Aish UK Brings Chanukah Festivities to the Streets of London

Aish UK is at the forefront of British Jewry, providing wisdom, depth and beauty. For the last 25 years, Aish UK has existed to inspire deeper connections in Judaism to ensure a vibrant future for the Jewish People.

This week Aish UK took to the streets of London to find out what the British public knows about the Jewish Festival of Lights, Chanukah. They spun dreidels, ate doughnuts in Leicester Square, and sang everybody's favorite Chanukah songs in some unfamiliar tunes. 

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Good Advice from the Bible"

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 man's business has been going downhill for several years. He's at the point of suicide and doesn't know what to do. So he goes to his rabbi for advice. And then...

Enjoy!

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Here Come the Chanukah Videos - "Illuminating" by the Maccabeats

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 their songs are parodies of pop hits, and this Chanukah they're continuing the tradition with Illuminating, a parody of Levitating, a song by English singer Dua Lipa.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with V'Shamru by Rick Recht at United Hebrew Congregation in St. Louis

Rick Recht is one of the top touring musicians in Jewish music playing over 150 dates each year in the US and abroad.

Rick has revolutionized and elevated the genre of Jewish rock music as a powerful and effective tool for developing Jewish pride and identity in youth and adults across the US. 

Rick is the national celebrity spokesman for the PJ Library and is the Executive Director of Songleader Boot Camp – a national songleader training immersion program held in various cities around the U.S.

The last 18 summers, Rick and his band played at literally hundreds of URJ, Ramah, JCC and private camps around the country.  Rick has been featured in concert and as scholar in residence at the NFTY, BBYO, and USY International conventions, the URJ Biennial, the American Conference of Cantors, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and Jewish communities across the US.   Rick has 13 top selling Jewish albums including his most recent release, Halleluyah.

Let's welcome this Shabbat with Rick singing V'Shamru with members of the United Hebrew Congregation of St. Louis.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Here Come the Hanukkah Videos - Six13 Sings "West Side Chanukah Story"

Anchored by a strong Jewish identity and driven by a mission to connect Jews around the globe with their heritage through music, the members of professional Jewish a cappella group Six13 are the originators of today's Jewish a cappella sound. 

They've performed to rave reviews at the White House, synagogues, religious schools, JCCs, fundraising events, B'nai Mitzvah and private affairs alike. They’ve received numerous awards for their eight best-selling CDs, been selected as finalists for casting in NBC's The Sing-Off, and garnered more than 20 million views online.

In the last 12 years, we've posted 14 of Six13's music videos. In this 15th video, the singing group pays tribute to West Side Story with a rewrite of the lyrics to evoke the spirit of Chanukah. Enjoy! 

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Here Come the Hanukkah VIdeos - Cantor Azi Schwartz Sings "Light a Candle"

It's that time of year again. On Sunday night we will be lighting the first Chanukah candle. Once again we're expecting some new Chanukah music videos and we'll be bringing the best of the bunch to you. 

Today we're sharing a video by Cantor Azi Schwartz of the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan. Nadlik Beyahad Ner (Light a Candle) calls us to light a candle, banish darkness, say a blessing, and enjoy the miracle of light. 

As Cantor Schwartz writes in his notes accompanying the song,

While this song was written for the Eurovision Song Contest, not for Hanukkah, I couldn’t resist its imagery of fighting hopelessness by creating light together. And, it was originally sung by one of my favorite Israeli singers ever, Sarit Hadad. When the figurative light of happiness seems far away, let us look for light from our traditions and from each other. Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving, happy Hanukkah, and Shabbat shalom! 

Enjoy!

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Orthodox Jewish Songwriter Reclaims Christmas Carols as Chanukah Songs in Yiddish

Some of the most popular Christmas songs were written by Jewish composers and lyricists. The lyrics are mostly secular and not religious but evoke the joys of winter and the holiday season. 

