The Genius of the Jewish Joke

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351482254
Total Pages : 218 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (514 download)

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Book Synopsis The Genius of the Jewish Joke by : Arthur Asa Berger

Download or read book The Genius of the Jewish Joke written by Arthur Asa Berger and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-12 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Genius of the Jewish Joke focuses on what is distinctive and unusual about Jewish jokes and Jewish humor. Jewish humor is humor by Jews and about Jews, in whatever medium this humor is found. Jokes are defined as short stories, meant to amuse, with a punch line, though Jewish humor exists in many other forms—riddles, comic definitions, parodies—as well. The book makes a "radical" suggestion about the origin of Jewish humor—namely, that Sarah and Abraham's relation to God, and the name of their son Isaac (which, in Hebrew, means laughter), recognizes a special affinity in Jews for humor. Abraham does not sacrifice Isaac (humor) and, thus, humor and the Jews are linked early in Jewish history. Berger discusses techniques of humor and how they can be used to analyze jokes. He also compares "Old World Jewish Humor"—the humor of the shtetl, with its fabulous schlemiels, schlimazels, schnorrers, and other characters—and "New World Humor"—the humor of Jewish doctors, lawyers, accountants, and other professional types living mostly in the suburbs nowadays. Jewish humor is contrasted with other forms of ethnic humor, such as Polish jokes and Italian American jokes. This humor, in addition to providing pleasure, reveals a great deal about Jewish character and culture and, in addition, the human condition. Now available with a new introduction by the author, The Genius of the Jewish Joke is an entertaining and informative inquiry into Jewish humor that explores its distinctiveness, its unique spirit, and its role in Jewish identity.

Jewish Humor

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351510932
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (515 download)

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Book Synopsis Jewish Humor by : Avner Ziv

Download or read book Jewish Humor written by Avner Ziv and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thirteen chapters in this book are derived from the First International Conference on Jewish Humor held at Tel-Aviv University. The authors are scientists from the areas of literature, linguistics, sociology, psychology, history, communications, the theater, and Jewish studies. They all try to understand different aspects of Jewish humor, and they evoke associations, of a local-logical nature, with Jewish tradition. This compilation reflects the first interdisciplinary approach to Jewish humor. The chapters are arranged in four parts. The first section relates to humor as a way of coping with Jewish identity. Joseph Dorinson's chapter underscores the dilemma facing Jewish comedians in the United States. These comics try to assimilate into American culture, but without giving up their Jewish identity. The second section of the book deals with a central function of humor--aggression. Christie Davies makes a clear distinction between jokes that present the Jew as a victim of anti-Semitic attacks and those in which the approach is not aggressive. The third part focuses on humor in the Jewish tradition. Lawrence E. Mintz writes about jokes involving Jewish and Christian clergymen. The last part of the book deals with humor in Israel. David Alexander talks about the development of satire in Israel. Other chapters and contributors include: -Psycho-Social Aspects of Jewish Humor in Israel and in the Diaspora- by Avner Ziv; -Humor and Sexism: The Case of the Jewish Joke- by Esther Fuchs; -Halachic Issues as Satirical Elements in Nineteenth Century Hebrew Literature- by Yehuda Friedlander; -Do Jews in Israel still laugh at themselves?- by O. Nevo; and -Political Caricature as a Reflection of Israel's Development- by Kariel Gardosh. Each chapter in this volume paves the way for understanding the many facets of Jewish humor. This book will be immensely enjoyable and informative for sociologists, psychologists, and scholars of Judaic studies.

Jewish Humor

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Author :
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1527568083
Total Pages : 339 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (275 download)

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Book Synopsis Jewish Humor by : Arie Sover

Download or read book Jewish Humor written by Arie Sover and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book details the evolution of Jewish humor, highlighting its long history from the period of the Bible to the present day, and includes a wide spectrum of styles that are expressed in various works and fields, including the Bible, the Talmud, poetry, literature, folklore, jokes, movies, and television series. It focuses upon three socio-geographic regions where the majority of Jewish people lived during the 18th to 21st centuries and where Jewish humor was created, developed and thrived: Eastern Europe, the United States and Israel. The text is a complicated mosaic based on three central components of Jewish life: historical experience, survival, and wisdom. It shows that one cannot understand Jewish humor without referring to the various factors which led the Jewish people to create their unusual sense of humor.

