This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. The news that the Manhattan townhouse occupied by the Friars Club was auctioned on Dec. 10 at a foreclosure sale raises...

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. In college, I participated in an unforgettably tedious Birthright Israel trip. The students on my trip were bored by history,...

Mahjong, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Most recently, I felt cooler than cool when I found out movie star Julia Roberts’ favorite hobby is playing mahj!  Several of you have sent me a 2018 video clip that’s resurfacing of the Oscar-winning...

I was once asked by the mother of an old friend, 'Why I publish a “Jewish Joke.' I responded and she thought I should share my answer. I believe as Jews, we love to laugh. I believe Jews love to laugh at themselves and laugh at the very things we...

Since joining the Jewish Light I’ve reflected on my own Jewish experience growing up and part of that was the Yiddish my grandparents would use, particularly my maternal grandparents whom I affectionately named Mama and Baba. Both would use Yiddish...

The New Jewish Theatre will close out its 2024 season with “First Date,” a romantic musical comedy that hopes to take audiences on a rollercoaster of laughter, heart and unexpected surprises. Before heading to the Wool...

Mel Brooks, who mocked Adolf Hitler in his 1967 black comedy “The Producers,” has always made the case for satire as a weapon against tyranny. “You have to bring him down with ridicule,” he told “60 Minutes” in 2001. “It’s been one...

Last week I visited my older son, Davis, at college. We had lunch, went shopping and enjoyed four glorious hours of mom and son time. He brought along one of his new buddies for lunch, the adorable and sweet Tommy.  During their bro talk I heard a word...

Always a show filled with emotion, the Musial Awards will bring plenty of laughs this year, thanks to a special appearance by Billy Crystal. The iconic Jewish comedian, actor and filmmaker—famous for his roles in “When Harry Met Sally” and “City...

Could “The Office” finally get its first openly Jewish character?! For those of you confused about why “The Office,” which stopped airing way back in 2013, could get any new characters at all, you might have missed the news that the hit sitcom,...

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. Late Night with Seth Meyers could have been called Late Night with Seth Trakianski. Meyers’ great-grandfather was...