Jews and Humor

Description

Jews and humor is, for most people, a natural and felicitous collocation. In spite of, or perhaps because of, a history of crises and living on the edge, Jews have often created or resorted to humor. But what is humor? And what makes certain types, instances, or performances of humor "Jewish"? These are among the myriad queries addressed by the fourteen authors whose essays are collected in this volume. And, thankfully, their observations, always apt and often witty, are expressed with a lightness of style and a depth of analysis that are appropriate to the many topics they cover. The scholars who contributed to this collection allow readers both to discern the common features that make up "Jewish humor" and to delight in the individualism and eccentricities of the many figures whose lives and accomplishments are narrated here. Because these essays are written in a clear, jargon-free style, they will appeal to everyone—even those who don't usually crack a smile!
Acknowledgments

Editor’s Introduction

Contributors

Humor in the Bible, by Charles David Isbell

Why Did the Widow Have a Goat in Her Bed? Jewish Humor and Its Roots in the Talmud and Midrash, by David Brodsky

But Is It Funny? Identifying Humor, Satire, and Parody in Rabbinic Literature, by Eliezer Diamond

Masekhet Purim, by Peter J. Haas

Jewish Humor as a Source of Research on Polish-Jewish Relations, by Joanna Sliwa

Jewish Jokes, Yiddish Storytelling, and Sholem Aleichem: A Discursive Approach, by Jordan Finkin

Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Karl: Immigrant Humor and the Depression, by Leonard M. Helfgott

Nuances and Subtleties in Jewish Film Humor, by Michael W. Rubinoff

The Bad Girls of Jewish Comedy: Gender, Class, Assimilation, and Whiteness in Postwar America, by Giovanna P. Del Negro

One Clove Away From a Pomander Ball: The Subversive Tradition of Jewish Female Comedians, by Joyce Antler

Heckling the Divine: Woody Allen, the Book of Job, and Jewish Theology after the Holocaust, by Jason Kalman

Tragicomedy and Zikkaron in Mel Brooks’s To Be or Not To Be, by Joan Latchaw and David Peterson

“They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore”: The Musical Humor of Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys in Historical and Geographical Perspective, by Theodore Albrecht

The New Jewish Blackface: African American Tropes in Contemporary Jewish Humor, by David Gillota

Sujets

• Jewish Studies
• Social Science

Informations

• Publié par: Purdue University Press
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781612491554
• Langue: English

Extrait

Jews and Humor
Studies in Jewish Civilization Volume 22
Proceedings of the Twenty-Second Annual Symposium of the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization- Harris Center for Judaic Studies
October 25-26, 2009
Other volumes in the Studies of Jewish Civilization Series Distributed by the Purdue University Press
2010 - Rites of Passage: How Today s Jews Celebrate, Commemorate, and Commiserate
Jews and Humor
Studies in Jewish Civilization Volume 22
Editor: Leonard J. Greenspoon
The Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization
Purdue University Press West Lafayette, Indiana
Copyright 2011, by Creighton University Published by Purdue University Press All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America

Paper ISBN: 9-781-55753-597-9 ePDF ISBN: 9-781-61249-154-7 ePUB ISBN: 9-781-61249-155-4

No part of Studies in Jewish Civilization (ISSN 1070-8510) Volume 22 may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Front cover photo courtesy of Michael Kleveter, Michael K Photography.
Dedicated to
Dorothy C. Riekes
Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Editor s Introduction
Contributors
Humor in the Bible Charles David Isbell
Why Did the Widow Have a Goat in Her Bed? Jewish Humor and Its Roots in the Talmud and Midrash David Brodsky
But Is It Funny? Identifying Humor, Satire, and Parody in Rabbinic Literature Eliezer Diamond
Masekhet Purim Peter J. Haas
Jewish Humor as a Source of Research on Polish-Jewish Relations Joanna Sliwa
Jewish Jokes, Yiddish Storytelling, and Sholem Aleichem: A Discursive Approach Jordan Finkin
Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Karl: Immigrant Humor and the Depression Leonard M. Helfgott
Nuances and Subtleties in Jewish Film Humor Michael W. Rubinoff
The Bad Girls of Jewish Comedy: Gender, Class, Assimilation, and Whiteness in Postwar America Giovanna P. Del Negro
One Clove Away From a Pomander Ball: The Subversive Tradition of Jewish Female Comedians Joyce Antler
Heckling the Divine: Woody Allen, the Book of Job, and Jewish Theology after the Holocaust Jason Kalman
Tragicomedy and Zikkaron in Mel Brooks s To Be or Not To Be Joan Latchaw and David Peterson
They Ain t Makin Jews Like Jesus Anymore : The Musical Humor of Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys in Historical and Geographical Perspective Theodore Albrecht
The New Jewish Blackface: African American Tropes in Contemporary Jewish Humor David Gillota
Acknowledgements
The Twenty-Second Annual Klutznick-Harris Symposium took place in Omaha, Nebraska, on October 25 and 26, 2009. Like this volume, it was titled Jews and Humor.
All of the chapters in this collection, with the exception of the one by Jordan Finken, are based on presentations made at the Symposium. Finken s paper first appeared as an article, with the same title, in Jewish Social Studies 16:1(2009): 85-110, published by Indiana University Press. Finken s article is reprinted here with the Press s permission.
The first Symposium that I organized was held in October 1996. The Symposium on Jews and Humor is therefore the fourteenth one in which I have played a role-if my math is correct. While we have, over the years, developed positive working relationships with a number of people, the planning and implementation of a Symposium, even one related to jokes and story telling, are not all fun and games-although a sense of humor is sine qua non .
It is equally important to make sure that the people with whom you work combine expertise and experience with their own individual senses of humor. In this regard, I have been, I don t mind saying, blessed in all respects by my colleagues: Dr. Ronald Simkins, director of the Kripke Center for the Study of Religion and Society at Creighton; Dr. Jean Cahan, director of the Harris Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Mrs. Fran Minear, who works with both Ron and me. Additionally, Mary Sue Grossman, of the Omaha Jewish Federation s Center for Jewish Education, insures that everything runs smoothly at the Jewish Community Center, where our presentations take place on Sunday. An equally committed group of individuals works with us on Monday for an equally smooth series of events on the Creighton campus.
This volume is the second in our collaboration with the Purdue University Press, whose staff, under director Charles Watkinson, has consistently made us feel at home among the growing number of Jewish Studies publications of the Press.
In addition to the the Harris Center, the Kripke Center, and the Jewish Federation of Omaha, this Symposium was nourished and supported by the generosity of the following:
The Ike and Roz Friedman Foundation
The Riekes Family
The Creighton College of Arts and Sciences
Creighton University Committee on Lectures, Films, and Concerts
The Gary Javitch Family Foundation
The Center for Jewish Education
The Henry Monsky Lodge of B nai B rith
The Dr. Bruce S. Bloom Memorial Endowment and Others