"OUR PAL GOD" and Other Presumptions

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Author :
Publisher : iUniverse
ISBN 13 : 9780595904266
Total Pages : 194 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis "OUR PAL GOD" and Other Presumptions by : Jeffry Mallow

Download or read book "OUR PAL GOD" and Other Presumptions written by Jeffry Mallow and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2008-01-29 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What began as a casual collection of Jewish jokes for Jeffry V. Mallow's personal amusement soon became a napkin-scribbling compulsion to document the very best in Jewish humor, whenever and wherever he came across it. The bigger his trove, the clearer it became to Mallow that the jokes were more than just funny-they were authentic in their depictions of Jews and their interactions with each other and with non-Jews; they represented the breadth of Jewish life. Field-tested by Mallow's stand-up comedy audiences for decades, here are guaranteed rib-ticklers about matchmakers, cantors, and circumcisers; the overly pious, freethinkers, and heretics; the illogic of Jewish logic; and even Jewish encounters with alien societies! In these pages, Jews poke fun at their own foibles and at the Gentiles who befuddle them, and Mallow offers witty and informative introductions, explanations, background, and cultural context. There's also a handy glossary at the end. Not only is this a laugh-out-loud compilation of the best Jewish jokes that date back to the Talmud and up to today, but it's also a fascinating and entertaining look at Jewish life around the world and through the centuries.

Life is Like a Glass of Tea

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Publisher : Quid Pro Books
ISBN 13 : 1610273214
Total Pages : 286 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (12 download)

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Book Synopsis Life is Like a Glass of Tea by : Richard Raskin

Download or read book Life is Like a Glass of Tea written by Richard Raskin and published by Quid Pro Books. This book was released on 2015-08-21 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book on Jewish humor in which individual jokes are singled out for comprehensive study, Life is Like a Glass of Tea devotes a chapter to each of eight major jokes, tracing its history and variants—and looking closely at the ways in which the comic behavior enacted in the punchline can be interpreted. One of the unique properties of classic Jewish jokes is their openness to radically different interpretive options (having nothing to do with wordplay or double entendre). This openness to alternate interpretations—never before discussed in the literature on Jewish humor—gives classic Jewish jokes their special flavor, as they leave us wondering which of several possible attitudes we are expected to hold toward the comic figure. An additional chapter is devoted to the ways in which Jewish jokes tend to evolve over time and across language and cultural barriers. Throughout the book, in fact, one can see the processes that Jewish jokes undergo over decades as their comic potential is unfolded in successive stages, and when they are transplanted from European to American soil. Now in its Second Edition, this expanded version adds two new chapters and new introductory material. It includes a 2015 Foreword by Marc Galanter, who notes that the author “is concerned not only with what makes jokes funny but with what makes some of them profound. His imaginative response to this puzzle makes this little book a distinctive and engaging contribution to the literature on Jewish jokes and on jokes generally.” It will appeal to the general reader, as well as to readers especially interested in Jewish culture, the psychology of humor, religion, ethnography, and folklore. “Richard Raskin’s book on Jewish humor was the most original and useful I found in years of research on the topic. I’m delighted to see it back in print—and with added chapters!” — Ruth Wisse Professor Emerita, Yiddish and Comparative Literature, Harvard University Author, No Joke: Making Jewish Humor (2013) “A fascinating book that explores the richness of Jewish humor. Raskin offers a thought-provoking analysis of what makes Jewish humor special. Raskin merges an understanding of Jewish culture, fresh psychological insights, and a sophisticated reading of jokes and their evolution to create a gem of a book. However, it is not just an outstanding book on Jewish humor. It is an outstanding book on humor. Period. After reading it, you won’t laugh the same way again.” — Dov Cohen Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Co-editor, Handbook of Cultural Psychology (2007)

Jewish Humor

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Author :
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0062012851
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (62 download)

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Book Synopsis Jewish Humor by : Joseph Telushkin

Download or read book Jewish Humor written by Joseph Telushkin and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010-05-18 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here are more than 100 of the best Jewish jokes you'll ever hear, interspersed with perceptive and persuasive insight into what they can tell us about how Jews see themselves, their families, and their friends, and what they think about money, sex, and success. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin is as celebrated for his wit as for his scholarship, and in this immensely entertaining book, he displays both in equal measure. Stimulating, something stinging, and always very, very funny, Jewish Humor offers a classic portrait of the Jewish collective unconscious.

