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THE HISTORY OF JEWISH HUMOR Jewish humor is rooted in several traditions. The first is the intellectual and legal methods of the Talmud , which uses elaborate legal arguments and situations often seen as so absurd as to be humorous in order to tease out the meaning of religious law. {Link without Title} . , '' Commentary Magazine '', Vol 121, April 2006, No 4, pp. 47-54 traces some roots of the Jewish self-deprecating humor to the medieval influence of Arabic traditions on the Hebrew literature by quoting a witticism from Yehuda Alharizi 's ''Tahkemoni''. A more recent one is an egalitarian tradition among the Jewish Communities of Eastern Europe in which the powerful were often mocked subtly, rather than attacked overtly—as Saul Bellow once put it, "oppressed people tend to be witty." Jesters known as Badchen s used to poke fun at prominent members of the community during weddings, creating a good-natured tradition of humor as a levelling device. (Parallels in other cultures include Tall Poppy Syndrome and Jante Law ). Rabbi Moshe Waldoks , a scholar of Jewish humor, argued: "You have a lot of shtoch, or jab, humor, which is usually meant to deflate pomposity or ego, and to deflate people who consider themselves high and mighty. But Jewish humor was also a device for self-criticism within the community, and I think that's where it really was the most powerful. The humorist, like the prophet, would basically take people to task for their failings. The humor of Eastern Europe especially was centered on defending the poor against the exploitation of the upper classes or other authority figures, so rabbis were made fun of, authority figures were made fun of and rich people were made fun of. It really served as a social catharsis." {Link without Title} After Jews began to emigrate to America in large numbers, they, like other minority groups, found it difficult to gain mainstream acceptance and obtain Upward Mobility . The newly-developing entertainment industry, combined with the Jewish humor tradition, provided a potential route for Jews to succeed. One of the first successful radio "sitcoms," The Rise Of The Goldbergs , featured a Jewish family. As radio and television matured, many of its most famous comedians, including Jack Benny , Sid Caesar , George Burns , Henny Youngman and Milton Berle , were Jewish. The Jewish comedy tradition continues today, with Jewish humor much entwined with that of mainstream humor, as comedies like '' Seinfeld '' indicate. Sigmund Freud in his '' Wit And The Unconscious '', among other things, analyzes the nature of the Jewish jokes. TYPES OF JEWISH HUMOR Religious humor The lives of the early Hasidim , while not funny in and of themselves, are rich in humorous incidents. The dealings between Rabbi s, Tzaddik im, and peasants form a rich tapestry of lore. Baal Shem Tov Most tales about the Besht are Miracle Tale s and in many tales about him, the ending is left for the reader to reflect on. Some jokes make fun of the " Rebbe miracle stories" and involve different hassidim bragging about their teachers' miraculous abilities: Wits Similarly, in the tradition of the legal arguments of the Talmud, one prominent type of Jewish humor involves witty solutions to problems, such as:
Eastern European Jewish humor A number of traditions in Jewish humor date back to stories and anecdotes from the 1800s. Chelm One popular humorous tradition from Eastern Europe involved tales of the people of Chełm , a town reputed in these jokes to be inhabited by fools (including their rabbi). The jokes were almost always centered on silly solutions to problems. Some of these solutions display "foolish wisdom" (reaching the correct answer by the wrong train of reasoning), while others are simply wrong. Chelm tales were told by authors like Sholom Aleichem and Isaac Bashevis Singer . A typical Chelm story might begin, "It is said that after God made the world, he filled it with people. He sent off an angel with two sacks, one full of wisdom and one full of foolishness. The second sack was of course much heavier. So after a time it started to drag. Soon it got caught on a mountaintop and so all the foolishness spilled out and fell into Chelm." Here are a few examples of a Chelm tale:
Hershele Ostropoler Hershele Ostropoler , also known as Hershel of Ostropol, was a legendary prankster who was based on a historic figure. Thought to have come from the 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. Eventually he settled down at the court of Rabbi Boruch Of Medzhybizh , grandson of the Baal Shem Tov . 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 1930 by the Vilna Troupe , and a U.S. television program in the 1950s. Two illustrated children's books, ''The Adventures of Hershel of Ostropol'', and ''Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins'', have been published. Both books were written by Eric Kimmel and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman . In 2002, a play entitled ''Hershele the Storyteller'' was performed in New York City. {Link without Title} Humor about antisemitism Much Jewish humor takes the form of self-deprecating comments on Jewish Culture , acting as a shield against Antisemitic Stereotypes by exploiting them first:
Or, on a similar note:
And another example, a direct slice of ''galgenhumor'' ( Gallows Humor ): There is also this sort of humor originating originally in the United States , such as this one:
This one combines accusations of the lack of patriotism and avarice: American Jewish humor The role of Yiddish Some Yiddish words may sound comical to an English speaker. Leo Rosten , ''The Joys of Yinglish'' Terms like Shnook And Shmendrik, Shlemiel And Shlimazel (often considered Inherently Funny Word s) were exploited for their humorous sounds, as were " Yinglish " Shm-reduplication constructs, such as "fancy-schmancy". Yiddish constructions—such as ending sentences with questions—became part of the verbal Wordplay of Jewish comedians. About religion One common strain of Jewish humor examines the role of religion in contemporary life, often gently mocking the religious hypocrite. For example:
Or, on differences between Orthodox , Conservative and Reform movements:
In particular, Reform Jews are often lampooned for their rejection of traditional Jewish beliefs. An example is in one of Woody Allen 's early Standup routines: About the gender roles (in the more traditional Orthodox movement, people marry at a young age and have many children. The more liberal Conservative and Reform movements make the genders' roles more Egalitarian , by ordaining females as Rabbi s. The Reconstructionist movement was the first to ordain Homosexual s.): Or, more absurdly, from Woody Allen's '' Without Feathers '':
Often jokes circulate around the practice of the Jewish religion, and the strain between people in such:
Jokes also circulate about Jewish accents. For example:
About Jews Jewish humor continues to exploit stereotypes of Jews, both as a form of in-humor and as a defense. Jewish Mothers , "cheapness," hypochondria, and other habits are all common subjects.
Or ... Or ...
About traditional roles of men and women in Jewish families:
Or, from David Bader 's '' Haikus For Jews '':
Or: Or:
Or: About Christianity Many Jewish jokes involve a rabbi and some other religion's clergyman. Often they start with something like "A rabbi and a priest..." and make fun of either the rabbi's interpretation of Christianity or (seeming) differences between Christian and Jewish interpretation of same areas.
A few more examples:
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And finally, possibly the most gigantic clash of religions:
Jewish humor in the Soviet Union In the Stalinist Police State , it was not uncommon to get Purged not only for telling a casual joke, but even for Not Reporting It To The Authorities . ''See Russian Joke in general, or more specifically Rabinovich Jokes , Russian Jewish Jokes , Russian Political Jokes ; also History Of The Jews In Russia And The Soviet Union ''
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Or, in the last years of the Soviet Union:
Or
Israeli humor Israeli humor featured many of the same themes as Jewish humor elsewhere, making fun of the country and its habits, while containing a fair bit of gallows humor as well, as a joke from a 1950 Israeli joke book indicates:
On February 14 , 2006 , in response to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad Cartoons Controversy , and, in particular, to the International Holocaust Cartoon Competition , an Israeli group announced an Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoons Contest . The contest was opened to Jewish cartoonists only, who were invited to poke fun at their own religion and ethnicity. NOTES REFERENCES
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