A Joke to Start the Week - "Fishing Boat Leak"

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:  Morty Hoffman and Saul Schwartz have been friends for years. They were so friendly that they bought two cottages in the Catskills. And then...

Enjoy!

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They're Back! The Forverts' Yiddish Cooking Ladies Make a Savory Old World Noodle Kugel

Our favorite Yiddish chefs, Rukhl Schaechter and Eve Yochnowitz from the Jewish Daily Forward are back with a recipe for a savory old world noodle kugel.

We've been publishing most of their videos featuring Yiddish-flecked banter while they cook traditional dishes.

Since their Est Gezunterheit series started in 2010h, we've published 24 of their recipes and mini-glossaries of funny-sounding Yiddish words connected to the recipes. (Look for Est Gezunterheit in the Keywords list in the left column to catch up on any that you've missed.)

Here are some of the Yiddish words that we picked up during this episode:

Leffeleh = teaspoon
Pintel = middle
Tzvorech = cottage cheese
Lokshen = noodles

Pitter = butter

Op-pregelen = frying
Tsforech = cottage cheese
Smeteneh = sour cream

Patelniye = frying pan

Opgoss = sink 

Oysegeventlich = exceptional

 

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam by Cantor Ari Litvak and Comunidad Bet-El of Mexico City

Today we're welcoming Shabbat with a Mexican flavor. Adon Olam is sung by Cantor Ari Litvak of Comunidad Bet-El of Mexico City.

He is joined by Cantor Diego Rubinsztein and Ale Levi in a version of the classic Shabbat song that's new to us. The words in Hebrew and in transliteration appear at the bottom of the video.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Mal Z. Lawrence on Gambling and Married vs. Singles

Mal Z. Lawrence probably holds the record for most stand-up comedy routines performed in Catskills hotels. When the hotels started to disappear, Mal simply moved his shtick to the casino hotels of Atlantic City and the playhouses of Century Village and other residential communities in Florida.

Lawrence died last September, but his comedy lives on in video clips posted on the Internet. 

Here's one of his great performances which we recently discovered. It was 1993 and appearing in an MDA Telethon in Las Vegas, Mal delivered some of his classic observations about gambling, and how to tell if a man is married or single.

Enjoy!

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   #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Alan King - "A Wife is a Wife is a Wife"

Alan King (1927-2004) was synonymous with classic Jewish comedy during his career which lasted about 50 years starting in 1955. He had roles in many movies, but we remember him most vividly for his stand-up comedy routines in the Catskills and on television.

King began his comedy career with one-liner routines and other material concerning mothers-in-law and Jews. King's style of comedy changed when he saw Danny Thomas performing in the early 1950s. He realized that Thomas was talking to his audience, not at them, and was getting a better response. King changed his own style from one-liners to a more conversational style that used everyday life for humor. His comedy inspired other comedians such as Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Billy Crystal, Robert Klein, and Bill Cosby.

In this video clip from Expo 67 in Montreal, King reflects on his life with his wife and the universality of his experience.

Enjoy!

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Avi Hoffman Tells Bobbe Mayses (Stories About My Grandparents) from his "Too Jewish?" Show

At age 10 Avi Hoffman (born Avrum Ber, in 1958) made his theatrical debut in a Yiddish Folksbiene Theater production called Bronx Express. In the decades that followed, the performer, a son of Holocaust survivors, has appeared in a wide range of theatrical endeavors, both in New York City and regionally.

Avi is the CEO of the Yiddishkayt Initiative, a not-for-profit organization that celebrates and promotes Jewish history, life, and culture and their positive and far-reaching impact on the world. From performing arts, publishing, and education to language, philosophy, and literature, YI offers a global clearinghouse of Jewish culture and entertainment. 

Avi is known for his shows, Too Jewish and Too Jewish Too. Today we're sharing Bobbe Mayses, an excerpt from Avi's show Too Jewish?. Enjoy! 

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Jewish Stagecoach"

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: It's the middle of the 1800s and this old Jewish merchant has to go to Omaha on business. So he goes to the stagecoach office and says "I want a ticket to go to Omaha." And then...

Enjoy!

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Great Songs of the Yiddish American Theatre: From the Milken Archive of Jewish Music

Between the 1880s and the early 1950s New York City's unique and vibrant Yiddish theater produced a wealth of great songs for three generations of Eastern European immigrants.

