A Joke to Start the Week - "Moishe Moves to Montana"

It's Monday again, and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today we're sharing a joke told by cantor and comedian Herschel Fox.

Fluent in Yiddish and Hebrew, Herschel Fox has appeared in countless night clubs, theatres and synagogues throughout the United States. He has shared the stage with artists such as Jan Peerce, Mickey Katz, and Molly Picon. 

Primarily a cantor, having trained with Cantor David Koussevitzky and Sidor Belarsky, he has held positions in synagogues in Connecticut, New York, and California.

But Herschel is also a stand-up comedian and loves to tell stories in Yinglish. Today we're sharing a joke from his 2021 presentation "The World of Jewish Humor" at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California, where Herschel has been a cantor for more than 40 years.

Today we're sharing one of Herschel's favorites, a classic old Jewish joke which has resonated with generations of Jews. Today it might be considered a bit politically incorrect, but it's not mean spirited so we're going with it.

Here's the setup: A wonderful Jewish couple in Brooklyn has a son who is a fine student. They would have been happy to have kept him in the yeshiva in Brooklyn but this kid gets a full scholarship to the University of Montana. And then...

Enjoy!

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Another Story by Sol Krupnick: "Surgery Down Below"

Today Joel Gibbs is back in the role of Sol Krupnick telling one of his short stories. 

Gibbs is starring as Sol Krupnick in “Meet Sol Krupnick,” “an on-stage, theatrical, one-man-show” about a “Jewish kibitzer of undetermined (old) age who shares fun stories about his crazy family, tells classic jokes and offers ‘unique’ observations about the world around him.”

Or, in other words, the 70-year-old Jewish grandfather is performing a one-man show as himself.

Gibbs, a longtime congregant at Shir Ami in Newtown who still attends events at the synagogue, opened his show with a recent performance at KleinLife in Northeast Philadelphia. About 200 friends and family members came to show their support. But really, they came to laugh. As Gibbs said of the night, “I portrayed the character; I told the stories and jokes; the audience laughed a lot.”

Gibbs calls himself the “Man of a Thousand Voices.” He does more than 100 celebrity impressions and has worked on more than 40,000 projects worldwide, according to his press release. He partnered with Billy Crystal, Julie Andrews and other celebrities on the “Love the Arts in Philadelphia” campaign to promote the city’s cultural institutions.

Today we're sharing one of Sol's stories about how his friend Melvin survived a serious car accident and had to make a difficult decision.

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.

Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam sung by the London Cantorial Singers in Liverpool

It's time to welcome another Shabbat with Adon Olam, the traditional song that concludes the Mussaf service. 

Today we're sharing a version sung at a Tribute Concert in the memory of Cantor Rev. Henry and Mrs Helena Chait held in Liverpool's historic Princes Road Synagogue on June 11. The concert featured their sons Rabbi Alby Chait, Chazan Benjamin Chait & Chazan Charles Chait who were singing together for the first time in 17 years. 

They were joined by Rabbi Natan Fagleman, Cantor Rev. David Rome, Cantor Henry Black & Cantor David Shine along with The London Cantorial Singers under the leadership of Alan Freedman, David Druce (choir chairman) & David Silkoff (choir pianist).

Princes Road Synagogue is home to the oldest Jewish congregation in the city. The first stone was laid in 1872 by William and George Audsley, and was completed and consecrated at a ceremony led by Chief Rabbi Dr. Nathan M. Adler in September 1874.

Today, the synagogue is a big part of the local community and welcomes visitors and members weekly to Shabbat followed by Kiddush in the newly renovated annex.

It is open, by prior arrangement, for tours by schools, community groups and visitors, and it also runs a full events calendar including talks, concerts and plays.

 A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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.

 

Time Out for Tisha B'Av - A Day for Fasting and Lamentations

Today we continue the observance of Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, which ends tonight. It's a day of fasting and reading from the Book of Lamentations, which describes the sad state of the Holy Temple and the city of Jerusalem after its destruction in 586 B.C.E. by the Babylonians.

At the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem today, the contrast is striking. On Tisha B'Av, thousands of residents and visitors find their way to join the throngs who recite Lamentations but also sing songs of hope and prayer. 

Yesterday we shared the singing of Acheinu, a prayer for our brothers in trouble or in captivity. Today we post a video of a throng at the Kotel singing Ani Ma'amin, Maimonides' thirteen principles of faith.

