Schmoozer (Audio Edition)

This week, Aaron Herman had the opportunity to talk to Sam Hoffman, the Producer and Creator of Old Jews Telling Jokes.

Old Jews Telling Jokes was born in an empty storefront in Highland Park, New Jersey in the summer of 2008. Eric Spiegelman and Tim Williams of Jetpack Media had asked Sam if I had any ideas for an internet show and it was suggested: “how about we shoot my father and his friends telling jokes?” Surprisingly, they agreed. The rules would be simple. Every joke teller had to be at least sixty years old and “Jewish.” The age thing I would be strict about, the Jewish thing would be in spirit. If nothing else, we would make portraits of people who had lived at least six decades and that would be something to see.

And from there… History

This week, Aaron Herman had the opportunity to interview Yonatan Nir, the co-writer and co-director of the new film Dolphin Boy.

Seventeen year old Morad Azba’s innocent text message to a female classmate in an Arab village in the North of Israel triggers a brutal beating at the hands of the girl’s brother and his friends. Unable to speak, recognize his family, or make eye contact, Morad’s post trauma symptoms are so severe that his Israeli doctor, world renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Ilan Kutz, recommends further treatment in an institution. But Morad’s father Asad cannot bring himself to limit Morad’s freedom and asks Dr. Kutz if there’s another option. There is one alternative, albeit unconventional—Dolphin therapy in Eilat’s Dolphin Reef — contact with the Dolphins might help restore Morad’s broken life. Morad’s father sells and mortgages everything he can, including his beautiful land in Northern Israel, and accompanies his son on this riveting journey. Filmed over the course of Morad’s four year therapy, the award winning DOLPHIN BOY is a profound confirmation of the healing power of nature, patience and unconditional love—and a most under-reported and inspiring story about the relationship between Israel’s Arabs and Israel’s Jews. You can learn more at www.dolphinboyfilm.com.

This week, Aaron Herman had the opportunity to celebrate Yon Ha’Atzmaut with Dor Chadash at BB Kings in New York Ciity.

Over 1,000 New Yorkers came out to BB Kings to celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day) hosted by Dor Chadash. We spoke with attendees and asked them what Yom Ha’atzmaut meant to them .Dor Chadash is a dynamic community, empowering a strong network of Israeli and American Jews to:

Since October 2003, Dor Chadash has successfully carried out more than 186 programs attended by more than 30,000 Israeli and American Jews in the New York area. They have discovered an incredible need among Jews in New York to connect with Israel in an authentic way. From providing educational events with prominent Israeli speakers, to showcasing the best of Israeli cultural offerings, to dancing to Israeli pop music on Jewish holidays, Dor Chadash has something for everyone who is passionate about Israel. Central to our mission is that we use the energy and passion of volunteers to carry out extremely innovative Israel-related programs that appeal to a diverse and sophisticated group of Israeli and American Jews. You can learn more about

This week, Aaron Herman had the opportunity to visit New York Tech Day. NY Tech Day is a “science fair” for tech startups to showcase their companies to the public, investors and press.

Many of the most prominent NY Tech startups attended including tumblr, Meetup, SecondMarket, Boxee, and Knewton. The event will also showcase newbies such as SpaceSplitter, Digital Ocean, Unroll.me and Songza. In addition, more than 35 notable VC firms attended, including Spark Capital, Greycroft Partners and Lerer Ventures.

NY Tech Day is the brainchild of Alec Hartman and John Petersen who themselves are young entrepreneurs and founders of Mail Canvassing (http://mailcanvassing.com/.) “We want to create an event that benefits startups of all sizes and helps them connect with the resources they need to grow. They can demo a new product, recruit for open positions, or just say hello to the tech community. The result has transformed NY Tech Day into a ‘science fair’ for startups,” said John Petersen, co-founder of NY Tech Day.

What does it take to be a social entrepreneur? Once you have an “innovative” idea how do you get it funded? Luckily, there are opportunities for young innovators to bring their projects to market and help foster their skills. We had the opportunity to speak with Felicia Herman of Natan and Emily Comisar from Birthright Israel Next about the Natan/Birthright Israel NEXT Grants for Social Entrepreneurs.