The First Book of Jewish Jokes

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Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 0253038340
Total Pages : 170 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (53 download)

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Book Synopsis The First Book of Jewish Jokes by : Elliott Oring

Download or read book The First Book of Jewish Jokes written by Elliott Oring and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2018-09-04 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Works on Jewish humor and Jewish jokes abound today, but what formed the basis for our contemporary notions of Jewish jokes? How and when did these perceptions develop? In this groundbreaking study and translation, noted humor and folklore scholar Elliott Oring introduces us to the joke collections of Lippmann Moses Büschenthal, an enlightened rabbi, and an unknown author writing as "Judas Ascher." Originally published in German in 1812 and 1810, these books include jokes and anecdotes that play on stereotypes. The jokes depict Jews dealing with Gentiles who are bent on their conversion, Jews encountering government officials and institutions, newly propertied Jews attempting to demonstrate their acquisition of artistic and philosophical knowledge, and Jews engaged in trade and moneylending—often with the aim to defraud. In these jokes we see the antecedents of modern Jewish humor, and in Büschenthal's brief introduction we find perhaps the earliest theory of the Jewish joke. Oring provides helpful annotations for the jokes and contextualizing essays that examine the current state of Jewish joke scholarship and the situation of the Jews in France and Germany leading up to the periods when the two collections were published. Intended to stimulate the search for even earlier examples, Oring challenges us to confront the Jewish joke from a genuine historical perspective.

Jewish Humor

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Author :
Publisher : Transaction Pub
ISBN 13 : 9781560009917
Total Pages : 223 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis Jewish Humor by : Avner Ziv

Download or read book Jewish Humor written by Avner Ziv and published by Transaction Pub. This book was released on 1986 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thirteen chapters in this book are derived from the First International Conference on Jewish Humor held at Tel-Aviv University. The authors are scientists from the areas of literature, linguistics, sociology, psychology, history, communications, the theater, and Jewish studies. They all try to understand different aspects of Jewish humor, and they evoke associations, of a local-logical nature, with Jewish tradition. This compilation reflects the first interdisciplinary approach to Jewish humor. The chapters are arranged in four parts. The first section relates to humor as a way of coping with Jewish identity. Joseph Dorinson's chapter underscores the dilemma facing Jewish comedians in the United States. These comics try to assimilate into American culture, but without giving up their Jewish identity. The second section of the book deals with a central function of humor—aggression. Christie Davies makes a clear distinction between jokes that present the Jew as a victim of anti-Semitic attacks and those in which the approach is not aggressive. The third part focuses on humor in the Jewish tradition. Lawrence E. Mintz writes about jokes involving Jewish and Christian clergymen. The last part of the book deals with humor in Israel. David Alexander talks about the development of satire in Israel. Other chapters and contributors include: "Psycho-Social Aspects of Jewish Humor in Israel and in the Diaspora" by Avner Ziv; "Humor and Sexism: The Case of the Jewish Joke" by Esther Fuchs; "Halachic Issues as Satirical Elements in Nineteenth Century Hebrew Literature" by Yehuda Friedlander; "Do Jews in Israel still laugh at themselves?" by O. Nevo; and "Political Caricature as a Reflection of Israel's Development" by Kariel Gardosh. Each chapter in this volume paves the way for understanding the many facets of Jewish humor. This book will be immensely enjoyable and informative for sociologists, psychologists, and scholars of Judaic studies.

