Innovative Jewish Music,Sandy Eller

School is out, the kids are home and as the long summer days beckon, parents find themselves looking for ways to keep their energetic offspring entertained and out of trouble. Thankfully, numerous wholesome Jewish entertainment options abound, but one Brooklyn business has found a unique way to capture the interests of both children and adults for less than the cost of two slices of pizza at your local pizzeria.

JewishVideos.com, now online as a beta test site, is the first Jewish video rental site, featuring hundreds of popular videos. From Avraham Fried to Agent Emes, Diaspora Yeshiva Band to the Marvelous Midos Machine, the site features numerous diverse selections. It is the brainchild of Mendy Werdyger, owner of both Aderet Music and its retail division, Mostly Music. Werdyger, the brother of hassidic music superstar Mordechai Ben David, has several albums of his own to his credit and is no stranger to the Jewish entertainment business.

"So many excellent videos come out every year providing wonderful entertainment for the entire family," explained Werdyger. "People don't always want to make the investment to buy videos, but this provides them with the opportunity to see them at minimal cost."

In fact, with many Jewish DVDs coming in at the $20-$25 price range, JewishVideos.com affords people the opportunity to rent five or six DVDs for the same amount it would cost to purchase a single one. Their extensive catalogue includes concerts, children's videos in both Hebrew and English, full-length Israeli films, women's performances and Yiddish videos, as well as a selection of free clips. Each selection features a full description with an extended preview and numerous screenshots of the video.

While JewishVideos.com is still undergoing beta testing, it is fully functional with approximately 300 videos available for rental and many more titles being added. Mostly Music invites the public to beta test the site and provide their feedback, in addition to offering a promotional code for one free rental, available by e-mailing info@mostlymusic.com.

One and two day rentals are $3.99 and $4.99, respectively. Videos are streamed instantly and there is no limit to the number of times they can be viewed within the rental period.

Sruly Meyer, in-house graphic designer for Aderet Music, calls the new site "a real game- changer."

"We are offering a really great new service that will save people time and money," said Meyer. "Why fight with traffic, hunt for parking and wait on line at your local Judaica store when your favorite new artist releases a DVD, when you can just rent it online for a fraction of the price?"

JewishVideos.com will be undergoing beta testing for the next two months and is expected to go live over Shabbos Nachamu weekend.

Sandy Eller is a freelance writer who has written for various newspapers, magazines and websites. She has also written song lyrics and scripts for several full-scale productions. She can be contacted at sandyeller1@gmail.com.

Read Comments (0)