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Tisha B'Av Starts Tonight - A Time for Reflection on the Destruction of the Holy Temples

There is no day during the year when we can't find an opportunity to laugh, chuckle, guffaw, grin, or maybe just crack a smile.  Without humor, the world would be a much grimmer place.  Even during the High Holy Days and on fast days, most of us find a moment to share an anecdote or witty comment with friends.  

Tonight and tomorrow are no exception, but the overall mood of the elongated day is much more sorrowful than any other.  The reason, of course, is that tonight we begin the observance of Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, which lasts until Tuesday night.

Tisha B’Av is a fast day that commemorates the destruction of the two Temples. It also happens to be the day that many other calamities have befallen the Jewish people, some of which are listed below:

• 587 BCE (3338)- The First Temple is destroyed by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. The Jews are sent into what later became known as the Babylonian Exile.
• 70 CE (3830)- The Second Temple is destroyed by the Romans, led by Titus.
• 135 CE (3895) - The Romans defeat Bar Kochba's last fortress, Betar, and destroy his army. Bar Kochba himself is killed along with more than 100,000 other Jews. The Roman Emperor Hadrian turns Jerusalem into a Roman city.
• 1290 (5050) - King Edward I of England signs an edict expelling all Jews from England.
• 1492 (5252) - The Alhambra Decree takes effect, expelling the Jews from Spain and from all Spanish territories.
• 1914 (5674) - World War I begins when Germany declares war on Russia, setting the stage for World War II and the Holocaust.
• 1940 (5700) - Himmler presents his plan for the "Final Solution" to the Jewish problem to the Nazi Party.
• 1942 (5702) - Nazis begin deporting Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto. 

On Tisha B'Av, Jews gather in darkened synagogues to read Eicha (The Book of Lamentations) and reflect on the tragedies that befell our people through the millennia.

 

So we won't post any jokes or hilarity today and tomorrow, but we'll share a couple of videos that are appropriate for the day.

Today's post is a video taken at the Kotel in Jerusalem in 2020, when Shai Abramson, Chief Cantor of the Israel Defense Forces sang the prayer Acheinu, accompanied by volunteers for Magen David Adom.

 

Acheinu kol beit yisrael, han'tunim b'tzara uvashivyah, haomdim bein bayam uvein bayabasha. Hamakom Y'racheim Aleihem v'yotziem mitzra lirvacha um'afaila l'orah umishiabud lig'ulah, hashta ba'agala uvizman kariv.V'nomar: Amen

אַחֵינוּ כָּל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, הַנְּתוּנִים בְּצָרָה וּבַשִּׁבְיָה, הָעוֹמְדִים בֵּין בַּיָּם וּבֵין בַּיַּבָּשָׁה, הַמָּקוֹם יְרַחֵם עֲלֵיהֶם, וְיוֹצִיאֵם מִצָּרָה לִרְוָחָה, וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹרָה, וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה, הַשְׁתָּא בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב.

Translation: As for our brothers,​ the whole house of Israel, who are given over to trouble or captvity​, whether they abide on the sea or on the dry land: May the All-prese​nt have mercy upon them, and bring them forth from trouble to enlargeme​nt, from darkness to light, and from subjectio​n to redemptio​n, now speedily and at a near time; and let us say, Amen.  A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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.

 

Is Barbie Jewish? JewTube Investigates and Posts the Conclusion on YouTube

With all the publicity surrounding Friday's theatrical release of the long awaited movie Barbie, we just had to delve into the frequently asked question "Is Barbie Jewish?"

Yeah, she's Jewish. BOOM! But how/ why? Well, the same reason anyone is halachically Jewish, her mother is. That's not the whole story though. There's controversy, mystery, and an investigation by JewTube that reaches an inevitable conclusion. Despite her origin as a copy of a German sex symbol named Lili, her creator, Mattel founder Ruth Handler named her after her own daughter Barbara and her boyfriend Ken after her own son Kenneth.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - ""The Drug Enforcement Officer"

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: One day an officer from the Drug Enforcement Agency came to a farm in Texas. He went up to the owner of the farm and said "I have the authority to inspect your property for illegally grown drugs." And then...

Enjoy!

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Remembering Singer Tony Bennett and His Jewish Connections

When legendary singer Tony Bennett died Friday at the age of 96, it didn't take long for The Forward and The Algemeiner newspapers to come up with his connections to Jewish life.

