantly Arab and Jewish suburbs of Jerusalem, following the War of Independence in 1948.

Today we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim with Jerusalem of Gold sung by the duo of Yoni and Nina Tokayer, who perform as Yonina, a combination of both their first names.

The married musical duo live in the small town of Pardes Chana, Israel. They have been uploading home videos to Facebook and Youtube and reaching millions. They have both been singing and writing since they can remember, and have been making music together ever since they met.

The song was written in 1967 by Naomi Shemer and first performed by Shuly Natan, who was then a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces teaching Hebrew to new immigrants from Morocco in Israel's Negev desert.

Most people think the song was written to commemorate Israel's victory in the Six Day War, but it actually was written shortly before war broke out. It was commissioned by Teddy Kollek, mayor of Jerusalem at the time, as a background song to be sung while the votes were counted for a radio song competition, similar to today's American Idol. It has grown in popularity over the years and is now second only to Hatikvah as Israel's national anthem.

Chag Sameach!

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A Minute of Yiddish: Cookie Kibbitznik Puts Some Shlep in Your Step

Meet Cookie Kibbitznik – your favorite Jewish mother! She's a technically-challenged Boomer fashionista – a tell-it-like-it-is kind of unfiltered gal ... a power-walking, pool-jogging, brisket-making, mah jongg maven ... your new favorite Funny Girl and giver of sage advice! She's here to teach you Yiddish, as you fall out of your chair, laughing! 

These videos are not meant to compete with serious Yiddish language tutorials such as the new Duolingo  course or Rukhl Schaechter's Word of the Day lessons from the Forward. They focus on Yiddish words that you probably already know, but illustrate their use in hilarious ways. They are produced and acted out by a woman who reveals only her first name, Perri. In today's video and other that we will be sharing in the coming weeks, she assumes the identity of Cookie Kibitznik, a yenta if we ever saw won.

In this episode, Cookie illustrates the meaning of Shlep and Shlepping at the beach, from the basement, while shopping, power walking, and doing water aerobics.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with a Disney Adon Olam by Cantor Thom King and Baltimore's Beth El Choir

Adon Olam, the liturgical poem that ends most Shabbat services around the world, has been set to many melodies from popular culture.

Disney movies have included songs that are readily adapted to the liturgy of the Shabbat service. Cantor Thom King of Baltimore's Beth El Congregation, together with the Beth El Choir, have recorded a version of Adon Olam set to Under the Sea, a selection from Disney's The Little Mermaid.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Myron Cohen on IRS Problems During Tax Season

Last Throwback Thursday we posted an old Myron Cohen routine that got a lot of likes, so today we're posting another one of his routines that we found in the same treasure trove of video clips from The Ed Sullivan Show.

Let's turn the clock back 51 years to 1970 for a few minutes with this legendary comedian masking his perfect English diction with a Yiddish accent.

With the tax filing deadline extended this year to May 17, it's a good time for laughs as Cohen tells jokes about tax encounters with the Internal Revenue Service. They may be 51 years old, but they're just as funny today.

Enjoy!

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  #Throwback Thursday   #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Flashback: Stiller and Meara in "School Protest With Walter Flonkite And Mrs. Mulcahy" on The Ed Sullivan Show

In our search for wacky comedy sketches we rolled the clock back 51 years to 1970 when Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in a skit where Stiller was CBS reporter Walter Flonkite and Meara was a distraught mother appealing to her son to end a high school demonstration that became violent.

As reporter Flonkite (Stiller) calmly reports on the disturbance, Regina Margaret Mary Mulcahy (Meara) aims a volley of hostility at her son, Vincent Francis Xavier Aloysius, and tries to coax him off the ledge outside the principal's office.

Enjoy!

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Ashkenazi Jewish Last Names - Where Do They Come From?

When you hear someone's last name, do you think it sounds Jewish? What would make a last name sound Jewish?

The vast majority of Ashkenazi Jews didn't even have last names until about 1787. Names of Eastern European descent have common characteristics that result in the ability to generalize about the sound of Jewish last names.

This video explores the origin of many Ashkenazi Jewish names and explains how they were derived from place names, patronymic and matronymic first names, occupations, and physical characteristics.

Does this explain the origin of your name? Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Hymie is Late"

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: Hymie calls home, his wife Mitzi answers the phone and she says "Hello!", and then...

Enjoy!

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A Minute of Yiddish - Cookie Kibitznik Goes Shopping for Tchotchkes

Meet Cookie Kibbitznik – your favorite Jewish mother! She's a technically-challenged Boomer fashionista – a tell-it-like-it-is kind of unfiltered gal ... a power-walking, pool-jogging, brisket-making, mah jongg maven ... your new favorite Funny Girl and giver of sage advice! She's here to teach you Yiddish, as you fall out of your chair, laughing! 

These videos are not meant to compete with serious Yiddish language tutorials such as the new Duolingo  course or Rukhl Schaechter's Word of the Day lessons from the Forward. They focus on Yiddish words that you probably already know, but illustrate their use in hilarious ways. They are produced and acted out by a woman who reveals only her first name, Perri. In today's video and other that we will be sharing in the coming weeks, she assumes the identity of Cookie Kibitznik, a yenta if we ever saw won.

In this episode, Cookie goes shopping in Florida stores and finds many useless items to sit on a shelf and collect dust --Tchotchkes!

Enjoy!

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