Have you called your zeyde?

Well, Temple Judea is on a mission to remind people to give their grandpa a ring - especially with Rosh Hashana just days away.

In a cheeky parody of the summer's most infectious pop song, "Call Me Maybe" by Carley Rae Jepsen, clergy and staff of the Tarzana-based Reform Jewish congregation are hoping to inspire people for the holiday season.

"Hey, it's September/and this is crazy. It's Rosh Hashana/so call your zeyde!" the group sings on the less than 4-minute video.

"We just wanted to make people smile for the new year," said Temple Judea Executive Director Ellen Franklin.

The song focuses on the Jewish New Year known as Rosh Hashana, which literally translates

In a Rosh Hashana-themed YouTube video, the clergy and staff of Tarzana's Temple Judea belt out "Call Your Zeyde," to the tune of Carly Rae Jepson's "Call Me Maybe."
to "head of the year." The holiday is the first of the High Holy Days celebrated on the first two days of Tishrei, the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar.

Rosh Hashana, which is Sept. 16-18 this year, is the start of penitence known as teshuvah for the Jewish community where Jews are encouraged to make amends for wrongs made during the year as well as reflect on how to make improvements for the upcoming year.

The video, like many viral parodies before it, was posted on YouTube and caught the attention of several Internet browsers, including the blog Jewish Humor Central.

"We think the lyrics are funny and that the song contains a nice underlying message: Don't forget to call your grandparents and other loved ones

Advertisement
before heading off to your shul, congregation, or temple on Rosh Hashana," wrote Jewish Humor Central.

The parody was written by Rabbi Dan Moskovitz and actor/singer Jason Mesches and is attracting up to 500 new views on YouTube daily. By Thursday, views surpassed 18,000.

"The Jewish holidays are a time of family coming together ... and in this world we live in, where people don't live in the neighborhoods they grew up in, sometimes the only way to bring your family together is through the telephone, and this song speaks to that," Moskovitz said.

Moskovitz added that the temple has been getting messages from all over the world about the music video.

"Even the Orthodox Jewish community have sent us notes, and while Orthodox and Reform Jews are very different, we all agree on the message that is: Have a sweet year and call you grandparents," Moskovitz said.

While Franklin said the temple hasn't started thinking of how to improve next year's video, she did say Temple Judea has been producing the music videos to ring in Rosh Hashana for the last five years.

"We just have a whole lot of fun teaching people about Judaism," Franklin said,

mariecar.mendoza@dailynews.com

818-713-3623

twitter.com/LADNMarMendoza