As Dan Epstein wrote in The Forward,

Throughout his eight-decade post-war career as a singer, performer and recording artist, Bennett regularly employed his melodic gifts and mellifluous phrasing in service of songs composed by many of the 20th century’s great Jewish songwriters. In fact, quite a few of the Jewish-penned numbers in Bennett’s discography were particularly significant for him — not just as chart hits, but as key career turning points and cornerstones of his lasting musical legacy.

These songs include Rags to Riches by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, The Best is Yet to Come by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, Chicago by Fred Fisher, Our Love is Here to Stay by George and Ira Gershwin, and White Christmas by Irving Berlin.

In The Algemeiner, Shiryn Ghermezian wrote:

The I Got Rhythm singer was not Jewish but his daughter, vocalist Antonia Bennett, converted to Judaism in 2013. She married Ronen Helmann, a native Israeli, and together they gave the late singer a Jewish granddaughter named Maya in May 2016.

Bennett was drafted in the US Army at the age of 18 in 1944, and was part of the 255th Regiment that during World War II liberated the Kaufering concentration camp in Landsberg, which was 30 miles south of the Dachau concentration camp in Germany.

In September 2014 Bennett visited Israel and performed for 90 minutes in Tel Aviv's Mann Auditorium. Here's Tony singing The Way You Look Tonight by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields from that show.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with a Bluegrass Version of Yedid Nefesh by Jacob's Ladder

Last month we welcomed Shabbat with bluegrass versions of Shalom Aleichem and Lecha Dodi by David Sasso and the Boston-based Jacob's Ladder bluegrass group. The popularity of those selections encouraged us to follow up this Shabbat with their version of Yedid Nefesh, another song that we sing on Friday night.

David Sasso has composed a number of works on Jewish themes. Beyond chamber works from his college years, David has recently composed a choral setting of modern poetry on biblical themes and two setting for soprano and piano of Yiddish poems, including his own Yiddish translation of Wordsworth’s “Daffodils.” 

In 2023, David traveled to the island of St. Thomas to participate in a collaboration with local musician and fellow Interlochen Arts Camp alum Gylchris Sprauve, celebrating the many musical heritages of the US Virgin Islands, including David’s own personal ancestry in St. Thomas and his heritage of Sephardic Jewish music. 

Also in 2023, David teamed up with Boston-based Jewish bluegrass group, Jacob’s Ladder, to record selections from his bluegrass setting of the traditional Friday night Shabbat liturgy, Sasson v’Simcha - Joy and Delight. This service was dedicated to David’s parents, Rabbis Dennis and Sandy Sasso, and premiered in May 2023 at the retirement celebration of Rabbi Dennis Sasso at Congregation Beth-El Zedeck in Indianapolis.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Totie Fields Roasts Lucille Ball in 1975

It's another Throwback Thursday and we're turning the calendar back to 1975 when comedian Totie Fields roasted Lucille Ball on Dean Martin's Celebrity Roast.

Totie Fields was born Sophie Feldman in Hartford, Connecticut. According to Wikipedia, she started singing in Boston clubs while still in high school, taking the stage name of Totie Fields. The name "Totie" was a childhood nickname, a baby-talk pronunciation of the name "Sophie"

Fields gained fame during the 1960s and 1970s. Ed Sullivan gave Fields her first big break when he booked her on his show after seeing her perform at the Copacabana in New York. She made multiple appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Merv Griffin Show, as well as a fifth season episode of Here's Lucy starring Lucille Ball.

Here's a video clip of Totie appearing on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast of Lucille Ball in 1975.

Enjoy!

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  #Throwback Thursday       #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Unfit Fitness - A Candid Camera Classic from 1990

Candid Camera was an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947. 

After a series of theatrical film shorts, also titled Candid Microphone, Funt's concept came to television on August 10, 1948, and continued into the 1970s. 

The show involved concealing cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations, sometimes involving trick props, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed or a car with a hidden extra gas tank. When the joke was revealed, victims would be told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera."

Peter Funt joined the show professionally in 1987 when he became a co-host with his father. During this time the show was being broadcast on the CBS television network. In 1993, Allen Funt had a serious stroke, from which he never fully recovered. This required Peter to host the show full-time. 

The show went through a few revivals. During his time on the show Peter was a producer, host and acted on the show. He also produced and hosted over 200 episodes. 

In this classic 1990 episode set in a fitness studio the owner announces to the class that they had to sell the studio to a new owner and makes the introduction to the class. But the owner is a member of the Candid Camera team and proceeds to teach the class some unorthodox exercises.