Jewish Wry

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Publisher : Wayne State University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780814323663
Total Pages : 260 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (236 download)

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Book Synopsis Jewish Wry by : Sarah Blacher Cohen

Download or read book Jewish Wry written by Sarah Blacher Cohen and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 1990 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the Jews of Eastern Europe came to the United States in the 19th century, they brought with them their own special humor. Developed in response to the dissonant reality of their lives, their self-critical humor served as a source of salvation, enabling them to endure a painful history with a sense of power. In America, the marginal status of immigrant Jews prompted them to use humor a a defense, exaggerating or mocking their ethnicity as events dictated. Jewish Wry examines the development of Jewish humor in a series of essays on topics that range from Sholom Aleichem's humor to Jewish comediennes through to the humor of Philip Roth. This important book offers enjoyable reading as well as a significant and scholarly contribution to the field.

What is a Jewish Joke?

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis What is a Jewish Joke? by : Henry Eilbirt

Download or read book What is a Jewish Joke? written by Henry Eilbirt and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Engaging and insightful history and analysis, generously illustrated with samples of the "genre." Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Jews and Jokes

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Publisher : J.D. Rockefeller
ISBN 13 : 1523820144
Total Pages : 32 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (238 download)

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Book Synopsis Jews and Jokes by : J.D. Rockefeller

Download or read book Jews and Jokes written by J.D. Rockefeller and published by J.D. Rockefeller. This book was released on 2016-02-01 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trying to give definition to humor of any kind is already bad business in itself. Just when you thought you have laid down the rules, someone will definitely give you a tap on the shoulder and remind you of other forms of humor. And worse, you might even get to raise some eyebrows in your mere attempt to define it.As far as Jewish humor is concerned, it is basically a kind of humor that is blatantly Jewish in all its characters, concerns, language, definitions, symbols or values. Based on one definition, a Jewish joke is something that a non-Jewish person will be able to understand and all Jews say that they already heard. However, not all the Jewish humor has been derived from Jewish sources. And in the same way, not all the humor that the Jews created are necessarily Jewish. For this reason, it would be best that you examine not the song but the singer. Jewish humor is very diverse and rich and can be difficult to adequately describe it with a single generalization. The Jewish theologians said that it is much easier to describe God in things that He is not and the same thing can be of use when trying to understand Jewish humor. Jewish humor is not escapist and not a slapstick. This is not physical and in general, it is not cruel and this doesn't relate to the infirm or the weak. Similarly, this is also not gentle and polite. What Jewish humor truly is might be even harder to determine and here are several broad statements in a complete awareness of all the possible futility of this exercise. Usually, Jewish humor is substantive and is about something. This is specifically fond of some particular topics like food, business, family, wealth and its absence, anti-Semitism, survival and health. Jewish humor is fascinated by logic and intricacies of the mind as well as the short elliptical path that separates the absurd from the rational. As a religious or social commentary, Jewish humor tends to be resigned, complaining, descriptive or sarcastic. At times, the humor's point is actually more powerful than the laugh that it delivers and for several of these jokes, the right response is not really laughter but instead, a consoling sigh of recognition or a bitter nod. The didactic can preclude laughing for free similar with slapstick humor that derives the laughter from the misfortune of other people. There is no doubt that Jewish humor is an interesting thing that continues to fascinate people from all parts of the world, whether they are Jewish or not. To give you a dose of Jewish fun, here are some of the best Jewish jokes that can either make you double up in laughter or stop, think and contemplate on the real meaning that lies within.

No Joke

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691165815
Total Pages : 296 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis No Joke by : Ruth R. Wisse

Download or read book No Joke written by Ruth R. Wisse and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2015-03 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Humor is the most celebrated of all Jewish responses to modernity. In this book, Ruth Wisse evokes and applauds the genius of spontaneous Jewish joking--as well as the brilliance of comic masterworks by writers like Heinrich Heine, Sholem Aleichem, Isaac Babel, S. Y. Agnon, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Philip Roth. At the same time, Wisse draws attention to the precarious conditions that call Jewish humor into being--and the price it may exact from its practitioners and audience"--

Jews and Humor

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Publisher : Purdue University Press
ISBN 13 : 1557535973
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (575 download)

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Book Synopsis Jews and Humor by : Leonard Jay Greenspoon

Download or read book Jews and Humor written by Leonard Jay Greenspoon and published by Purdue University Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Proceedings of the twenty-second annual symposium of the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization - Harris Center for Judaic Studies, October 25-26, 2009" -- P. [i].