This volume is dedicated, in loving memory, to Dorothy C, Riekes, whose generous support has enabled us to bring together the community at each Symposium.

Leonard J. Greenspoon Omaha, Nebraska May 2011 [e-mail]
Editor s Introduction
Just the other day something very funny happened to me on my way to work. And it wasn t long ago that I heard a great joke. How about that really humorous movie I saw last month?
I guess that I can admit it: I m pretty good at identifying-and appreciating-humor when I hear it, or see it, or read it. Perhaps, nobody enjoys a good joke as much as (or even more than) I do.
None of this makes me a particularly funny person or a humorous one (if there is a distinction between the two). However, it does allow me to benefit, and derive great pleasure, from my role as editor of this volume because I have been afforded the opportunity to be the first to read each of the fourteen chapters that make up this collection. And, I am happy to report, each of these chapters is a delight to read, a fine example of what I might term a felicitous cooperation between style and subject matter.
Alas, this is not always the case among scholars, who have the unfortunate propensity to overanalyze, overload, and overlook even (or especially?) when presented with a topic so naturally enchanting as Jews and Humor. In no way am I diminishing the significance of research in this area or the difficulties that arise when trying to isolate salient and distinguishing features of this phenomenon; at the same time, I can barely suppress a sigh of contented relief that these authors really do allow the humor that they are discussing to shine forth.
It is with this thought in mind that I am including one joke or humorous story from each chapter in this Introduction. To the degree that we can get the joke or point prior to reading the chapter, the material that I have selected for inclusion here may be thought of as universally accessible. But, as will become increasingly evident as readers go to the individual chapters themselves, many of these jokes or stories reveal the fullness of their multivalent richness only to those who appreciate the background or context in which the story and storytelling originated.

Charles David Isbell, Humor in the Bible
The career of the great prophet Elisha was filled with miraculous deeds.... Even after his death, the miraculous power of Elisha did not abate. His ultimate feat is described as follows: Elisha died and they buried him. Now robber bands of Moabites came into the country annually. One time, people were burying a man when they spied the robber band. So they threw the dead body into the grave of Elisha and took off. When the dead man touched the bones of Elisha, he came back to life and stood on his feet (2 Kgs 13:20-21). No one could fail to be impressed at such power. Yet in this narrative, what is left unsaid is terribly important, at least to one character in it. Put yourself in the place of the resurrected man. You have just died. Without your awareness, faithful members of the hevra qaddisha [burial society] have prepared your lifeless body for burial. Then the miracle happens, and you regain consciousness. You come back to life, but are still tightly wrapped in your shroud and unable to run. The first thing you see is a robber band of Moabites ferocious enough to have chased away all of your pallbearers. Now you will surely die a second time, more than likely in quite an unpleasant manner. Resurrection for you would be a mixed blessing at best.

David Brodsky, Why Did the Widow Have a Goat in Her Bed? Jewish Humor and Its Roots in the Talmud and Midrash
Genesis Rabbah 26: Rabban Gamaliel married off his daughter. She said to him, Father, bless me. He said, May you never come back here. She gave birth to a son. She said to him, Father, bless me. He said to her, May Oy vey! never cease from your mouth. She said to him, Father, two happy occasions have come to me, and you have cursed me [on both]! He said to her, Both are blessings. Since you have peace in your house, you won t return here. And since your son will survive [infancy], Oy vey! will never cease from your mouth: Oy vey that my son didn t eat! Oy vey that he didn t drink! Oy vey that he didn t go to shul!

Eliezer Diamond, But Is It Funny? Identifying Humor, Satire, and Parody in Rabbinic Literature
Moses is standing at Sinai and God says to him, You