The artist and painter Aharon Z. Bernstein paints scenes in sand to accompany a music video of Yonatan Razel's song V'hi Sheamda.   The sand drawings illustrate the way that God saves us from our enemies, from the evil pharaoh through Haman, Greeks, Romans, Inquisition, the Holocaust, to our present day.   And this is that (promise) which sustained our fathers and us. That it is not one (enemy) alone that stood up against us to destroy us. But that in each generation there are those standing up against us to destroy us. But the Holy One Blessed Be He saves us from their hand.&nbs ..read more

Last week Naftali Bennett, former Prime Minister of Israel, spoke to a group of students at the University of Michigan. In three minutes, he explained the history of Jews and Zionism clearly and concisely. Bennett explained that Jews founded their first commonwealth in Israel 3,000 years ago and have continuously lived there since then. He discussed the origin of the name Palestine and how the Jews are the indigenous residents of the land. The video is posted on YouTube and most of the comments, including readers from Syria, Lebanon, and Uganda are positive, thanking him for his history lesso ..read more

Rabotai (meaning gentlemen) is a fresh and exciting Jewish a cappella group comprised of energetic vocal talent and professional beatboxing.  Coming from different corners of the world, its members found each other in Israel, where they are rapidly becoming a sought after group to entertain audiences big and small. They specialize in mixing classical Jewish songs with modern pop.  Today we're sharing a medley of songs from the Kabbalat Shabbat Friday night service by the Rabotai singers. Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom! A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE ..read more

  As we get ready for the first (and in Israel, the only) Passover seder next Monday evening, we're sharing a version of Dayenu from The Third Seder, a long standing Yiddish cultural tradition.   The event, convened in 2021 by Rabbi Avram Mlotek at the Marlene Myerson JCC of Manhattan, featured the leading stars of the Klezmer and Yiddish stage.    The performers included Bob Abelson, Michael Alpert, Alan Bern, Nicole Borger. Joanne Borts, Josh Dolgin, Sarah Gordon, Adrianne Greenbaum, Elmore James, Craig Judelman, Daniel Kahn, Yeva Lapsker, Leon Lapsker Kahn, Yanky Le ..read more

Anchored by a strong Jewish identity and driven by a mission to connect Jews around the globe with their heritage through music, 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 and ten of thousands more at synagogues, religious schools, JCCs, fundraising events, B'nai Mitzvah and private affairs alike. They’ve appeared all over mainstream media, received numerous awards for their eight best-selling CDs, been selected as finalists for casting in NBC's "The Sing-Off", and garnered more ..read more

In six days, Jews all over the world will get together with their families and friends and open their Haggadot for the Passover seder.  Is it really true that Moses isn't in the Haggadah? Well, not exactly. His name appears explicitly in the section of the Haggadah in which Rabbi Yossi the Galilean argues that since the “finger of God” was used to inflict 10 plagues, now that the “hand of God” (five fingers) was raised against the Egyptians, they actually suffered fifty plagues at the Red Sea. Here is the verse: “And when Israel saw the great hand which the Lord had wielde ..read more

As Israel reacts to the unprecedented Iranian attack on the country today, we join Am Yisrael worldwide in the Prayer for the State of Israel as sung by Shai Abramson, Chief Cantor of the Israel Defense Forces.  This prayer was recorded on the 55th anniversary of Israel's reunification of Jerusalem. 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 BUTT ..read more

It's Friday again and time to welcome another Shabbat. Today we're sharing another rendition of the Kabbalistic prayer Ana Bekoach. The singer is Shulem Lemmer. Raised in Boro Park, Brooklyn, Shulem’s singular voice has gained widespread attention in the Chasidic community and beyond. Shulem made history as the first born-and-raised Orthodox singer to ever sign a major record deal in the U.S. His recent contract with Universal Music’s Decca Gold Label positions him as an artist primed to break through to a global audience with the release of his album, The Perfect Dream.   One ..read more

The Yiddish folk love song Tumbalalaika originated in Eastern Europe in the 19th century, but its exact origin is hard to pinpoint. That hasn't prevented it from being sung and played over and over, not only in places where Yiddish songs are sung, but just about everywhere in the world, in vocal and instrumental versions, in cabarets and in the movies. Just as we have followed the songs Hava Nagila, Adon Olam, Hevenu Shalom Aleichem, and Abanibi as they took different forms as interpreted by a wide variety of singers, musicians, and dancers, we're continuing the series today that we started b ..read more

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. W ..read more