Semites and Stereotypes

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Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 031336950X
Total Pages : 218 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (133 download)

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Book Synopsis Semites and Stereotypes by : Avner Ziv

Download or read book Semites and Stereotypes written by Avner Ziv and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1993-04-28 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With an ongoing international conference, Jewish humor in recent years has been a subject of serious scholarly inquiry. Most academic publications, however, have been individual works representing a particular thesis or viewpoint, generally on literary aspects. The present collection of essays by scholars from England, France, the United States, Denmark, Israel, and Australia explores characteristics of Jewish humor from a variety of perspectives, including anthropology, literature, psychology, sociology, and religion. Geographically, the work distinguishes between the Jewish humor of Israel and that of the diaspora; historically, it traces Jewish humor to the Bible. The linkages with Judaism and the Yiddish language are explored. Essays deal with the Jewish use of humor in stressful and tragic situations, with self-disparagement in Jewish humor, with anti-semitism and stereotyping, and with Jewish women as the objects of humor. The contributions to world culture of humorists Sholom Aleichem, Woody Allen, Philip Roth, Charlie Chaplin, and numerous contemporary performers are discussed as are the Jewish theorists of humor, including Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson, and Arthur Koestler. An interdisciplinary book, it will be of interest to students and researchers of Jewish tradition and folklore, Jewish-American literature, American studies, and humor, popular culture, anthropology, psychology, and sociology.

A Treasury of Jewish Humor

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Author :
Publisher : Galahad Books
ISBN 13 : 9780883658420
Total Pages : 770 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (584 download)

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Book Synopsis A Treasury of Jewish Humor by : Nathan Ausubel

Download or read book A Treasury of Jewish Humor written by Nathan Ausubel and published by Galahad Books. This book was released on 1993-09 with total page 770 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here are the sermons of anonymous rabbis from the shtetlach as well as writings from the great authors.

Jewish Comedy: A Serious History

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Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393247880
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (932 download)

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Book Synopsis Jewish Comedy: A Serious History by : Jeremy Dauber

Download or read book Jewish Comedy: A Serious History written by Jeremy Dauber and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2017-10-31 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award “Dauber deftly surveys the whole recorded history of Jewish humour.” —Economist In a major work of scholarship that explores the funny side of some very serious business (and vice versa), Jeremy Dauber examines the origins of Jewish comedy and its development from biblical times to the age of Twitter. Organizing Jewish comedy into “seven strands”—including the satirical, the witty, and the vulgar—he traces the ways Jewish comedy has mirrored, and sometimes even shaped, the course of Jewish history. Dauber also explores the classic works of such masters of Jewish comedy as Sholem Aleichem, Isaac Babel, Franz Kafka, the Marx Brothers, Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, Philip Roth, Mel Brooks, Sarah Silverman, Jon Stewart, and Larry David, among many others.

The Jewish Joke

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Publisher : Profile Books
ISBN 13 : 1782831932
Total Pages : 99 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (828 download)

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Book Synopsis The Jewish Joke by : Devorah Baum

Download or read book The Jewish Joke written by Devorah Baum and published by Profile Books. This book was released on 2017-10-26 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'This book is funny, clever and, at times, heartbreaking. In other words, Jewish' David Baddiel '[Baum is] intellectually luminous, psychologically penetrating, existentially anxious, and wonderfully funny' Zadie Smith 'Hilarious and thought-provoking' David Schneider The Jewish joke is as old as Abraham, and like the Jews themselves it has wandered over the world, learned countless new languages, worked with a range of different materials, been performed in front of some pretty hostile crowds, but still retained its own distinctive identity. So what is it that animates the Jewish joke? Why are Jews so often thought of as 'funny'? And how old can a joke get? The Jewish Joke is a brilliant - and very funny - riff on Jewish jokes, about what marks them apart from other jokes, why they are important to Jewish identity and how they work. Ranging from self-deprecation to anti-Semitism, politics to sex, it looks at the past of Jewish joking and asks whether the Jewish joke has a future. With jokes from Amy Schumer, Lena Dunham and Jerry Seinfeld, as well as Freud and Marx (Groucho mostly), this is both a compendium and a commentary, light-hearted and deeply insightful.