A musical adventure of historic proportions, the Milken Archive of Jewish Music is an exploration of the rich variety of musical expression born of, inspired by, associated with, or reflecting the full spectrum of Jewish life in the United States—the collective American Jewish experience.

The Milken Archive took three years of meticulous research to recreate the original orchestrations of dozens of these songs. In the coming months we will be sharing some of them, with English subtitles, as parts of a series. 

Here is an introduction to the collection. Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Hitna'ari (from Lecha Dodi) by Yonina

We've been posting versions of Hebrew liturgical and popular songs by Yonina (Yoni and Nina Tokayer, a married musical duo who 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 name Yonina is a combination of both their first names, Yoni and Nina.

Here they are  singing Hitna'ari and Hitor'ri, two verses from Lecha Dodi, the liturgical poem that is sung on Friday night as part of the Kabbalat Shabbat service.

Here are the lyrics, in Hebrew, English, and transliteration. Enjoy! 

הִתְנַעֲרִי מֵעָפָר קוּמִי. לִבְשִׁי בִּגְדֵי תִפְאַרְתֵּךְ עַמִּי:
עַל יַד בֶּן יִשַׁי בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי. קָרְבָה אֶל נַפְשִׁי גְאָלָהּ:

הִתְעוֹרְרִי הִתְעוֹרְרִי. כִּי בָא אוֹרֵךְ
קֽֽוּמִי אֽוֹרִי.
עֽוּרִי עֽוּרִי שִׁיר דַבֵּֽרִי. כְּבוֹד ה' עָלַֽיִךְ נִגְלָה. 

Hitna’ari me’afar kumi,
Livshi bigdei tifartech ami.
Al yad ben Yishai beit haLachmi;
Karva el nafshi g’ala.

Hit’oreri, hit’oreri,
Ki va orech, kumi uri.
Uri, uri, shir daberi;
K’vod Adonai alai’yich nigla.  

Shake​ off your dust, arise! Put on your glorious garments,​ my
peopl​e, and pray: “Be near to my soul, and redeem it through
the son of Jesse, the Bethlehem​ite.”

Besti​r yourself,​​ bestir yourself,​​ for your light has come; arise
and shine! Awake, awake, utter a song; the Lord’s glory is revealed
upon you. 

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: George Burns and Jack (Gracie) Benny in London Royal Variety Review

Back in 1961, George Burns did a skit in the Royal Variety Performance in a London theater, with Jack Benny playing the role of George's wife Gracie Allen.

They performed one of the Burns and Allen classic routines that 12 years after Gracie died in 1964, George performed again with comedian Madeline Kahn, a routine that we posted on Jewish Humor Central in 2015.

We never saw the original skit, but thoroughly enjoyed both of the revised versions. We hope you'll enjoy them too.

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  #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Milton Berle in "Musical Humor" with Al Hirt

Back in 1963, in one of his appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, Milton Berle tried to play a duet with trumpeter and bandleader Al Hirt, with hilarious results.

We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane to the early days of TV.

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: University of the Philippines Plays Hevenu Shalom Aleichem

Hevenu Shalom Aleichem has traveled all over the world and has been played and sung in more countries than any Hebrew song except for Hava Nagila. 

Since we started Jewish Humor Central 12 years ago we have shared versions from 20 countries. Today we're sharing a recent performance of this popular song by the native string ensemble of the Philippines. It's called a rondalla, and it consists of plectrum instruments such as the bandurria, laud, octavina, mandola, guitarra, and bajo de uńas (supplanted today by the regular double bass).

The New Jersey-based University of the Philippines Alumni & Friends Rondalla was established in 1992 as a cultural/educational nonprofit organization. Its membership later expanded to include non-alumni and interested friends age seven and older. Pieces range from simple folk songs and dances, to beautiful symphonic arrangements of beloved Philippine kundimans, Broadway, classical, religious, popular tunes, and well-known melodies from around the world. 

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Winners and Losers"

This week we're sharing a joke posted by the Port Jewish Center, a Reform congregation located in Port Washington, New York.

In February 2020 the synagogue hosted a Joke-a-Thon and invited its members to share a joke in a Zoom session.

We selected a few jokes from the session and are sharing one of them with you today.

Enjoy!

