JEWISH HUMOR

by Don L. F. Nilsen
and Alleen Pace Nilsen
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Jewish Humor

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JEWISH HUMOR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F515PqYzfQ

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 INTRODUCTION
In 1978, psychologist Samuel Janus conducted a study
which found that although Jews constituted only 3
percent of the U.S. population, 80 percent of the
nation’s professional comedians were Jewish.
(Altman 13)

The percentage of comedians is less today not

because there are fewer Jewish comedians, but
because in response to ethnic and gender identity
movements, many new comedians have come from
groups that were previously under-represented.

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Jerry Lewis

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Seinfeld

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 The Soup Nazi
The Seinfeld show teases all things Jewish.

Seinfeld says, “My parents didn’t want to move to

Florida, but they turned sixty, and that’s the law.”

Seinfeld says to George, “George, cheapness isn’t a

yth sense.”

On the Seinfeld Show there is a strict, hot-tempered

owner of a soup kitchen who uses the phrase, “No
soup for you!” He is referred to as “The Soup Nazi.”

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CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM:
http://www.hbo.com/larrydavid/

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 THE BORSCHT BELT
• Belle Barth, Danny Kaye, and other
Jewish comedians substituted Yiddish
for English when they wanted to fool
English-speaking censors with risque
jokes. See the slide on “Yiddish” for
examples.

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 THE GOLDBERGS
• Between 1929 and 1945 there was a
popular Jewish radio program named
“The Goldbergs.” The language of the
show used Yiddish intonation,
proverbs and sentence patterns like,
“Better a crust of bread and enjoy it
than a cake that gives you indigestion.”

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 HONEY-COATED BARBS
• Henry Spalding says that much Jewish
humor is in the form of honey-coated barbs
at the people and things Jews love the most.

• Jews verbally attack their loved ones and

their religion, but with the grandest sense of
affection.

• Their jokes are “a kiss with salt on the lips,

but a kiss nevertheless.”

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 HUMILITY AND PRIDE
• Dolf Zillman says that Jewish humor
exhibits two antithetical statures:
disparagement and superiority.

• This antithesis can be seen in the

following joke:

• The Israeli Knesset is lamenting all of

the challenges that Israel faces.
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• One member of the Knesset suggests that
Israel go to war against the United States.

• Other members say, “What?” “Such a war

wouldn’t last 10 minutes.”

• “I know. I know. But then we would be a

conquered country and the Americans would
send us aid. They would build roads and
hospitals and send food and agricultural
experts.”

• “But,” said another member of the Knesset,

“What if we win?”

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 JEWISH STEREOTYPES
• Jewish stereotypes include the shrewd
businessman, the overbearing mother, the Jewish
American Princess, and the persecuted Jew.

• Arthur Naiman illustrates the stereotype of the

overbearing Jewish mother with a story about a
psychiatrist who tells a Jewish mother that her son
has an Oedipus complex.

• The mother responds, “Oedipus, schmoedipus, just

so long as he loves his mother.”

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TRADITION (FROM FIDDLER ON THE ROOF):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRdfX7ut8gw

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 MARGINALIZATION
• Because Jews have a history of marginalization they view life
from “the edge.”

• Therefore, Jews have come up with fresh and funny

observations.

• Because of their marginalization they have also been attracted

to professions that are not in the mainstream; the theater,
popular music, vaudeville, and entertainment are also
marginalized.

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• Earlier immigrant groups such as the
Irish worked in burlesque and early
radio and films, but Jews were more
successful and made room for each
other.

• In many cases, show business became

a family affair.

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• Thus comedian Albert Brooks grew up in
Hollywood as the son of the famous radio
comedian Harry Einstein (better known as
Parkyarkarkus) and was a successful
stand-up comedian by the time he was 21.

• Actor and producer Rob Reiner is the son

of writer and producer Carl Reiner.

• Marlo Thomas is the daughter of Danny

Thomas, who although not Jewish told
many Yiddish stories.
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 MULTILINGUALISM
• For generations, Jews have been
multilingual, speaking Yiddish at home,
Hebrew at the synagogue, and the
language of the surrounding
community at work.

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 NEW YORKNESS
• Joseph Boskin says that “Jews have
wrought a distinctively hard-driving,
spontaneous humor of concrete
immediacy, one that bursts with
retaliation.”

