''Shalom Sesame'' is an anglicized variation of '' Rechov Sumsum'' (רחוב סומסום), the Israeli version of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

'', which originally aired in 1983. ''Shalom Sesame'' was produced in 1986 and 1990 for public television stations in the United States, aimed at introducing

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

to children that are not necessarily fluent in the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserve ...

, since ''Rechov Sumsum'' is completely done in Hebrew. Unlike the main ''Sesame Street'' series, ''Shalom Sesame'' was independently distributed to PBS-member stations, and not by PBS themselves. It includes characters from both ''Sesame Street'' and ''Rechov Sumsum'', the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

version of ''Sesame Street'', produced and aired in

, the

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The ...

, and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. Also, as with the American series, the series featured special guests well known to American viewers. Guests included

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...

Bonnie Franklin Bonnie Gail Franklin (January 6, 1944 – March 1, 2013) was an American actress, known for her leading role as Ann Romano in the television series '' One Day at a Time'' (1975–1984). She was nominated for Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe Awards ...

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and '' The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whi ...

Mandy Patinkin Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...

Alan King Alan King (born Irwin Alan Kniberg; December 26, 1927 – May 9, 2004) was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious a ...

Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona—heavi ...

, Nell Carter,

Jerry Stiller Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American actor and comedian. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2015 ...

, Jeremy Miller, Anne Meara,

Tracey Gold Tracey Gold (born May 16, 1969) is an American actress and former child star known for playing Carol Seaver on the 1980s sitcom '' Growing Pains''. Acting career Tracey Gold became an actress at the age of four, first appearing in a Pepsi pri ...

, B.B. King,

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

, and

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both ''Late Ni ...

. In October 2010, a new 12-part ''Shalom Sesame'' series began, with stars including

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He ...

Christina Applegate Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. As a child actress, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film a ...

Debra Messing Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing received short-lived roles on television series such as '' Ned and Stacey'' on Fox (1995–1997) and ...

Greg Kinnear Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''As Good as It Gets'' (1997). Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, including '' Sabrina'' (19 ...

Anneliese van der Pol Anneliese Louise van der Pol (born September 23, 1984) is a Dutch-born American actress and singer. She is known for her theatre work, and for starring as Chelsea Daniels on the Disney Channel series ''That's So Raven'' (2003–2007) and its sp ...

, and

Cedric the Entertainer Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He hosted BET's ''ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and '' Def Comedy Jam'' in 1995. He is b ...

. The new series added Mahboub, an Arab Israeli muppet, and other new characters from the 2006 revival of ''Rechov Sumsum''.New ‘Shalom Sesame’ using Grover to bridge Israel-Disapora gap
It also features the Israeli singer Ayal Ingedashet, of Ethiopian Jewish background, as the human character Lamlam in each series.

Characters from ''Rechov Sumsum''

* Kipi Ben Kipod, (קיפי בן קיפוד) (translated means Kippi son of Hedgehog) a pink, giant, cheerful and optimistic hedgehog (incorrectly referred to as a porcupine) analogous to

Big Bird Big Bird is a Muppet character designed by Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love for the long-running children's television show ''Sesame Street''. An eight-foot two-inch (249 cm) tall bright yellow anthropomorphic bird, he can roller skat ...

, he has a pet goat named Sheba. Kippi first appeared on Rechov Sumsum in 1983, and Kippi also appeared in

Barrio Sésamo Barrio Sésamo (Sesame Neighborhood in English) was the Spanish co-production of the popular U.S. children's television series ''Sesame Street'' produced by Televisión Española and Sesame Workshop (formerly Children's Television Workshop) from ...

as Espinete, A big, human-sized pink hedgehog that does not wear clothes during the day, despite having used disguises (including a wizard,

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...

and a superhero called Super Espi), Initially, lived in a forest with other hedgehogs, then moved to Barrio Sésamo, where he wanted to live "under a tree". Human adults in Barrio Sésamo tried to convince him to live in a normal house, but the children disagreed. Finally, it was decided that he would live in a garage, owned by one of the adults but not used, which was adapted into a room, seems to be just as childlike as other children in the Barrio. Sometimes, however, does show a greater degree of knowledge: for example, being familiar with the concept of a password while other children, and even adults, are not, and, along with other international Sesame Street Muppets, in the special Sesame Street Stays Up Late., * Moishe Oofnik,

Oscar the Grouch Oscar the Grouch is a Muppet character created by Jim Henson and Jon Stone for the PBS/ HBO children's television program ''Sesame Street''. He has a green body, no visible nose, and lives in a trash can. Oscar's favorite thing is trash, as e ...