Orthodox singer-songwriter Yossi Desser took 12 of these carols and created original lyrics in Yiddish that evoke the spirit of Chanukah.

As Rukhl Schaechter wrote in The Forward,

It may sound gimmicky but in his debut album, “Yiddish Chanukah Carols”, Orthodox singer-songwriter Yossi Desser has done an amazing job, setting Yiddish lyrics about latkes, dreidels and the snow to the melodies of traditional Christmas songs, and making them sound as if they were Jewish all along.

In a video posted on YouTube when the album went live, for example, Desser sings his song, “Dreidelekh” (Little Dreidels), to the tune of “Silver Bells”, the classic Christmas song first recorded and popularized by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards in 1950.

What’s most fun about watching Desser sing this is that we get the tongue-in-cheek references: the unabashed sentimentality of the crackling fireplace, the gaudy Hanukkah sweater, the twinkling seasonal lights in the urban streets; and yet, Desser himself sings it as earnestly and sweetly as, ahem, a choir boy. Even more surprising is that, hearing him singing it in Yiddish soon begins to sound perfectly natural.

Here is the music video of Dreidelekh set to the music of Silver Bells, composed by Jewish songwriters Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison) and Ray Evans. Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Thanksgiving in the South"

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with a special joke for Thanksgiving week.

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's the autumn of 1942 in the deep South. Thanksgiving is approaching and the matron wants to have her usual big Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately most of the men are off in the military, so it's just the women. She wants to have a few more men to make it a proper Thanksgiving dinner. So she has an idea. And then...

Enjoy!

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Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell Star in Apple TV's New Jewy Series "The Shrink Next Door"

In a TV landscape where the major streaming services are showcasing series with Jewish themes, Apple TV has risen to the top of the barrel with its new entry The Shrink Next Door.

Starring comedic actors Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell, it's more of a dramedy than a comedy. But it has its comic moments. Unlike many Jewish-themed TV programs, its Jewish sequences, language, and references to the New York Jewish scene are pretty authentic.

As Esther Kustanowitz wrote in a review in J-The Jewish News of Northern California,

If “The Shrink Next Door” were a Bond Girl, she would have to be called Yarmulkes Galore — that’s how Jewy it is. (Has Modern Orthodox high school Ramaz been name-checked in any other TV series lately?)

But the show reaches its peak Jewyness at Marty’s bar mitzvah, which operates at nearly 80 percent authenticity. Dr. Ike is called to the Torah for an aliyah with a “ya’amod rishon” (“let the person with the first aliyah stand up”). Rudd aces the pre-aliyah blessings with glee and gusto and nearly nails the Hebrew (one word — “natan” is inflated by an extra syllable to “na-atan,” but we’ll allow it). Ferrell creaks out the verses to complete his redemptive rite of passage, but needs an assist from Dr. Ike, which illustrates just how much he is insinuating himself into Marty’s life.

The series is based on a podcast with the same title, that chronicled the bizarre true relationship between Marty Markowitz, the fabric manufacturer, and Isaac Herschkopf, his manipulating psychiatrist.

The series has four episodes so far, and a new episode is being released each Friday.

Enjoy! 

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Welcoming Shabbat with Cantor David Barash and the CEEBJ Band in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This beautiful rendition of Shalom Aleichem composed by Israel Goldfarb was arranged by Dan Dance and performed by the band of Congregation Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Directed by Cantor David Barash and produced by Scott Finch.

Congregation Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun started in 1856 with three tiny congregations that joined together to form B'ne Jeshurun. Thirteen years later, 35 families left the congregation to establish a new Congregation Emanu-El. In 1927 the two Reform congregations merged.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

Comedian Sarah Silverman Says There's No Christmas Without Jews

In an interview last week with Seth Meyers on his Late Night Show, comedian Sarah Silverman talked about her new TV series Santa Inc. and all the ways that many Jews have come together to create it.

