"Precious Little Torah" -- Torah Dance Song Remix!

Made a little something to help my synagogue promote its Torah restoration project (restoring a 350 year-old Torah that survived the Holocaust!).

Get the mp3 here!

(And to find out how you can write a letter in our Holocaust Torah, visit my synagogue's website.)

The Raisin Family Celebrates Passover

Time to make a buck, if I can -- this time, by selling hilarious Passover stuff! After all, why bother having a blog if you can't use it to shamelessly promote your goods and services, right? First though, because I know that explaining a joke makes it even funnier, here's the explanation (for those who may stop by this blog but not be up on their Hebrew language skills):

The cartoon predicates itself on the knowledge that at Passover we sing "Avadim Hayinu" -- translated as "we were slaves." When the Raisin family celebrates Passover, they sing the very similar-sounding "Anavim Hayinu" -- translated as "we were grapes." Get it? Hilarious! Trust me -- your rabbi will be in stitches. And it comes with a Hebrew caption or one in English transliteration (as shown above).

Well, maybe it's funny only to those of us Hebrew language geeks who think it's amusing to say "Hodu l'adonai" on Thanksgiving (someone can explain that one in the comments section if they want to).

So what can you buy with this great cartoon on it? Lots of stuff, and all right here: greeting cards, tote bags, shirts, mouse pads... But buy early, so that you get your goods before Passover!

Holocaust? What Holocaust?

September 23

Contested Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the stage at the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, in New York, where he spoke of the importance of peace, love, compassion, morality, justice and freedom.

[Source: npr.org]

September 25

Under fire for his repeated denials of the Holocaust, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the deaths of millions of Jews during World War II a "historical event" during an interview with NPR's Morning Edition to air Friday, but he quickly dismissed the accounts of Holocaust survivors as "claims."

"Why should everyone be forced to accept the opinion of just a few on a historic event?" he asked host Steve Inskeep.

Ahmadinejad stirred up controversy again last week by using a national televised speech in Iran to call the Holocaust a "lie and a mythical claim."

[Source: NPR.org]

Jews on Babylon 5?

Does anyone out there know if there are Jews on the show "Babylon 5"? This is a screen shot from a trailer showing what appears to be an old man in a derby, beard, and tallit... WTF?

Jewish Comedians for Obama

Who is this Rosh Hashanah person?

Is it possible there's someone working at DreamWorks who's never heard of Rosh Hashanah?



The whole story is here.

Hebrew School Musical

If you're a parent with children between the ages of 3 and 13, you're no doubt familiar with "High School Musical." If you're Jewish as well, you'll probably get as a big a kick out of this joke as I did. My kids loved it so much they had me make shirts for them to wear to camp.

Mamet on Political Correctness

"A laudable disposition to open-mindedness decayed, in the late twentieth century, in America, into an inability to arrive at conclusions."

Yes, David Mamet. Yes, the "Glengarry Glen Ross" guy. The quote is from The Wicked Son, and it's a great read for all members of the tribe (and you know who you are).

Get the book.

What were you looking for, exactly?

It's fun every so often to check our stats and see some of the odd searches that bring visitors to Toner Mishap. Here, then, is another list in the conintuing series (and some of my comments on your searches):

parodies of nighthawks (still one of our most popular searches)

cruising urinals (i trust you're not getting the type of answers you're looking for at Toner Mishap)

enormous cocks (it's difficult to avoid rumors)

turn your hamster (into what?)

preparing for the depression (tip: stock up on Morrissey albums)

ashton kutcher jews (I'm guessing this a kabbalah thing)

christmas tip amount (popular at this time of year

your mother trebek (we enjoy Sean Connery impersonations)

that's not what your mother said (I'm *so* glad this phrase makes you think of us)

hard to find porn (is there really such a thing anymore?)