Welcoming Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh Sung by Meir Barchichat

Yedid Nefesh is a piyyut (poem) usually sung on Friday night just before the Kabbalat Shabbat (Welcoming Shabbat) service begins.
 
According to Wikipedia, this beautiful poem is commonly attributed to the sixteenth century kabbalist, Rabbi Elazar ben Moshe Azikri (1533-1600), who first published it in Sefer Charedim (published in Venice 1601), but Azikri did not claim authorship of it and there have been other suggested authors (e.g. Judah Halevi, or Israel Nagara).
  
The first letters of each of the four verses make up the four letter name of God, known in English as the tetragrammaton.

In today's video, Yedid Nefesh is sung by Rabbi Meir Barchichat. Rabbi Barchichat is the founder of Netiv Meir, whose primary activity is organizing Bar Mitzvah celebrations for underprivileged children in Israel. 

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Jackie Mason on Luxury Apartments 59 Years Ago

Today we're continuing our tribute to legendary comedian Jackie Mason, who died last Saturday at the age of 93. While his humor didn't appeal to all, and made some people uncomfortable, there's no denying that he was funny and topical in his political incorrectness.

Mason had a special insight into societal trends, attitudes and actions that defied common sense. His matter-of-fact observations played out to large appreciative audiences on highly rated TV shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show.

We've already posted some of these appearances over the years, but there are others that we hope to share with you in the coming months. 

Today we're sharing a routine about luxury apartments that Mason presented 59 years ago in 1962.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday     #TBT

A tip of the kippah to Meyer Berkowitz for bringing this video to our attention.

Israel's Baseball Team Hopes for Olympic Medals in Tokyo

Israel's i24 news is reporting that the Israel baseball team is heading to Tokyo to be one of six countries competing for medals in the sport that few Israelis follow or even know about. The Israeli team will be playing against the United States, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.

Most of the more than 40 members of the team are Jewish Americans who played in the big leagues. They got their citizenship and passports and qualified to represent Israel in the games.

As Cody Williams wrote in the New York Post,

Amid a group of stalwarts in the world of baseball, Israel has been a nation on the rise in the sport in recent years. They have shot up into the top 25 of the world rankings in recent years, including making a run in the World Baseball Classic back in 2017. However, this will be the country’s first appearance ever in the Olympics.

The major factor differentiating the 2017 WBC squad from the group heading to Tokyo is that the Olympics have stricter eligibility requirements, essentially requiring all players to be naturally born Israeli citizens or to have made aliyah (Jewish return to Israel to become a citizen). For the WBC, The Law of Return allowed virtually any Jewish baseball player to join Team Israel.

The first game between Israel and the USA is scheduled for 6 am on Friday.

Play ball!

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A Minute of Yiddish - Cookie Kibitznik Goes Noshing (and Noshing and Noshing) at Costco

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 pays a lunchtime visit to her local Costco and takes advantage again and again of the free samples that the store provides to shoppers.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Day: "Insurance"

Since 2010, the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project has recorded hundreds of in-depth video interviews that provide a deeper understanding of the Jewish experience and the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture. 

The interviews in the growing collection are conducted in Yiddish and/or English with narrators of all ages from a variety of backgrounds. 

Hyman Batalion, Yiddish speaker and Montreal native, was interviewed by Christa Whitney on August 16, 2016, at the Segal Centre for the Performing Arts in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  

 

Last year we posted a clip from the interview, in which Batalion, father of YidLife Crisis co-creator Eli Batalion, reflected on some of the early Yiddish speaking Montreal comedians and retold some of the old jokes.

In this clip from the interview, Batalion tells a joke in Yiddish with English subtitles. Here's the setup: A guy calls an insurance company and asks for insurance. The salesman asks him "How old are you?" And then...

Enjoy!

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Remembering Jackie Mason: Legendary Borscht Belt, Broadway, Film and TV Standup Comedian

The world of Jewish humor lost one of its brightest stars yesterday with the death of 93-year-old Jackie Mason, a fifth generation Orthodox rabbi who traded the pulpit for the stage.

As Mark Kennedy wrote for the Associated Press,

The irascible Mason was known for his sharp wit and piercing social commentary, often about being Jewish, men and women and his own inadequacies. His typical style was amused outrage.

“Eighty percent of married men cheat in America. The rest cheat in Europe,” he once joked. Another Mason line was: “Politics doesn’t make strange bedfellows, marriage does.” About himself, he once said: “I was so self-conscious, every time football players went into a huddle; I thought they were talking about me.”

His Wikipedia biography fills in some of the details of his career change from rabbi to comedian:

As a teenager, Mason worked as a busboy at resorts in the Borscht Belt in New York's Catskill Mountains. He recalled: "Twenty minutes, at the Pearl Lake Hotel. I broke all the dishes. They made me a lifeguard. 'But I can't swim', I told the owner. 'Don't tell the guests."

At age 18 he became a cantor, and at age 25 he received semikhah from Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and was ordained a rabbi (as his three brothers, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had been), in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.He led congregations as their rabbi in Weldon, North Carolina, and Beth Israel Congregation in Latrobe. He said that in synagogue, "I started telling more and more jokes, and after a while, a lot of gentiles would come to the congregation just to hear the sermons. "Three years later, after his father died, he resigned from his job as a rabbi in a synagogue to become a comedian because, he says, "Somebody in the family had to make a living."

In this video clip from his August 31, 1969 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Mason goes on a hilarious rant about doctors. Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam by the Nahariya Hospital Chorus

Once again it's time to welcome Shabbat with one of the most popular songs from the Shabbat service. This is the 70th version of Adon Olam that we've posted since starting Jewish Humor Central 11 years ago.