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It's Time to Celebrate Tu B'shvat - Israel's Tree Holiday. Plant a Tree and Enjoy Its Fruits and Nuts

Tonight and tomorrow we celebrate Tu B'shvat, the 15th day of the month of Shvat, a joyous Jewish holiday that celebrates trees and nature. It brings us back to our roots, literally. 

Here's a short video to give you an introduction to this holiday that's widely celebrated throughout Israel.

A Tu B'shvat seder is becoming more popular each year.  Just type Tu B'shvat seder into YouTube and you'll find lots of examples to use as a basis for your own celebration.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with "Oseh Shalom" by Cantor Tifani Coyot of Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles

Oseh Shalom Bimromav appears multiple times in our Shabbat services, as it is part of the Kaddish prayer.

A musical version of Oseh Shalom was composed by prolific Israeli composer Nurit Hirsh, who is also known for BaShana HaBa-ah and A-Ba-Ni-Bi.

Oseh Shalom Bimromav was composed for the first Hasidic Song Festival, held in 1969, where it took third prize. Her melody has since become part of the liturgy in synagogues and Jewish communities worldwide.

This week we're welcoming Shabbat with the singing of Oseh Shalom Bimromav by Cantor Tifani Coyot of Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles, California. 

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Morey Amsterdam on Nudity in the Movies

It's another Throwback Thursday and we're taking you back 52 years to 1970 when comedian Morey Amsterdam made another appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Back in 2015 we posted a classic Morey Amsterdam standup routine with Polish jokes, doctor jokes, and golf jokes. This week we found another one of his routines in which he jokes about nudity in the movies.

Amsterdam was a great stand-up comedian in the days when political correctness was unheard of. His ability to come up with a joke on any subject earned him the name of The Human Joke Machine.

Amsterdam had his own TV shows from 1948 to 1950. Among his regular guests was song-and-dance man Art Carney. In 1950 he hosted the comedy-variety show Broadway Open House, TV's first late-night entertainment show, on NBC. It demonstrated the potential for late-night programming and led to the later development of The Tonight Show.

Enjoy!

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  #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Joan Rivers Recalls When Her Daughter Melissa First Dressed Herself

Today we're turning the clock back 53 years to 1969, when Joan Rivers made one of her many appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

In this standup routine, Joan reminisces about the time when her daughter Melissa, then 18 months old, dressed herself.

Enjoy!

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Remembering Bob Saget, Stand-up Comic, TV Sitcom Star, and Host of "America's Funniest Videos"

Bob Saget, whose comedy career included playing a wholesome dad on the 1990s sitcom Full House, hosting America's Funniest Videos, and performing raunchy standup comedy, died Sunday at 65 after a show in Orlando, Florida.

As Shira Hanau wrote for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency,

Even before he got to Hollywood, Saget honed his comedy as a misbehaving Hebrew school student at Temple Israel in Norfolk, Virginia.

“Well, a lot of it was rebellion,” Saget told the Atlanta Jewish Times in 2014. “In my Hebrew school training, I would spend more time trying to impress the girls in the class. I remember the rabbi taking me up to his office and saying ‘Saget, you’re not an entertainer; you have to stop doing this.’ I couldn’t stop.”

In 2021, Saget participated in a Purim spiel, or comedic reading of the Purim story, to benefit the Met Council, in which he played the villain of the story, Haman. “I’m self-loathing, too,” he quipped as he and other members of the cast sounded groggers to drown out Haman’s name.

Saget recalled his Jewish upbringing, including his Hebrew school experience and the Jewish foods his bubbe cooked, in the foreword he wrote for the 2011 book, “Becoming Jewish: The Challenges, Rewards, and Paths to Conversion,” by Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben and Jennifer S. Hanin.

“I was born a Jewish boy. I was circumcised. Thank God by a professional. That is not something you want done by a novice. Or someone doing it for college credit. So I ‘became Jewish’ instantly upon birth,” he wrote.

Saget did not consider himself to be very observant. But he did feel sense of spirituality on a trip he took to Israel with his parents in the 80s or 90s.

“It was quite a gift and there were many spiritual things that happened throughout and that I think is still the closest I’ve felt, because you can actually see it and feel it in the air in Israel,” he said.

Having lost his sisters and both of his parents — his father in 2007 and his mother in 2014 — at the time of his conversation with Sanderson, Saget talked about the difficulty in feeling spirituality or belief in God after experiencing so much loss.