The series, starring Seth Rogen as Santa Claus, airs on HBO Max starting December 2. 

In the interview, Silverman notes that every Christmas song you love was written by a Jewish composer. She also tosses out a few funny one-liners like "It's about the birth of the nicest Jewish boy ever", "Jews are disappointed that he became a Messiah and not a doctor" and "Elves are Jews because they can work on Christmas."

Enjoy!

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Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: Wayne & Shuster in a Greek Restaurant

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.

Today we're sharing a classic comedy sketch by Wayne and Shuster set in a Greek restaurant where the specialty of the house is Spanakoteropita.

Enjoy!

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Gal Gadot Tells Hebrew Joke to James Corden on The Late Late Show

Last week Israeli film star Gal Gadot was a guest on James Corden's Late Late Show. Corden played a game with Gadot called "Gal-Ga-Yes or Gal-Ga-No" in which she had to successfully complete four tasks. 

The first test was to throw a grape in the air and catch it in the air on her first try.

The next task was to tell a joke in Hebrew and make Hagar Ben-Ari, the band's bass guitarist, laugh.

She told the joke very quickly and Hagar laughed, but the joke was not translated into English.

If the joke went too fast for you to get, here's the translation: 

Why is a baby like instant coffee? It's easy to make and it keeps you up all night.

Enjoy the next two tasks and Gadot's success with them.

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Mistaken Translation"

It's another Monday, and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today we're bringing you another joke told by David Apfel. 

Now living in Modiin, Israel, David Apfel is an accomplished entertainer and chazzan. He sings in several languages with repertoire ranging from the musicals to opera. He has officiated internationally at several orthodox synagogues and he also specializes in ''Kosher Komedie''.

Here's the setup for today's joke: Once upon a time in the old wild West there was a wagon train that set out on a long journey and became completely lost. And then...

Enjoy!

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Hava Nagila by Detroit Motown Band Mainstreet Soul

Mainstreet Soul's 10-piece band performs Motown high-energy dance music all around Detroit. Their audiences jam to songs from Adele, Stevie Wonder, Chicago, Pharrell, Tower of Power, Aretha Franklin, Christina Aguilera, Michael Jackson, Kool & The Gang, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Sly & The Family Stone and more. 

So we wouldn't expect them to do a high-energy version of Hava Nagila. But this song is like the Energizer Bunny and keeps on going and going all around the world. And it happens to be the 100th version of the song that we have posted since starting Jewish Humor Central twelve years ago.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with V'Shamru by the Pey Dalid Trio

Pey Dalid is a trio of brothers -- Mordechai, Shlomo and Pesach Walker -- who have bringing audiences an uplifting experience of musical styles, popular genres and “One World Music”.

 

Armed with catchy melodies and thought provoking lyrics, the brothers of Pey Dalid  have been performing across the world for the last 20 years, spreading the message of unity and peace through their sweet harmonies and lively music.

 

The brothers were influenced by a home filled with the classic standards of legends such as Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis. They learned of music’s power to bring cultural harmony at the knee of their father, a highly respected booking agent in the world of entertainment. As they grew as musicians, their love of hip hop, rock, reggae and the fiercely energetic mosh pits of their youth created an influential and inspirational Pey Dalid sound, which has been heard throughout the world.

 

Blessed with beautiful voices and the ability to uplift all those around them, the brothers have lead Shabbat and holiday services for communities throughout the globe.

The band strives to bring a revolution of positive change and awareness. Mordechai explains, “In Hebrew the letter, Pey represents the number 8, the spiritual and infinite, and Dalid represents the number 4, the physical and finite. When we bring the two together we fulfill the purpose of creation. Our music bridges the core of those dualities, connecting not only with our Jewish brothers and sisters but with the human family throughout the world.”

Today we're sharing Pey Dalid's interpretation of Shlomo Carlebach's V'Shamru, a key component of the Friday evening service.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Stiller and Meara in "Wrong Phone Number"

Stiller and Meara (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara) were a husband-and-wife comedy duo that was popular primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. They made frequent appearances on television variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show.

