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

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, 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 Worksh ...

'', which originally aired in 1983. ''Shalom Sesame'' was produced in 1986 and between 1990 and 1991 for the direct-to-video market in the United States, aimed at introducing

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

to children that are not necessarily fluent in the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

, since ''Rechov Sumsum'' is completely done in Hebrew. Beginning in April 1988, the ''Shalom Sesame'' episodes were broadcast on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

following their video releases. It includes characters from both ''Sesame Street'' and ''Rechov Sumsum'', the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

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

, the

Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...

, and

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

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

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman (; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the First ina ...

, Bonnie Franklin,

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), whic ...

Mandy Patinkin Mandel "Mandy" Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television, and film. As a critically acclaimed Broadway (theatre), Broadway performer he has collaborated with Step ...

, Alan King,

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

Nell Carter Nell Carter (born Nell Ruth Hardy; September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American actress and singer. Carter began her career in 1970, singing in the theater, and later began work on television. She was best known for her role as Nell ...

, Jerry Stiller, Jeremy Miller,

Anne Meara Anne Meara (September 20, 1929 – May 23, 2015) was an American comedian and actress. Along with her husband Jerry Stiller, she was one-half of the prominent 1960s comedy team Stiller and Meara. Their son is actor, director, and producer Ben S ...

, Tracey Gold,

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...

, and

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and comedian who served as David Letterman's musical director, bandleader, and sidekick on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1993) and ''Late Show with D ...

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

Christina Applegate Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. With a career spanning five decades, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, along with nominations for four Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. After appearing in se ...

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 starred in the television series ''Ned and Stacey'' on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox (1995–1997) an ...

Greg Kinnear Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor and former talk show host. 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, ...

, Anneliese van der Pol, 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, actor and television host. He hosted BET's '' ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and '' Def Comedy Jam'' ...

. 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. The only revival episodes broadcast on PBS Kids were "Chanukah: The Missing Menorah" and "It's Passover, Grover!" It was directed by Aaron Kaplan who followed by directing all the local sesame series thereafter.

Characters from ''Rechov Sumsum''

* Kipi Ben Kipod, (קיפי בן קיפוד) (translated means Kippi son of

Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

) a pink, giant, cheerful and optimistic

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...

analogous to Big Bird, he has a pet

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

named Sheba. Kippi first appeared on Rechov Sumsum in 1983, and Kippi also appeared in Barrio Sésamo as Espinete, A big, human-sized pink

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

that does not wear clothes during the day, despite having used disguises (including a wizard,

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

and a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

called Super Espi). * Moishe Oofnik,

Oscar the Grouch Oscar the Grouch is a List of Sesame Street Muppets, 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 Sesame Street (fiction ...

's cousin * Brosh, an orange

monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

who likes cleaning * Mahboub, a young blue

who speaks both

and

* Avigail, a young pink

who likes to play and is happy with everyone

Characters from ''Sesame Street''

Bert and Ernie Bert and Ernie are two List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet characters who appear together in numerous skits on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Ernie acts the role of the naivety, naïve and exuberant troublemaker, whil ...

a.k.a. "Benz and Arik" *

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 vampiric character, Count Dracula. His first appearance on the show was in the 4 ...

a.k.a. "Mar Sofer" *

Cookie Monster Cookie Monster is a blue List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating catchphrases, such as "Me want cookie!" As ...

a.k.a. "Ugifletzet" *

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created in 1955 and originally performed by Jim Henson. An anthropomorphic green frog, Kermit is the pragmatic everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably as the showrunner and host o ...

a.k.a. "Kermit haTzfardea" *

Grover Grover is a blue Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Self-described as lovable, cute, and furry, he is a blue monster who rarely uses contractions when he speaks or sings. Grover was originally perfo ...

, a blue

from

a.k.a "Croovy"

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),

Episodes

Season 1 (1986)

Season 2 (1990)

Season 3 (1991)

Revival series (2010–11)

Home media

In the 1990s, the entire series was released on home video, in the

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

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 The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

set, available as a set or per disc.

References

External links

''Shalom Sesame'': official website

Israel 21c" ''Shalom Sesame''
{{Former PBS Kids original programming 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 1991 American television series endings 2010 American television series debuts 2011 American television series endings 1987 Israeli television series debuts 1991 television series endings 2010 Israeli television series debuts 2011 Israeli 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 shows featuring puppetry American television spinoffs Direct-to-video television series PBS original programming PBS Kids shows