• Its sarcastic rejoinders, rapid-fire jokes,

and happy quips reflect the rhythms
and pace of the city itself.
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 PILPUL
• In Jewish culture boys begin at age 4 to
learn how to examine issues from all
angles, to speculate and find
contradictions, to shift back and forth
between abstract and concrete
thoughts, to ask all possible questions,
to clarify various points, and to find
subtle and simple answers to highly
complex problems.
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• This way of thinking, in which endless
argumentation, sometimes for its own sake,
that could lead anywhere is called “pilpul”
and it is highly valued.

• Besides being good practice for Talmudic

scholars, pilpul correlates with the intellectual
processes of creating successful humor,
including the practice of answering a question
with a question, piling one question after
another or asking rhetorical questions:

• “What do I look like? A dictionary?”

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 THE PURIM
• During the annual Purim, there is rejoicing over the
hanging of the wicked Haman on the gallows he had
prepared for the execution of Persian Jews.

• To this day, Jewish children are given hand-held

greggars or noise makers to drown out the name of
Haman as the story of Esther is recited.

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 YIDDISH
• Richar Fein’s experiences were typical:

• “Yiddish was in my bones, but hidden from

my tongue. I did not know Yiddish as a
language, but I felt reared in its resonance,
pitch, and tone. I recognized a few words
uttered in isolation, grasped nothing of its
structure, but felt washed in its rhythms.
Although I could not speak Yiddish, it was
not a foreign language. I never possessed it,
but sensed it possessing me.”
• (Fein 317)
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• Bobehla: “little grandmother” term of endearment
• Chutzpah: gall or incredible nerve
• Ganeff: a thief or mischievous prankster
• Kibitz: kidding around
• Mishmash: flagrant disorder or confusion
• Nebish: a loser or sad sack
• Nosh: a snack
• Schmaltz: “chicken fat” sentimentality
• Schmear: bribing or greasing the palm
• Schmooz: a heartfelt visit
• Shlemiel: clumsy or inept person
• Shlep: carrying things (including oneself) in an undignified way
• Shlimazl: fall guy or luckless oaf
• Shnorrer: a beggar

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• In The Joys of Yiddish, Leo Rosten says that Yiddish
syntax also enters the English Language:

• “Get lost.”
• “You should live so long!”
• “Who needs it?”
• “He should excuse the expression.”
• “It shouldn’t happen to a dog.”
• “On him it looks good.”
• Other Yiddish patterns include “virus schmirus,” and
“a real no-goodnik.”

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 ELAINE BOOSLER
• Elaine Boosler gives a new twist
to an old Jewish stereotype when
she jokes:

• “My brother’s gay. My parents

don’t mind as long as he marries
a doctor.”
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 MEL BROOKS
• In Mel Brooks’ The Producers there is a play within
the play called “Springtime for Hitler.”

• Dozens of dancers, singers, actors and

pantomimists of every race and shape audition for
the role of Hitler.

• The show’s opening production number culminates

in the formation of a slowly turning swastika and in
the pillars at the back of the set being lowered to a
horizontal position and transformed into canons.

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 MEL BROOKS AND CARL
REINER
• After seeing a bizarre interview on TV, Reiner turned to Brooks
and said,

• “I understand you were actually at the scene of the

Crucifixion.” Brooks responded,

• “Ooooooh, boy!” and then continued in character saying that

yes, he had known Christ.

• “He was a thin lad, always wore sandals. Came into the store
but never bought anything.”

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 THE MARX BROTHERS
• The Marx Brothers were named Chico, Harpo, Gummo, Zeppo,
and Groucho.

• Harpo had a number of demented faces and magical sight

gags.

• Groucho had his zany singing and dancing and his punchy
one-liners.

• Zeppo played the straight man to Groucho.

• Chico had his amusing piano playing, his outrageous Italian

accent, and his bad puns.

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• As immigrants come to the United States there are various
stages that they go through to become “Americanized.”

• Harpo is not able to speak English. He is in the first stage.

• Chico’s English is very poor, and he is always confused by

English. He is in the second stage.

• Zeppo’s English is like general American. He has no accent.

• Groucho uses the English of Brooklyn. Not only has he

become Americanized, he has also become “Brooklynized.”

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Jewish Jokes:
http://www.awordinyoureye.com/

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 HENNY YOUNGMAN
• Henny Youngman had a rat-a-tat syle of
humor that reflects the frustrations of
urban life:

• “Fellow walks up to me and says, ‘You

see a cop around here?’ I say, ‘No,’
and he says, ‘Stick ‘em up!’”

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 Some Great Yiddish Words
• fancy-schmancy
• kvetch
• maven
• mazel tov
• shnorrer
• tanz
• Oy Vey!

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YIDDISH WITH DICK AND JANE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlO5vUS5KnU

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