's cousin * Brosh, an orange monster who likes cleaning * Mahboub, a young blue monster who speaks both

and

* Avigail, a young pink monster who likes to play and is happy with everyone

Characters from ''Sesame Street''

Bert and Ernie Bert and Ernie are two Muppet characters who appear together in numerous skits on the long-running PBS/HBO children's television show, ''Sesame Street''. Originated by Frank Oz and Jim Henson, the characters are currently performed by puppeteer ...

a.k.a. "Benz and Arik" (Bert

Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...

, 1969–1998 and

Eric Jacobson Eric Jacobson is an American puppeteer. He is best known for performing Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle for The Muppets Studio, as well as ''Sesame Street'' characters Bert, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, and Guy Smiley—all role ...

, 1998-present, Ernie

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

, 1969–1990,

Steve Whitmire Steven Lawrence Whitmire (born September 24, 1959) is an American puppeteer, known primarily for his work on ''The Muppets'' and ''Sesame Street''. Beginning his involvement with the Muppets in 1978, Whitmire inherited the roles of Ernie and Kerm ...

, 1990–2014 and Billy Barkhurst 2014-2018) *

Count von Count Count von Count (known simply as the Count) is a Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is meant to parody Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Count Dracula. He first appeared on the show in the Season 4 premier ...

a.k.a. "Mar Sofer" (

Jerry Nelson Jerry L. Nelson (July 10, 1934 – August 23, 2012) was an American puppeteer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Renowned for his wide range of characters and singing abilities, he performed Muppet characters on ''Sesame Street'', ' ...

, 1969–2012 and Matt Vogel, 2012-present) *

Cookie Monster Cookie Monster is a blue Muppet character on the long-running PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' In a song in 2004, and later in an interview in 2017, Cookie Monster revealed his real name as "Sid". He is best known for hi ...

a.k.a. "Ugifletzet" (

, 1969–2001 and

David Rudman David Rudman (born June 1, 1963) is an American puppeteer, puppet builder, writer, director, and producer known for his involvement with the Muppets and ''Sesame Street''. Career David Rudman has been a ''Sesame Street'' Muppet performer since ...

, 2001-present) *

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...

a.k.a. "Kermit haTzfardea" (

, 1969–1990,

, 1990-2017 and Matt Vogel, 2017-present) * Grover, a blue monster from

Books

* ''Shalom Sesame Presents a Chanukah Party for Kippi'' is a book written by Louise Follow based on the ''Shalom Sesame'' series. It was published by Comet International as a paperback in August 1995. (). * ''It's a Mitzvah, Grover!'' by Tilda Balsley (Author), Ellen Fischer (Author), Tom Leigh (Illustrator), * ''Grover and Big Bird's Passover Celebration'' by Tilda Balsley (Author), Ellen Fischer (Author), Tom Leigh (Illustrator), * ''The Count's Hanukkah Countdown'' by Tilda Balsley (Author), Ellen Fischer (Author), Tom Leigh (Illustrator),

Episode list

1986 series

# "The Land of Israel" # "Tel Aviv" # "Kibbutz" # "The People of Israel" # "Jerusalem"

1990 series

# "Chanukah" # "Sing Around the Seasons" # "Journey to Secret Places"

1991 series

# "Aleph-Bet Telethon" # "Passover" # "Kids Sing Israel"

2010 series

# "Welcome to Israel" # "Chanukah: The Missing Menorah"

2011 series

# "Shabbat Shalom, Grover!" # "Grover Plants a Tree" # "Mitzvah on the Street" # "Be Happy, It's Purim!" # "It's Passover, Grover!" # "Grover Learns Hebrew" # "Countdown to Shavuot" # "The Sticky Shofar" # "Monsters in the Sukkah" # "Adventures in Israel"

Home media

In the 1990s, the entire series was released on home video, in the VHS format. In the mid-2000s, SISU Home Entertainment, a U.S. marketer and distributor of Israeli and Jewish video, audio, book, and multimedia properties] released the entire series on a five-disc DVD set, available as a set or per disc.

References

External links

''Shalom Sesame'': official website

Israel 21c" ''Shalom Sesame''
{{Sesame Street international Sesame Street international co-productions Israeli television shows featuring puppetry Television series about Jews and Judaism American television series revived after cancellation Religious educational television series 1987 American television series debuts 1987 Israeli television series debuts 1991 American television series endings 2010 American television series debuts 2011 American television series endings 1980s American children's television series 1990s American children's television series 2010s American children's television series 1980s preschool education television series 1990s preschool education television series 2010s preschool education television series American preschool education television series American television spin-offs PBS Kids shows