Enjoy!

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The Great Israeli Singing Groups: The Gevatron Sing "Hallelujah LaOlam"

The Gevatron (הגבעטרון) is an Israeli Kibbutz folk singers group. The band started off in the early days of the state of Israel and are active to this very day. They are considered a unique phenomenon in the Israeli folk songs scene, and in 2007 won the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement.

The band was founded in 1948 from the youth of Geva Kibbutz in the Jezreel Valley, in honor of the inauguration ceremony of the kibbutz basketball court, and to this very day it is still made up from Geva Kibbutz members and a number of members of the kibbutzim of Beit HaShita, Kfar HaHoresh, the communities of Moledet, Kfar Tavor and Timrat and the city of Afula, sing it voluntarily. 

The group members have their primary occupation outside the band, and the band is their secondary occupation. Members' age ranges between forty plus to seventy plus, and includes an electrician, teachers, a bakery owner, industrial workers, banquet hall manager, car mechanic and a nurse. Gevatron recorded many albums and held thousands of concerts in Israel and Jewish communities abroad, which won them success.  

In this video the Gevatron sing Hallelujah LaOlam, the song that won first place in the 1979 Eurovision contest as sung by Milk and Honey.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Dinner with Friends"

It's Monday again and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today we're sharing an oldie but goodie that Joel Gibbs, the Bucks County, Pennsylvania-based voice actor, posted  on his YouTube channel "Sol Stories."

Gibbs is starring as Sol Krupnick in “Meet Sol Krupnick,” “an on-stage, theatrical, one-man-show” about a “Jewish kibitzer of undetermined (old) age who shares fun stories about his crazy family, tells classic jokes and offers ‘unique’ observations about the world around him.”

Or, in other words, the 70-year-old Jewish grandfather is performing a one-man show as himself.

Gibbs, a longtime congregant at Shir Ami in Newtown who still attends events at the synagogue, opened his show with a recent performance at KleinLife in Northeast Philadelphia. About 200 friends and family members came to show their support. But really, they came to laugh. As Gibbs said of the night, “I portrayed the character; I told the stories and jokes; the audience laughed a lot.”

Gibbs calls himself the “Man of a Thousand Voices.” He does more than 100 celebrity impressions and has worked on more than 40,000 projects worldwide, according to his press release. He partnered with Billy Crystal, Julie Andrews and other celebrities on the “Love the Arts in Philadelphia” campaign to promote the city’s cultural institutions.

Today we're sharing one of Sol's stories about the time his friends, the Mandelbaums, won $20 million in the lottery and hired a fancy and proper British butler.

Enjoy!

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Yiddish Word of the Day: Joking

In 2020 the Forverts launched a daily series of short informal video clips called Yiddish Word of the Day.

The series, written and narrated by Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter, aims to give non-Yiddish speakers an introduction to familiar Yiddish words and phrases and how they might be used in everyday situations. 

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

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

Today we get to learn the Yiddish word for joke and phrases involving comedy and comedians.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi by Israeli Singer Itay Benda

Itay Ben David was born in Jerusalem with music in his soul. Enthralled by music from a young age, he convinced his friends to take music lessons to form his first band. He’s since gone on to tour around the globe with some of the most prominent Israeli and European acts as both a singer and musician.

Currently based in Los Angeles and performing around the world, Itay brings new meaning and life to audiences as he shares the songs inside his soul. As a solo act or alongside a band of up to twelve, Itay incorporates nuances and flavors from his time spent touring the world.

Join us in welcoming Shabbat tonight with Lecha Dodi, as sung by Itay Benda.

Shabbat shalom!

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Sid Caesar Plays French Waiter Serving Ed Sullivan and Shirley Bassey

In 1971 Sid Caesar played the role of a waiter in a French restaurant serving Ed Sullivan and Shirley Bassey who want to order a quick dinner while on a break from rehearsing the Ed Sullivan Show.

With only a half hour for dinner, they start to order hamburgers and soda pop, but the waiter keeps insisting that they order chateaubriand, duck a l'orange, or pheasant under glass, with an appropriately paired wine.

When the waiter (a young Sid Caesar) brings the order into the kitchen, the French chef is insulted by the order and takes it out on Caesar. It's a very funny bit of sketch comedy.

Enjoy!

 

  #Throwback Thursday   #TBT 

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Candid Camera Gold - Plastic Candy

Candid Camera was a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes, and initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947. 