This version is sung by the chorus from Nahariya Hospital in Israel.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Victor Borge's Presidential Humor and Language by Numbers

Victor Borge (1909-2000) was a Danish comedian, conductor and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in the United States and Europe. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nickname "The Clown Prince of Denmark","The Unmelancholy Dane", and "The Great Dane." 

He was born as Borge Rosenbaum to a Jewish family in Copenhagen. His parents were both musicians. He began piano lessons at the age of two, and it was soon apparent that he was a prodigy. He gave his first piano recital when he was eight years old, and in 1918 was awarded a full scholarship at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.

When the Nazis occupied Denmark during World War II, Borge was playing a concert in Sweden, and managed to escape to Finland. Even though Borge did not speak a word of English upon arrival, he quickly managed to adapt his jokes to the American audience, learning English by watching movies. He took the name of Victor Borge, and, in 1941, he started on Rudy Vallee's radio show, but was hired soon after by Bing Crosby for his Kraft Music Hall program.

Most of his humor centered on his relationship with his beloved piano and the funny variations on classical music that he created and performed to the delight of his audiences.

In this 1965 video clip from The Ed Sullivan Show, Borge doesn't get to the piano but offers clever commentary on President Lyndon Johnson and introduces his unique numeric twist to the English language.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Long Island Orthodox Jewish Teen Picked for Major League Baseball Career by Arizona Diamondbacks

Jacob Steinmetz, a 17-year-old pitcher from Woodmere and graduate of the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns (HAFTR) is headed to the major leagues.

Steinmetz made history last week as the first Orthodox Jewish baseball player to be drafted by a major league team. The Arizona Diamondbacks chose the Long Island native with the 77th overall pick, far higher than expected.

As reported by Dennis Waszak Jr. in The Times of Israel,

Jacob Steinmetz’s blazing fastball helped make him a baseball draft trailblazer.

The New York native is believed to be the first known practicing Orthodox Jewish player to be selected by a US major league team, going in the third round — 77th overall — to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

The 6-foot-5 (195-centimeter), 220-pound (100-kilogram) Steinmetz, from the Long Island hamlet of Woodmere, is a 17-year-old right-hander whose repertoire features a fastball that sits in the mid- to upper-90s and a knee-buckling curveball. His draft stock rose considerably while playing for the Elev8 Baseball Academy in Delray Beach, Florida, this year after previously competing for his high school team, The Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway.

Steinmetz recently told the New York Post he keeps the Sabbath and eats only Kosher food, but plays during the Sabbath and on Jewish holidays — although he walks to games during the Sabbath rather than taking transportation. No practicing Orthodox Jewish player has made it to the big leagues.

Kvell!

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.

A Minute of Yiddish - Cookie Kibitznik Tells Us When and When Not to Use the Word "Chutzpah"

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 tells us when and when not to use the word "Chutzpah."

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.

 

A Joke to Start the Week - "Shanghai Synagogue"

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:  I was touring with my wife Nancy on a beautiful Friday night. As we were walking along, I heard the prayers from the Shabbat service. And then...

Enjoy!

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Tisha B'Av Special: Don McLean Sings "Waters of Babylon" ("Al Naharot Bavel")

If you were expecting a joke today, we're sorry to disappoint you. You'll have to wait until tomorrow. 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.

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. 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.

If Eicha's dirge-like melody and mournful lyrics don't speak to you, there's another musical way to get into the mood. In 1975 Don McLean performed his hit song Babylon in front of a live audience in Dublin and had them singing along with him. The lyrics are just perfect for Tisha B'Av, adapted from Psalm 137 in Tehilim (The Book of Psalms). 

עַ֥ל נַהֲר֨וֹת ׀ בָּבֶ֗ל
שָׁ֣ם יָ֭שַׁבְנוּ גַּם־בָּכִ֑ינוּ
בְּ֝זׇכְרֵ֗נוּ
אֶת־צִיּֽוֹן׃

By the rivers of Babylon,
there we sat and also wept,
as we remembered Zion.

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Welcoming Shabbat with a Special Version of Lecha Dodi for the Shabbat Before Tisha B'Av

A special melody is used once in a year in many Jewish communities for Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat preceding Tisha B'Av. The melody is taken from the last of the poems of mourning from the Tisha B'Av service. 

In this video, Rabbi Lia Bass, founder and spiritual leader of JILLI, the Jewish Institute for Lifelong Learning and Innovation, explains its origins and sings the first stanza.

Lia Bass is a Brazilian-born American rabbi and the second Latin American female rabbi in the world. She is also Northern Virginia's first female Conservative rabbi and the first woman from Brazil to be ordained as a rabbi.

Enjoy, and Shabbat Shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Gilda Radner's First Appearance on Johnny Carson Show

In 1983, seven years after Gilda Radner joined Saturday Night Live as a member of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players, she made her first appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

In a funny, wide-ranging interview, Gilda reads a hilarious selection from her book, Roseanne Rosanadanna's Hey! Get Back to Work Book. 

She explains how she overcame her shyness by getting lost in the characters that she invented and brought to life in the show.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Ed Wynn Accompanies Dinah Shore on His Piano Bicycle

The Ed Wynn Show premiered on September 22, 1949 on CBS. The series starred Ed Wynn (1886–1966), a well-established comedian of stage, vaudeville, film and radio. 

The series consisted of vaudeville-like skits and music performed by the days' popular artists.

The Ed Wynn Show was the first television series to originate from Hollywood. It was also one of the first television series to use the kinescope process in an effort to preserve episodes for later distribution. Sometimes after the live broadcast was finished, some re-takes were kinescoped and edited into the film to improve the east coast version.

The series was known for its list of prominent guest stars every week. In this video clip, Ed Wynn accompanies Dinah Shore on one of his inventions, the piano bicycle, as she sings Shine On, Harvest Moon and Tea for Two.

Enjoy!

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