e-book God Laughed: Sources of Jewish Humor (Jewish Studies)

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Inevitably, this oeuvre of Jewish humor has itself influenced generations of comics, Start reading God Laughed: Sources of Jewish Humor (Jewish Studies​) on.
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• Jewish humor, from Babylon to the Borscht Belt
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• Book Review | Jewish Comedy: A Serious history

Thought to have come from Ukraine , he lived in the small village of Ostropol , working as shochet , a ritual slaughterer. According to legend he lost his job because of his constant joking, which offended the leaders of the village. In his subsequent wanderings throughout Ukraine , he became a familiar figure at restaurants and inns. The rabbi was plagued by frequent depressions, and Hershele served as a sort of court jester, mocking the rabbi and his cronies, to the delight of the common folk. After his death he was remembered in a series of pamphlets recording his tales and witty remarks.

He was the subject of several epic poems, a novel, a comedy performed in by the Vilna Troupe , and a U. Much Jewish humor takes the form of self-deprecating comments on Jewish culture , acting as a shield against antisemitic stereotypes by exploiting them first:.

Rabbi Altmann and his secretary were sitting in a coffeehouse in Berlin in I can't understand why.

A Nazi libel sheet! Are you some kind of masochist , or, God forbid, a self-hating Jew? When I used to read the Jewish papers, all I learned about were pogroms, riots in Palestine , and assimilation in America. After the assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia , a government official in Ukraine menacingly addressed the local rabbi, "I suppose you know in full detail who was behind it. And another example, a direct slice of galgenhumor gallows humor :. During the days of oppression and poverty of the Russian shtetls , one village had a rumor going around: a Christian girl was found murdered near their village.

Fearing a pogrom , they gathered at the synagogue. Suddenly, the rabbi came running up, and cried, "Wonderful news! The murdered girl was Jewish! There is also humor originating in the United States , such as this joke:. So, that Thanksgiving, while the woman is baking, the doorbell rings. She opens her door and, to her horror, five black soldiers are standing in front of her.

• God Laughed: Sources of Jewish Humor?
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Post-Soviet Russia. Could you tell me where I might get my share? Some Yiddish words may sound comical to an English speaker. Yiddish constructions—such as ending sentences with questions—became part of the verbal word play of Jewish comedians. One common strain of Jewish humor examines the role of religion in contemporary life, often gently mocking the religious hypocrite.

For example:. A Reform Rabbi was so compulsive a golfer that once, on Yom Kippur, he left the house early and went out for a quick nine holes by himself. An angel who happened to be looking on immediately notified his superiors that a grievous sin was being committed.

The angel was horrified. Or, on differences between Orthodox , Conservative and Reform movements:. An Orthodox, a Conservative, and a Reform rabbi are each asked whether one is supposed to say a brokhe blessing over a lobster non- kosher food, normally not eaten by religious Jews. The Orthodox rabbi asks, "What is this The Reform rabbi says, "What's a brokhe? In particular, Reform Jews may be lampooned for their rejection of traditional Jewish beliefs. An example, from one of Woody Allen 's early stand-up routines:.

Jokes have been made about the shifting of gender roles in the more traditional Orthodox movement, women marry at a young age and have many children, while the more liberal Conservative and Reform movements make gender roles more egalitarian , even ordaining women as Rabbis. The Reconstructionist movement was the first to ordain homosexuals , all of which leads to this joke:. At an Orthodox wedding, the bride's mother is pregnant. At a Conservative wedding, the bride is pregnant.

At a Reform wedding, the rabbi is pregnant. At a Reconstructionist wedding, the rabbi and her wife are both pregnant. A man is rescued from a desert island after 20 years. The news media, amazed at this feat of survival, ask him to show them his home. How did you keep sane? My faith as a Jew kept me strong. And what did you do for the next fifteen years? There, in a shady grove, is an even more beautiful temple. That other place?

I wouldn't set foot in that other temple if you PAID me! As with most ethnicities, jokes have often mocked Jewish accents —at times gently, and at others quite harshly. One of the kinder examples is:. One early winter morning, Rabbi Bloom was walking beside the canal when he saw a dog in the water, trying hard to stay afloat.

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It looked so sad and exhausted that Rabbi Bloom jumped in, and after a struggle, managed to bring it out alive. A passer-by who saw this remarked, "That was very brave of you! You must love animals; are you a vet? Of course I'm a—vet! I'm a—freezing cold as vell! Jewish humor continues to exploit stereotypes of Jews, both as a sort of "in-joke", and as a form of self-defence.

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Jewish mothers , "cheapness", hypochondria, and other stereotyped habits are all common subjects. Frugality has been frequently singled out:. It costs at least a dollar! What did the waiter ask the group of dining Jewish mothers? The Priest says: "I draw a circle on the ground, take the offering, and throw it up into the air. Any money that falls outside the circle is for the Lord, and the money that falls inside the circle is for me. I take the offering, throw it up into the air, and pray: "Lord take whatever You need, and feel free to send back the rest.

A Buddhist monk goes to a barber to have his head shaved. And what do you know, the next day the barber comes to open his shop, and finds on his doorstep a dozen gemstones. Later that day, a priest comes in to have his hair cut. Later that day, Rabbi Finklestein comes in to get his payoss [sideburns] trimmed. A Jewish man lies on his deathbed, surrounded by his children. She says it's for the shiva mourning period.

Frowning, the mother says, "Go back and tell them you want a speaking role!

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A Jewish girl bemoans, "Finally, I meet a nice, rich Jewish boy! He's just like papa. He looks like him. He acts like him. Oy vey, mama hates him! After performing a marriage the Rabbi gave some advice to the newlyweds: "The first ten years are always the hardest," said the Rabbi. Or, on parenting from David Bader 's Haikus for Jews :.

A Frenchman, a German and a Jew walk into a bar. Or, on kvetching complaining ,. A Jewish man in a hospital tells the doctor he wants to be transferred to a different hospital.

The doctor says "What's wrong? Is it the food? I can't kvetch. An old Jewish man riding on a train begins to moan: " Oy , am I thirsty; oy, am I thirsty", to the annoyance of the other passengers. Finally, another passenger gets a cup of water from the drinking fountain and gives it to the old man, who thanks him profusely and gulps it down.

Feeling satisfied, the other passenger sits down again, only to hear "Oy, was I thirsty; oy, was I thirsty". Many Jewish jokes involve a rabbi and a Christian clergyman, exploiting different interpretations of a shared environment. Often they start with something like "A rabbi and a priest A rabbi and a Catholic priest are having lunch in a restaurant. The priest attacks his lunch, savoring every bite of the ham.

Noticing the rabbi eyeing him, he asks, "So tell me, Rabbi Goldblum, have you ever had any pork before? We're both men of God here. We can tell each other our sins. Nothing to it. The rabbi asks the priest: "Tell me Father, have you ever had sex with a woman before? A Catholic priest says to a rabbi, "It seems to me that, since the Creator made pork, He must have made it for some purpose.

Therefore, it must be a sin not to use it, don't you think? So, will you finally eat some pork? A rabbi once asked his old friend, a priest, "Could you ever be promoted within your Church?