A lot of their humor focused on their different religious backgrounds, but actually Meara converted to Reform Judaism six years after marrying Stiller.

In this video clip from 1966, Jerry makes a phone call and the number is off by one digit. Anne answers and the dialogue is classic.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Musical Showcase: Hazamir Sings "When You Believe" in a Virtual Choir Performance

HaZamir, the International Jewish High School Choir, is an international network of choral chapters for Jewish teens. Local HaZamir chapters meet weekly in cities across America and Israel to rehearse and perform Jewish choral music. 

HaZamir provides Jewish teenagers the unique opportunity to sing at the highest performance level, build pluralistic community, and create strong Israel-Diaspora relations in the next generation.

This has been a tough year for all choirs who had to cope with social distancing protocols. But HaZamir managed to continue their rehearsals in preparation for another Gala event in 2022. Yesterday they released their latest video -- a virtual performance of When You Believe, the acclaimed main theme song by Stephen Schwartz and Hans Zimmer from The Prince of Egypt, in combination with selections from Az Yashir, the Song of the Sea recited every morning in the Shacharit service.

We hope you'll enjoy this beautiful and uplifting rendition. 

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Comedy Showcase: Sam Levenson on Weight Loss and Health

Sam Levenson (1911-1980) was one of the most popular Jewish comedians on television from the 1940s through the 1970s. He was a panelist on The Price is Right, What's My Line, and Password. He had his own show, The Sam Levenson Show, hosted the game show Two For the Money, and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show 22 times.

His Jewishness was apparent from his speech and his stories about his large immigrant family in Brooklyn. It came through most clearly in his recordings of growing up Jewish in New York.

When we posted a Levenson story back in 2014 there were no video clips available, so the video on our post was a 78 rpm turntable spinning with audio background. Recently some videos have become available that we'll be sharing with you in the coming weeks and months.

Today's post is one of Levenson's appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show in which he delights the audience with his commentary about weight loss and health. Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week: "Goat Cheese"

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 group of Americans was traveling through Switzerland on a big bus tour.  As they stopped at a dairy farm the young guide led them through the process of making cheese. And then...

Enjoy!

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Andrea Bocelli and Daughter Virginia Sing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah

Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah was originally released on his album Various Positions in 1984. Achieving little initial success, the song found greater popular acclaim through a recording by John Cale, which inspired a recording by Jeff Buckley.

Following its increased popularity after being featured in the film Shrek (2001), many other arrangements have been performed in recordings and in concert, with over 300 versions known. The song has been used in film and television soundtracks and televised talent contests. Hallelujah experienced renewed interest following Cohen's death in November 2016 and appeared on many international singles charts, including entering the American Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.

Now Andrea Bocelli, one of the greatest singers of our time, has included his rendition of the song in his latest album and is singing it during his 21 city USA tour, now underway.

Last month he performed it at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, accompanied by his 9-year-old daughter Virginia.

Here's the Hallelujah duet by the Bocellis. Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam Sung to John Denver's "Country Roads" by Congregation Beth Am of San Diego

Congregation Beth Am of San Diego, California, conducts a Campfire Shabbat service the first Friday of every month. It's a musical spiritual and uplifting service around the campfire, led by Rabbi David Kornberg and Ephron Rosenzweig, with guitar and lots of fun, camp-style songs. 

Last month the service ended with a version of Adon Olam based on John Denver's famous song Country Roads.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Gilda Radner in "The Judy Miller Show"

It's hard to believe that it's been 32 years since the death of Gilda Radner, the brilliant Jewish comedy star of Saturday Night Live. Her hilarious characters made the show a must see every week.

Thanks to the Internet, we still have some of her landmark sketches available to watch and laugh. In recent years we've posted some of her character skits including Roseanne Roseannadanna, Emily Litella, Lisa Loopner, and Baba Wawa.

