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

This was the most serious book of humor I've ever read. The subtitle is accurate: This is a book about the Jews. not as much a book of humor, or a book about Judaism. Because jokes usually poke fun at the people who are the subject of the joke, the Jews on these pages are frequently cast in a less than ideal light. There are also plenty of jokes which Jews could tell to ridicule others.

To get the majority of these jokes, one must have an understanding of the background, not only of Jewish beliefs and rituals, but also of the country of origin of the joke and the time period in which it was told. Telushkin gives us all of the necessary preamble to each joke, but this often makes the joke less funny by the time one has read it.

As a show more sociological work, it was very interesting reading. However, I did not end up with a great arsenal of new jokes to share with my friends. show less

I read this several years ago and what I remember is that there were interesting ideas and lots of good examples.

Interesting look at Jewish culture through its jokes.

Jewish jokes together with analysis of them and what they tell us about the Jewish people and Judaism from a Jewish perspective. Very worth reading.

Best Jewish jokes and what they say about Jews

Best Jewish jokes and what they say about Jews

NO OF PAGES: 237 SUB CAT I: Humor SUB CAT II: SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: Rabbi Telushkin (An Eye for an Eye, 1991), rooted in the tradition of reverence for past learning, has gathered lots of hoary jokes and aged wisecracks, together with a few more recent japes, that make Jews laugh. To coreligionists, they'll seem like old friends; to others, the gags and their elucidation may be more in the nature of revelation. Another book of ethnic gags? Hold the cry of ``gevalt!'' because Telushkin has an unstated agenda. True to his calling, he uses the funny stuff to instruct. In this collection (in which some bits are, naturally, funnier than others), everything stands for something else--but all of it carries explanations. The exegesis of the show more jokes becomes a little primer on a religion and a way of life mystifying to strangers and sometimes just as puzzling to nominal adherents. It's a truism that Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle applies to humor--observing and analyzing it alters it. That effect can be seen here as Telushkin trots out Jackie Mason and Sigmund Freud, as well as Leo Rosten and a host of Unknown Comics for a higher purpose. The tales of the wise rabbis, the fabled fools of Chelm, the anti-Semites, the schnorrers, and the big shots all serve to illustrate his lessons. Was the shtetl a forerunner of Catskills on Broadway? Why are comedians so often Jewish? Why are Jews so often comedians? Why ask questions? Just listen to the rabbi and his jokes. Fine, funny fare for Jew and non-Jew alike.NOTES: Purchased from the Amazon Marketplace. SUBTITLE: What the Best Jewish Jokes Say About the Jews show less