“I go back and forth with my belief system, by the way. I’m not the best, most observant Jewish person you’ve ever met or talked to, and yet I’m Jewish and proud to be,” he said.

Here's a sample of Saget's comedy -- a skit on Saturday Night Live where he played a coach of a high school football team. 

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Empire State Building"

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: Goldberg rushes into the office that he and his partner Horowitz have had for years in their real estate business. Horowitz is sitting at the desk doing nothing as usual. And then...

Enjoy!

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The Story of "Bei Mir Bistu Shein" with the Zamir Chorale of Boston

The Zamir Chorale of Boston and Josh Jacobson present the fascinating story of "Bei Mir Bistu Shein"-- how it went from being the hit of a Yiddish musical comedy in 1932 to become the best selling song in American History in 1937, sung by The Andrews Sisters.

Josh Jacobson narrates the story, followed by a delightful performance of the Yiddish and English versions by the Zamir Chorale of Boston. Edwin Swanborn is the pianist; Taki Masuko the drummer; Cantor Joel Caplan plays the clarinet; Deb Wollner, Susan Rubin and Deborah Melkin are the soloists. The recording is by Larry Sandberg.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with V'Shamru by Cantor Bryce Megdal

Last October Cantor Bryce Megdal and Rabbi Steve Engel led Central Florida's largest Reform congregation, the Congregation for Reform Judaism, in a fun version of Rabbi Moshe Rothblum's V'Shamru, a key part of the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service. 

While Cantor Megdal fully supports keeping traditional Jewish worship elements alive, such as nusach (the traditional mode of Jewish prayer chant) and older pieces of hazzanut (the traditional music of the Cantorate), and sincerely enjoys singing with a classical style, she also believes it is important to teach new and modern musical settings of Jewish liturgy. She is a Jewish music nerd through and through, always eager to learn new renditions of Jewish text.

Accompanying themselves with guitar and tambourine, they led the Orlando congregation in an ebullient welcome to Shabbat.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Myron Cohen Tells Psychiatrist Stories

Earlier this year 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 59 years to 1963 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 tells a series of jokes about interactions with a psychiatrist.

Enjoy!

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  #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Modi at His Best in Montreal

Modi Rosenfeld is one of our favorite young comedians and we've posted many of his stand-up comedy routines and skits. 

Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, Modi Rosenfeld moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Before entering comedy, he was a Wall Street international banker. He now goes solely by the name Modi and is known for creating accents and characters.

He has made many appearances at the Just for Laughs festival, an annual summer event in Montreal. In this video clip, Modi tells about his trip on Lufthansa to Munich for a comedy performance, and also reveals the number one way to pick up women.

Modi has a wide range of funny persona. Sometimes he appears as a Chasid in full black dress, other times as a typical Jewish stand-up comic, and others as a non-denominational general comedian. This video shows him without any ethnic attributes. Any way we look at it, we think he's funny.

Enjoy!

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Comedy Showcase: Rita Rudner on How Nothing is Simple Anymore

We've been big fans of Rita Rudner ever since she started to appear on late night TV in the 1980s.

One of the hallmarks of her comedy is that it's clean, free from the vulgarity and shouting that many stand-up comics find necessary.  Her delivery is demure, tasteful, full of wry observations, and very funny.

Rudner started her career as a dancer, then switched to stand-up comedy about her dating experiences.  She married British producer Martin Bergman about 30 years ago and they have a daughter.  She is fond of Jewish humor but generally reserves it for when she performs for Jewish audiences.

Rita just released video clips of some recent performances. Today we're sharing her observations on how nothing is simple anymore.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "A Wise Choice"

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: Goldstein is walking down the street one day in autumn and he's kicking the leaves aside. All of a sudden he hears a little voice from underneath the leaves. 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.

Comedy Showcase: Elon Gold on Giving Fake Names to Starbucks Baristas

Elon Gold has always been one of our favorite young stand-up comics. A practicing Orthodox Jew who attended Westchester Day School and Yeshiva University High School, he performs for Jewish and for general audiences. His Jewish routines tend to be family-friendly, and his general routines not so.

He performs in comedy clubs and has appeared at the annual Just For Laughs festival in Montreal, Canada. We're sharing a video clip of a recent Just For Laughs appearance. In this clip Elon wonders what it would be like if he walked into a Starbucks coffee shop and, when asked for his name to write on the cup, offered his Hebrew name.

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.