Today we're turning the clock back to 1977 for a classic visit to the room of Judy Miller, Gilda's stand-in for every little girl who imagines herself the star of her very own show and acts out every role.

Enjoy!

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   #Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Miss Universe Pageant is Coming to Israel in December

The 70th Miss Universe pageant will be held in the seaside town of Eilat in Israel on December 12, 2021, with a scheduled performance from Israeli singer and international star Noa Kirel. 

The 70th edition of the awards is the first to be hosted by Israel and is the first pageant to be held in the Middle East since 2000.

Kirel won the MTV Europe Music Awards for best Israeli act every year since 2017, marking the first time in the competition’s history that a local singer will participate in the event. At 14 years old, Kirel unveiled her debut single “Medabrim” (“Talking”), which took off as a phenomenon in Israel and paved the way for her eventual superstardom.

The Port of Eilat was announced as the location of the grand finale on Wednesday, as the event will be broadcast live to around 600 million viewers across more than 170 countries. Representatives from 90 countries and 5 continents are expected to participate in the pageant, which will be hosted by American television presenter Steve Harvey.

 

In this video from Israel's i24 news, Miss Universe President Paula Shugart explains why Israel was chosen to host this year's pageant.

 

Enjoy!

 

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Remembering Jay Black of "Jay and the Americans", Teen Idol of the 1960s and 1970s

On October 22 the world of pop music lost one of its biggest stars, Jay Black, lead singer of the group Jay and the Americans, who died at 82.

Black was born as David Blatt in Astoria, Queens and grew up in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Borough Park. In his later career, he was known for touring New York State and Florida, singing, mainly solo, and preceding his singing with a stand-up comedy routine. 

Jay and his brother spoke Yiddish fluently. In 1966, he recorded a Yiddish song "Where Is My Village" about the Holocaust. In an interview with The Forward, he admitted being tossed out of three yeshivas as well as New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn.

As Ron Kampeas wrote for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency,

He was selling shoes in 1962 or 1963 at Thom McAn when a buddy, Marty Kupersmith, who knew Blatt from the Jewish doo-wop circuit, asked him to take the place of Jay Traynor, who had quit Jay and the Americans, a group that had scored a single hit in 1962.

There was a condition: Blatt had to take on the first name Jay.

There are differing accounts of how he got the name Black; there’s evidence he was using it professionally before he joined Jay and the Americans, but he insisted he muttered “Jay Blatt” when Mike Douglas, the daytime talk show host, asked him his name, and Douglas repeated “Black” and it stuck.

Black, raised in an Orthodox family, had sung as a youngster with the choir of Cantor Moshe Koussevitzky. He became known for his powerful reach-for-the-rafters voice and his dramatic delivery. Bandmates dubbed him “The Voice” and it stuck.

With his dark good looks and his operatic delivery, he affected a Latin persona; one of the band’s most popular numbers was “Cara Mia,” in which he pledges to his presumably Italian object of adoration that “I will be your love until the end of time,” escalating into a heart-stopping falsetto. The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

There were other hits: “Come a Little Bit Closer” (which peaked at #3 on the charts), about an encounter with a seductress in a Mexican border town that ends badly; and their cover of the Drifters’ “This Magic Moment” (peaked at #6). The group was big enough to open for the Beatles in 1964, at the Fab Four’s very first U.S. concert.

In this video of a performance in 1978, Black sings four of his most popular hits, Cara Mia, This Magic Moment, She Cried, and Come a Little Bit Closer, as he is touched and hugged by screaming fans in the audience who follow him onstage.

We're also sharing a video of him singingin Yiddish Vi Is Dus Gesele that was posted on YouTube by Albert Diner.

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 - "Healthy Eating"

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 doctor was addressing a large audience in a nursing home in Florida. He told them the material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us a long time ago. And then...

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.