The show involved concealed cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations, sometimes involving trick props, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed or a car with a hidden extra gas tank. When the joke was revealed, victims were told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera." The catchphrase became a song with music and lyrics by Sid Ramin.

Today we're sharing a classic episode from 1962 in which a candy store offered free samples but the candy couldn't be picked up because it was part of a single piece of solid plastic.

Enjoy! 

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Comedy Special: Alex Edelman on Robin Williams Crossing the Species Barrier

Alex Edelman isn't his real name. It's Dovid Yosef Shimon ben Elazar Reuven Halevi Alexander Edelman. So he goes by Alex. We've been posting his comedy clips since 2019.

Alex is from Boston and he appeared on the Conan O'Brien show.He is currently appearing in a one-man show on Broadway called Just for Us. 

In this stand-up routine he talks about the time that Robin Williams crossed the species barrier and about his elevator encounter with Neil Armstrong

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week: 'If You Knew What I Have"

It's Monday again, and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today we're sharing a joke told by cantor and comedian Herschel Fox.

Fluent in Yiddish and Hebrew, Herschel Fox has appeared in countless night clubs, theatres and synagogues throughout the United States. He has shared the stage with artists such as Jan Peerce, Mickey Katz, and Molly Picon. 

Primarily a cantor, having trained with Cantor David Koussevitzky and Sidor Belarsky, he has held positions in synagogues in Connecticut, New York, and California.

But Herschel is also a stand-up comedian and loves to tell stories in Yinglish. Today we're sharing a joke from his 2021 presentation "The World of Jewish Humor" at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California, where Herschel has been a cantor for more than 40 years.

 

Here's the setup: A little Jewish grandmother gets on a crowded bus and discovers she doesn't have the correct change for the fare. And then...

Enjoy!

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Yiddish Word of the Day: Rain

In 2020 the Forverts launched a daily series of short informal video clips called Yiddish Word of the Day.

The series, written and narrated by Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter, aims to give non-Yiddish speakers an introduction to familiar Yiddish words and phrases and how they might be used in everyday situations. 

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

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

Today we get to learn the Yiddish word for rain and other words and phrases about getting wet.

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.

Welcoming Shabbat with Shir LaMaalot Sung by Yosef Karduner and Ari Goldwag

Today we welcome Shabbat with Shir LaMaalot (Psalm 121 - A Song of Ascents), which is sung on Shabbat after Mincha between Sukkot and Shabbat Hagadol.

Yosef Karduner realized his passion for music early on. At age 13, Yosef began playing guitar and eventually learned the keyboard and other instruments as well. 

When he was 24 years old, after serving in the Israeli Army, Yosef was introduced to the teachings of Rebbi Nachman of Breslov zt’l, which fascinated him and infused him with a desire to learn more about Breslover Chassidus. These teachings quickly developed into the main source of inspiration for Yosef’s musical compositions. Comprised of Biblical texts, Psalms, and Rebbi Nachman’s teachings, Yosef’s songs blend together to create a plethora of music filled with hope, faith and joy. 

The famous and stirring ‘Shir La’Ma’Alot’ and many of Yosef’s songs are known far and wide, and are commonly performed by distinguished artists universally. 

Yosef is joined in this song by Ari Goldwag, who first entered the Jewish music world at a young age. His singing career began when he joined Miami Boys Choir, achieving fame for his touching solos. He starred in five albums and three videos

In 2007, Ari founded the Ari Goldwag Orchestra, which performs at concerts, weddings, and organizational fundraisers.

Ari lives with his wife Talia and their seven children in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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.

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Eddie Fisher Sings "My Favorite Things" on The Ed Sullivan Show

Today we're turning the calendar back 58 years to 1965 when Eddie Fisher sang My Favorite Things on the Ed Sullivan Show.

The Ed Sullivan Show was a television variety program that aired on CBS from 1948-1971. For 23 years it aired every Sunday night and played host to the world's greatest talents. 

We remember Eddie as a giant (although he was short) of the pop music world after he was discovered by Eddie Cantor at Grossinger's in the Catskills where he was working as a bus boy. 

Fisher was born in Philadelphia in 1928 and was the fourth of seven children. He was the son of Russian-born Jewish immigrants, Gitte Winokur and Joseph Tisch. His father's surname was changed to Fisher by the time of the 1940 census.

He was not an observant Jew, but returned many times to sing at Grossinger's, and that's where he and Debbie Reynolds were married.  

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.

 

  #Throwback Thursday     #TBT