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Synagogue parodies Pharrell Williams’ “Happy”

[additional-authors]
August 27, 2014

What would Pharrell Williams think?

Temple Judea, a large Reform shul in the San Fernando Valley, has parodied the singer’s hit song, “Happy,” in a new web video.

The four-minute video features singing, dancing and great sportsmanship by the temple's clergy, staff and others. Rabbi Joshua Aaronson even sports a hat that is intended to look like the one Williams wears everywhere.

“Come along to temple we want to see you and you and you (it's Rosh Hashanah). Come along to temple we want to get your tush in the pew,” the chorus of the parody goes. It's fun. Check it out here.

Web content in advance of Rosh Hashanah is all in the name of bringing people out to services this September, Rachel Leah Cohen, who directed the video, told the Journal via email. 

“There is a bit of spirited competition between the synagogues. Looking on Youtube, you can find hundreds of videos from all over the world,” Cohen said in an email.

“The key is picking a song everyone knows,” she said.

Cohen, an actress, has also done public relations work in the Jewish community. 

Rabbi Cantor Alison Wissot; Rabbi Donald Goor; Judea cantorial soloist Mark Britowich; Judea director of education Rebecca Platt; cantorial Intern Lily Tash and Rabbinic Intern Sam Spector also appear in it.

Willliams and his famous brown hat, which, in other news, is going to be in a museum.

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