Jewish humor is a relatively new cultural aspect, but it is cultural none the less. Humor in Judaism can date back to the torah and the midrash. However, in more recent times there a pattern of self-deprecating, and often anecdotal humor has appeared. This type of humor originated in Eastern Europe, but truly took root in the United States, particularly during the vaudeville era. This humor was shared through radio, television, film, and stand-up comedy. In fact, a high percentage of comedians in America and Russia have been Jewish. Jewish Humor often relates to many different aspects of Jewish life, culture, and history. Religion, assimilation, self-hating, self-depracating, wits, and the ever loved rebbes are all common joke topics.
The Yiddish language has also played a large part in humor. The combination of hebrew and german often led to words that were found funny by non-yiddish audiences. Yiddish words were thought of as inherently funny due to their funny sounds, and odd letter sound combinations. The phenomenon of Shm-reduplication actually started with the yiddish, language; comedians started adding shm into a word or phrase for humor (ex. fancy-shmancy). many comedians also adopted the practice of ending sentences with questions, which is a Yiddish construction.
Another popular form of humor was the joke that exploited Jewish stereotypes. Jewish mothers, frugality, hypochondria, and the Jewish 'accent' have often been picked out as prime joke targets. My personal favorite idea, though, has to do with the Jewish stereotype of kvetching (complaining). many jokes that center around other themes, still have the element of kvetching. Jewish humor is often self-deprecating, and many people can admit that they kvetch quite often, so its great fodder for jokes.
Jewish humor is not only an aspect of Jewish culture, but it plays on many other cultural aspects as well.
[My favorite joke is: One early winter morning, Rabbi Bloom was walking beside the canal when he saw a dog in the water, trying hard to stay afloat. It looked so sad and exhausted that Rabbi Bloom jumped in, and after a struggle, managed to bring it out alive.
A passer-by who saw this remarked, "That was very brave of you! You must love animals; are you a vet?"
Rabbi Bloom replied, "And vhat did you expect? Of course I'm a–vet! I'm a–freezing cold as vell!"]
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