Jewish Humor: What the Best Jewish Jokes Say about the Jews

I ordered "Jewish Humor" for three reasons: 1.) The previous Telushkin books I read, "Words that Hurt; Words that Heal," and "Jewish Literacy." 2.) The genius I'd discovered years ago in the old LP classic "Woody Allen, The Night Club Years." If anyone has ever said to you, "I shot a moose once. I was hunting upstate New York,..," then you know what I'm talkng about. 3.) My recent subscription to XM radio, where the non swearing comedy channels are loaded with fabulous, classic comedy entirely dominated (I realized one day), by Jewish commedians (Youngman, Allen, Fields, Rivers, Mason, Brooks, Seinfeld, Dangerfield, etc., etc.) Where others see scholarship, I see affection, grace, humility, and chutzpah. To me, Telushkin is just a big sweetheart. He has accumulated a huge body of work that essentially seeks to share, communicate, explain, heal, find common ground, and help us all understand what it means to be Jewish. The introduction, in the context of explaining the many subtle nuances of Jewish humor, provides an excellent understanding for Jewish reality. After all, most good humor is based, at least in part, on the truth. If you're looking for an encyclopedia of Jewish humor, this is a good but perhaps not your best option. If your looking to understand Jewish humor and the Jewish tradition and spirit, this is as good as it gets. "...the next morning, upon awakening in the woods in a moose suit, Mr. Berkowitz is shot, stuffed and mounted in the New York Athletic Club. But the joke is on them, because its restricted."

I saw Rodney Dangerfield 'allavahshulim'(rest in peace)answer a heckler at Detroit's Ford Auditorium,with:"I remember when I had my first beer."I still use it-but I don't consider it specifically,Jewish.And although Rabbi Telushkin goes into great detail(beginning in the introduction)into why this isn't about ethnic humor in general,my favorite example is a footnote in chapter one(p.29)while Telushkin was being heckled...whoops.."challenged my assertion that early Judaism promoted the parent-child relationship:...('heckler')"Isn't it true that God's first commandment to Abraham was to leave his father's home?..."It is true,"I answered(Telushkin)."But he was seventy-five at the time(Genesis 12.4);he was entitled." Lb. for lb.,Telushkin is the hippest rabbi I can think of(I'm a non-Orthodox Jew who attends services at a Conservative synagogue);I'd rate the late Abraham Joshua Heschel,second.Telushkin has written pretty terrifically on the widest range of subjects to rate him otherwise.

This book is a real pleasure to read. Rabbi Telushkin not only tells some wonderful jokes he analyzes them in an interesting way. In his preface he notes that Jews do not joke about everything but have a certain set of subjects from verbal aggresiveness, to professional ambition which they persistently joke about. His message in the book is that the Jews joking about themselves tell a lot about their values, and that their jokes are really a mirror to the soul. So it is not surprising that one of the main subjects if the close relation of parents and children, and the tremendous worry pressure love concern parents show for their children. Telushkin does not develop an overall theory of Jewish humor though he of course notes that laughing at oneself is often a way of protecting oneself from the insults of others. An it is too a way of bringing about a kind of group or communal solidarity. Those that can laugh with me are really my friends. The fact that Jews so specialize in laughing at themselves Telushkin points out also contributes to their having had a predominant role in ' comedy in America. He cites the long list of Jewish comedians from the old line Burns, Groucho and other Marxes , Jack Benny , through the Milton Berle, Henny Youngman Phil Silvers down to the Seinfeld Billy Chrystal generation. Anyone who leaves out Alan King Jerry Lewis Buddy Hackett should of course be castigated for this. In any case the main point about this book is ' Try it you'll like it' Once in the Subway there used to be an add which went ' You don't have to be Jewish to like Levi's ryebread' I think the same might be said about this book. You don't have to be Jewish ( though it probably helps) to get many a good laugh out of this excellent work.

Everybody knows about Jewish confidence: "We're smart! We're chosen! We have more Nobel prizes than we deserve! We're a light unto the nations!" Those are the things we say out loud.But, like everybody, Jews are also insecure. Among ourselves, we ask, "Are we really smart? Why does nobody like us?" And the deeper, more difficult question, "What's going to happen to us?"Humour has always been the Jewish way of looking at these insecurities in the fresh and optimistic light a smile can shed on any painful issue. From the days of the Talmud right on up to Adam Sandler (and hopefully *beyond* -- I'd hate to think of the "Hanukkah song" as the "end-all" of Jewish humour!), we use humour to poke away at ourselves, examining the things that make us unique and also the issues that frighten us the most. Sure, this book's honesty made me squirm a little, but as Socrates once said, "So, nu? From an examined life, you don't die."Telushkin has masterfully grouped the best Jewish jokes into categories. His illuminations are helpful but never intrusive -- this is above all else a FUNNY book. If you're wondering what makes us tick and why the funny bone is so often the way to a Jewish heart, check out Telushkin's book and be prepared to squirm a little -- and learn a lot.

A WONDERFUL BOOK EXPLAINING THE BACKGROUND BEHIND THE HUMOR AS WELL AS COVERING A GREAT DEAL OF ENJOYABLE HUMOR.A QUICK EASY READ...WORTH PICKING UP ONCE EACH YEAR FOR A REPEAT