Uncle Moishy and the Mitzvah Men is a Jewish American children's edutainment group based in New York City, featured in audio and video releases, as well as appearing live in concert.[1] Their tapes, CDs and videos are sold in most Jewish music and Judaica stores.
Uncle Moishy has traveled internationally, giving shows in Israel, Canada, England, South Africa and Hong Kong. [2][3][4][5]
Lead musician and singer Moshe Tanenbaum is a Hasidic Orthodox Jew who stars as "Uncle Moishy" who leads his "Mitzvah Men" in song and verse that expresses the observant religious lifestyle of Orthodox Judaism.[6] They focus on the religious aspects of Judaism that most easily relate to young children, such as the laws of Shabbat, kashrut and the giving of charity, as well as the good deeds of Ethics of Our Fathers, such as helping others and being nice.[7]
Uncle Moishy is not Tannenbaum's main occupation, and when not entertaining children, he works as a wedding and portrait photographer.
Characteristic songs are "Give a Little Tzedakah" and various tracks encouraging keeping kosher. For example, the following is an excerpt from one of his songs (sung partially to the tune of "Ten Little Indians"):
The project began in Toronto, Canada in 1979. The original band members were Tanenbaum, Zale Newman, and Chaim Shainhouse;[8] Newman played the role of Uncle Moishy on the early albums.[9] Shainhouse left early on, though he composed for and sang on the first few albums. The group has produced 22 audio albums and 14 videos to date.[10]