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We challenge you to name a piece of culture that has changed more with the ages than Fiddler on the Roof — a fitting trait for a musical whose central conflict is the debate between tradition and modernity. Based on a Sholom Aleichem story that was itself inspired by a Chagall painting, the work morphed into a Broadway musical in the 1960s, a Latin album classic (Joe Quijano, Fiddler on the Roof Goes Latin), and then an Oscar-winning movie directed by Norman Jewison in 1971 (tag line: The Story of a People and the Love that Binds a Family!). Among its many achievements, Fiddler has been powerful enough to launch the career of the great thespian Topol and to mark the beginning of the end for dear Rosie O’Donnell, who took on the challenging role of Golde on Broadway in 2005. And now, the popularity of YouTube has given Sholom Aleichem’s classic a new lease on life. Type the title into the video-sharing service and you will find hundreds of masterful versions of the classic, from manga to the Family Guy. Here are our favorites — from those (like the Japanese Fiddler) that have been well-viewed to those that are not, but should be.

Japanese Fiddler on the Roof by webfoot943 (7:14)

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All those who stay awake at night worrying about the Jewish future can now officially sleep easy. As long as there are high-quality Japanese productions of Fiddler like this one, everything will be OK. This version surpasses the level of karate training at any Jewish community center. One can only marvel at the intensity of the Japanese Tevye, as well as the entire cast, who make you believe that pogroms were a core part of the Japanese historical experience.

4 out of 5 fiddles

The Fiddler on the Roof by tckharmonica (7:22)

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If you, like us, missed the 6th Asia Pacific Harmonica Festival (2006), then we are happy to present the foursome that won the open ensemble competition. Fifty seconds in and the gold medal is just about theirs as the guy on the left summons enough strength to lift the world’s largest harmonica to his lips. Looking like Jared about to dig into a cold cut sandwich at Subway, he transforms “Tradition” into a chug-along railroad boxcar anthem.

5 out of 5 fiddles

FIDDLER ON THE F$&@#CKIN ROOF!!! by jdeninzon (2:07)

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Prog-rocker Joe Deninzon, self-styled “Jimi Hendrix of the violin,” channels U2 circa “Where the Streets Have No Name” and plays a secret gig for Cleveland’s Fox News. He follows Bono’s example to a tee — the rooftop, the camera crew, the helicopter cutaway shots — and then goes on to murder “If I Were a Rich Man” on his electric violin. U2 created a mob scene and gained a hit record and fame and fortune; Joe Deninzon, not so much.

2.5 out of 5 fiddles

Fiddler on the Roof by WVUsax27 (5:29)

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The original Fiddler musical was set in czarist Russia, a place where the military was a force of murder and menace. In case we needed a reminder about just how golden a medina America has been, along comes this clip in which the West Virginia University marching band — the Pride of West Virginia — performs military maneuvers to a Fiddler medley, keeping 80,000 spectators on the edge of their seats during halftime at the 2006 Sugar Bowl. Their marching is hypnotic; marvel mesmerized until 1:42 when they morph into a challah.

3.5 out of 5 fiddles

Fiddler on the Roof by JoeBebz (5:12)

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Young Joseph Bebry, a peewee David Lynch, introduces us to his hometown of Jericho and its strict traditions that dictate “how to talk, drive, shop, and dress” before guiding us around the neighborhood to meet its denizens, including the pizza man (1:40) and the barber (2:08). Bebry’s sinister version of “Tradition” holds the viewer in suspense as he alternates between missing the high notes and scraping the bottom of the register. He accompanies himself on the Casio VL-Tone, creating the distinct impression in this tour de force/cry for help that all is not well in Jericho.

4 out of 5 fiddles