Jewish humor has always been one of my favorite topics to teach. I’ve taught classes about Jewish humor and Jewish comedians to teens and adults at many different settings including synagogues, Jewish camps, and on college campuses. As an aspiring stand-up comic, I have always been interested in the history of Jewish humor, what makes…
In Memory of Debbie Friedman (1952-2011) Debbie Friedman’s music is so fully integrated into synagogue liturgy,that in many congregations it is considered “traditional.” I don’t remember the Jewish Theological Seminary in the late 90’s as a very spiritual place. I began rabbinical school in 1998 and there was a general consensus that the Seminary was…
The #1 question during Hanukkah is: What is the correct way to spell the name of this holiday? Since it’s a Hebrew word that is transliterated into English, there are several acceptable spellings. But people still want to know if there is a consensus. A non-profit theater company in California, the North Coast Repertory Theatre, even performed…
Here’s my latest post for the Community Next blog “Rabbi J in the D”: We all know that Jews can rock. After all, you only need to listen to Bob Dylan or Gene Simmons of Kiss to know that. But there are also some Jewish singers who are rocking Jewish music… and I don’t mean…
In his song “Leave Me Praying,” Dave Matthews sings, “And then I will tell my son and my daughters to hold it so dear.” But I don’t think the singer-songwriter is talking about Yom Kippur that the next generation should hold dear. And in Chicago this Yom Kippur, many young Jews will not be singing…
The Holocaust Memorial Center in Detroit, Michigan is the nation’s first Holocaust memorial. It was originally located in a building connected to the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. It was this Holocaust museum that I toured with my grandfather when I was twelve-years-old and listened to him explain that many of his family members…
No, Dave Matthews isn’t really going to play a Yom Kippur gig in Chicago, but two Dave Matthews Band concerts at Wrigley Field during Shabbat and Yom Kippur this Fall have been approved. According to the JTA, the music from the concert won’t be heard in the three nearby synagogues (Reform, Conservative, and Modern Orthodox),…
Last week, I wrote about the Hanukkah song that Senator Orrin Hatch wrote for the Jewish people. Well, apparently, Max Weinberg (of the E Street Band and the Tonight Show) was so taken by Orrin Hatch’s generosity that he wanted to reciprocate the favor. On last night’s Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, the show’s only…
At the end of the video, writer Jeffrey Goldberg nonchalantly says: “So it’s just… all it is is a Hip Hop Hanukkah song written by the senior senator from Utah. That’s all it is.” Well, even more than that, it’s a funky Hanukkah song written by a 75-year-old Mormon senator who wrote the song as…
With the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike meaning no Daily Show with Jon Stewart or Colbert Report (although the writers are putting funny stuff on YouTube), I’ve been forced to find other TV shows to watch. One of my favorites has been the Iconoclasts series on the Sundance Channel. I first saw one of…