Have you ever wondered what real Jewish humor is? What is its highlight and where did it come from? This article describes in detail all the features and history of the development of the comic type of jokes about Jews.
A bit of history and a few facts
The very concept of humor is easy to define, this is a certain category of jokes, stories and jokes, in which several heroes who find themselves in a comic situation act. However, Jewish humor is more than just ordinary jokes. The Russian word "Hochma" in translation from Hebrew means "wisdom". This is not a mere coincidence, because the real humor of the Jews is full of meaning and presupposes a good knowledge of Judaism. Many Jewish jokes ridicule stupid rabbis and in order to understand the essence of the joke, you need to know a lot of biblical stories.
The main characters in the most popular jokes are the legendary Jewish jokers: Herschel, Motke Chabad, Efraim Gradinger. The Herschelles prototype really existed, it lived in the 18th century and was known as a poor beggar and a stinging wit.
Today, the concept of Jewish humor has changed a lot. The original meaning of humor has almost lost its essence. Now this kind of humor is perceived as something very easy, understandable and almost always ridiculed the ignorance and naivety of ordinary Jews.
What is the peculiarity of Jewish jokes
A distinctive feature of Jewish humor is self-irony and full ridicule of all the weaknesses of not only the Jewish people, but of all mankind. Many Jewish jokes require a certain erudition from the listener regarding the history of the Jewish people. And his story is full of tragedy (after all, it was Jews who very often became victims during the course of world history), therefore, in many jokes, in addition to the main fun and ridiculous load, a second meaning appears in which the representatives of this nationality themselves find accurate and witty answers and solutions to many life difficulties.
The most popular topics of Jewish jokes and jokes
There are several main topics on which many different jokes have been invented. Perhaps one of the most popular can be called everyday jokes. They describe small stories that occur in the everyday life of an ordinary Jew. Such Jewish jokes sparkle with wit, are full of all sorts of tricks, and show the attitude of Jews to their history. The Jew seems to us self-critical and often acts as an object of ridicule, which in itself makes jokes absurd.
There are other topics, but they are more specific and require knowledge in the field of biblical texts and many other features and traditions of the Jewish people. For example, Jews often make fun of the stupidity of uneducated rabbis, however, without crossing the borders of blasphemy and the Talmud. This is the subtle Jewish humor, it is full of wit, originality and preserves the wisdom and traditions of the Jewish people.
Jewish humor: quotes, aphorisms and winged sayings
Let's get it right. Many Jewish jokes were very popular during the Soviet era, some of them were transformed, and we still use quotes from jokes. Here are the sayings that everyone has heard at least once in their life.
- Do you think I'm silent? I'm just not saying anything!
- God protects us from bad women, but we must protect ourselves from good women!
- If life does not improve, then it worsens.
- “Do you have Jews in your family?” - No, I am alone!
Varieties of Jewish humor
Like any joke, the Jewish one has the peculiarity of changing and adapting to the rules of a particular country or place, as well as the people who live in it. Due to some historical factors, it happened that a large number of Jews lived in Odessa. And, of course, they were the founders of the so-called Odessa humor. The peculiarity of Odessa jokes is that they make fun of the greed of the Jews. In almost every joke, the fact that all representatives of this nationality love money, that they are all cunning and greedy, is very witty.
Here are striking examples of Odessa humor:
“Why do Jews have such big noses?” - Because the air is free!
- What does love mean at first sight? It’s the same as buying stocks without looking at the stock exchange rate!
The customs officer asks the Jew: “Where did they come from?”, To which the Jew answers him, “Where did you come ?! What are the only losses ...".
Makeup from the Dead Sea mud. Finally, the centuries-old dream of the Jews came true - to make money out of mud!
Odessa humor
Odessa Jewish humor very often praises the resourcefulness and special worldview of Odessa Jews. Due to the fact that Odessa has a special dialect (very rich, colorful and colorful language), all the jokes seem even funnier, and quotes and many phrases have already become winged. Odessans very carefully preserve their culture and pass from generation to generation all the famous aphorisms and jokes. The phrases “Humor for Odessa!”, “We have something to say” also appeared here.
Let's read the best Odessa jokes, in which Rabinovich, Solomon Markovich, Sarah Abramovna, Moysha and others often act as the main characters.
- A visitor asks Odessa:
- You do not know how to go to Privoz?
- Ha! And he still asks ... How to go to Privoz? With money! - Roza Moiseevna believes that a real Odessa woman cannot be spoiled by any husband!
- - Oh, Sarah, today I slipped and, falling on the stairs, broke my chin.
- Don’t be upset, Monya, you still have two more! - “I apologize, but where did they send you this way, did you come here?”
- - Sarah, V, can you imagine - this scoundrel left me, and I was left alone with my husband.
- - Monya, how are you?
- I think flies would like it. - - Hi Itzik, how are you?
- Yes, here I am going on vacation.
- With Sarah or on vacation? - - I'm sorry to call you so late, Solomon Avraamovich.
“And you are not too late, Sophia, but you are in vain!” - - Monya, turn on the TV. What if they say that we have a good life, but we won’t know ...
Modern Jewish humor
Currently, many Jews are joking about topics that were previously banned. For example, another 50 years it was not customary to joke in black. Black humor involves jokes over death, disease and torment. Here is one of the most striking examples of this harsh kind of humor:
The capricious and whining voice of the child: - I do not want to walk in circles all the time!
Father's sharp voice: - Quiet! If you don’t shut up, I’ll beat your second foot to the floor!
As you can see, ordinary humor implies a lack of suffering, while black is behind fear and horror. In general, in black humor there is a certain secret meaning, as well as the sinister forms of jokes generated by the question of the presence of evil in the created by God world.
Witty jokes about rabbinical wisdom
Many modern jokes are devoted to teachers of the Talmud, rabbis. If before jokes were mainly about complex things that can be understood only if you know the biblical texts. Now there is a huge number of heretical jokes that are easily accessible and generally understood, but they do not carry a large semantic load and are at a low level of vulgarity. Let us look at examples of how exactly these jokes reflect the Jewish worldview on many religious topics.
- “Rebbe, is it possible to speak with the dead?”
- Of course, only they will not answer. - Rabbi Chamesu during the service:
"There is someone snoring. Wake him up!"
Chamez: "Is it so fair? You put him to sleep, and you wake him!" - - Rebbe! - asks Moysha. - Save my wife, she is dying!
The Rebbe leaves the room, then returns and says:
- She is saved! I tore the sword from the angel of death.
The happy and grateful Moishe returns home, but then comes back. “My wife is dead,” he says. - Well, this beast is the angel of death! - the rabbi is indignant. “He strangled her with his bare hands!”
Jokes about famous Jews
Epic anecdotes about the most famous Jews add a special highlight to Jewish humor. The main characters of such jokes are famous personalities, academics, composers, writers, pianists and even doctors. By the way, it should be noted that Jews are a very talented people with inexhaustible strength of mind and great ability to study hard. Jews have always been a very educated, disciplined and wealthy nation, so jokes about famous Jews do not make them an object of ridicule, but rather, these jokes reveal the wit and resourcefulness of the Jews.
- One writer tells his colleague:
- Since the last time we met, the number of my fans has doubled!
- My congratulations! And I didn’t think that you would ever marry! - A certain lady, ordering the famous artist Max Lieberman his portrait, anxiously asks if the picture will be similar to the original.
“Don’t worry, I will write you more like you are!” Lieberman reassured her. - Famous Viennese Bovian Bela Haas complains:
- I have neither a wife, nor children - and what, it turns out, do I have from life, except for solid pleasures?