This week, Aaron Herman had the opportunity to speak to the writer and director of “Reuniting the Rubins.”

The seder brings together families from near and far. Every family has some dysfunction. In the new film Reuniting the Rubins Director/Writer Yoav Factor puts together a truly unique story about a seder you don’t want to miss. An uptight lawyer, Lenny Rubins, (Timothy Spall — The King’s Speech), has to put his dream retirement on hold when his ailing mother (Honor Blackman — Goldfinger) emotionally blackmails him into reuniting his estranged children for a holiday gathering.

They may be peas from the same pod, but in Lenny’s eyes, his grown-up children are certainly not even from the same planet: a ruthless control-freak and hard-nosed capitalist (James Callis — Battlestar Galactica), an outspoken, argumentative eco-warrior committed to the cause (Rhona Mitra — Underworld: Rise of the Lycans), an outer-worldly Buddhist Monk; and to cap it all, a bible bashing born-again Rabbi!

While they might quarrel, fight, and perhaps even be starting a war in Africa, they are still family. It is going to take a whole lot of soul-searching and sacrifice for everyone to come together in this heart-warming and comic family reunion that will have you thinking fondly of your own.

This week, Aaron “The Schmoz” Herman had the opportunity to attend the 6th Annual Manischewitz Cook Off with Celebrity Chef Claire Robinson at the JCC of Manhattan.

He got a first-hand view of the cook-off, where it is all about quick meals.

We spoke with the Finalists:

JCast Network congratulates Eric Silberman of Lincolnwood, IL for his “Mod” Matzo Ball Soup for winning the cook off.

This week, Aaron Herman had the opportunity to sit down with Jodi and Gavin Samuels. They have become activists in the fight to make Jewish Education available to children with Special Needs.

As parents of a child with Special Needs, they are passionate about this issue and feel that the Jewish community has not taken a strong enough stance to push Day Schools to make their programs available to children with different needs.

Ramah Day Camp in Nyack’s 50th Anniversary Gala was a magical evening with over 300 guests in attendance, time with old friends, lots of reminiscing, dancing and the spirit of Ramah. At the event they honored six amazing individuals:Estelle & Allan Eisenkraft, Sharon Rappaport Yaira Singer & Matthew Binstock, Doron Kenter and made a special presentation to Rabbi Al Thaler.

We spoke with Amy Skopp Cooper, Assistant Director of the National Ramah Commission of The Jewish Theological Seminary, and Director of Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, has received The Covenant Foundation’s prestigious 2011 Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish Education. The Covenant Award is presented annually to three exceptional Jewish educators in recognition of their innovation, inspiration and transformative impact on Jewish education.

Ramah provide children who are entering grades K-8 with the very best camping experience…in a setting of love, friendship, wonder and discovery, a setting where Judaism is integral to daily activities.

They make sure that each camper is safe, happy and secure and that summer will be a time of growth, excitement, learning and lots and lots of fun! Ramah Day Camp in Nyack is located in Rockland County, New York just minutes from the Tappan Zee Bridge, offers the best in rural tranquility combined with suburban convenience, close to major highways and easily accessible to the areas we serve — Westchester, Riverdale, Manhattan, Rockland, Bergen and Essex counties. Air-conditioned bus service is available. Whenever possible, they provide door-to-door transportation.

Ramah Day Camp in Nyack is a proud member of the international network of Ramah camps, operated by the National Ramah Commission, Inc. under the educational and religious supervision of The Jewish Theological Seminary.

This week, Aaron Herman had the opportunity to attend the Jewish Week Grand Wine Tasting at City Winery.

Wine is critical part of passover. You need to have 4 cups of wine during your seder and there are a lot of wines to select from. We attended the Jewish Week’s Grand Wine Tasting at the City Winery and got an in-depth look into the best kosher wines and liquors on the market today.

In addition to wine, Aaron spoke with the owner of Skyview Wine and Spirits, and got a little information about what kinds of spirits are available this Passover.

If you would like to order kosher wine or spirits,, please visit Skyview Wine, at SkyViewWine.com