The Genius Of The Jewish Joke

Author : Arthur Asa Berger
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 218 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2017-07-12
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781351482257

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The Genius of the Jewish Joke by Arthur Asa Berger Pdf

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.

Author : Ruth R. Wisse
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 296 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2015-03
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780691165813

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No Joke by Ruth R. Wisse Pdf

"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"--

Author : Norman Lebrecht
Publisher : Scribner
Page : 464 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2020-12-08
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781982134266

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Genius & Anxiety by Norman Lebrecht Pdf

This lively chronicle of the years 1847­–1947—the century when the Jewish people changed how we see the world—is “[a] thrilling and tragic history…especially good on the ironies and chain-reaction intimacies that make a people and a past” (The Wall Street Journal). In a hundred-year period, a handful of men and women changed the world. Many of them are well known—Marx, Freud, Proust, Einstein, Kafka. Others have vanished from collective memory despite their enduring importance in our daily lives. Without Karl Landsteiner, for instance, there would be no blood transfusions or major surgery. Without Paul Ehrlich, no chemotherapy. Without Siegfried Marcus, no motor car. Without Rosalind Franklin, genetic science would look very different. Without Fritz Haber, there would not be enough food to sustain life on earth. What do these visionaries have in common? They all had Jewish origins. They all had a gift for thinking in wholly original, even earth-shattering ways. In 1847, the Jewish people made up less than 0.25% of the world’s population, and yet they saw what others could not. How? Why? Norman Lebrecht has devoted half of his life to pondering and researching the mindset of the Jewish intellectuals, writers, scientists, and thinkers who turned the tides of history and shaped the world today as we know it. In Genius & Anxiety, Lebrecht begins with the Communist Manifesto in 1847 and ends in 1947, when Israel was founded. This robust, magnificent, beautifully designed volume is “an urgent and moving history” (The Spectator, UK) and a celebration of Jewish genius and contribution.

Author : Elliott Oring
Publisher : Indiana University Press
Page : 170 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2018-09-04
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780253038340

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The First Book of Jewish Jokes by Elliott Oring Pdf

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.

Author : Michael Krasny
Publisher : HarperCollins
Page : 202 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2016-09-27
Category : Humor
ISBN : 9780062422057

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Let There Be Laughter by Michael Krasny Pdf

From the host of NPR affiliate’s Forum with Michael Krasny, a compendium of Jewish jokes that packs the punches with hilarious riff after riff and also offers a window into Jewish culture. Michael Krasny has been telling Jewish jokes since his bar mitzvah, and it’s been said that he knows more of them than anyone on the planet. He certainly states his case in this wise, enlightening, and hilarious book that not only collects the best of Jewish humor passed down from generation to generation, but explains the cultural expressions and anxieties behind the laughs. "What’s Jewish Alzheimer’s?" "You forget everything but the grudges." "You must be so proud. Your daughter is the President of the United States!" "Yes. But her brother is a doctor!" "Isn’t Jewish humor masochistic?" "No. And if I hear that one more time I am going to kill myself." With his background as a scholar and public-radio host, Krasny delves deeply into the themes, topics, and form of Jewish humor: chauvinism undercut by irony and self-mockery, the fear of losing cultural identity through assimilation, the importance of vocal inflection in joke-telling, and calls to communal memory, including the use of Yiddish. Borrowing from traditional humor and such Jewish comedy legends as Jackie Mason, Mel Brooks, and Joan Rivers, Larry David, Sarah Silverman, Jerry Seinfeld and Amy Schumer, Let There Be Laughter is an absolute pleasure for the chosen and goyim alike.

Author : David Minkoff
Publisher : Portico
Page : 415 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2013-04-11
Category : Humor
ISBN : 9781909396258

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The Ultimate Book of Jewish Jokes by David Minkoff Pdf

This is, quite simply, the most comprehensive collection of Jewish jokes, ever! The author has sourced over 1000 jokes and witty anecdotes that will have your sides splitting. With topics ranging from Rabbis to relationships; hairdressers to honeymoons; Bar Mitzvahs to bodybuilders; and from shopping, dating and in-laws to miracles, Viagra and chutzpah - and you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy them. This unique book also contains jokes for children, a compatability test for dating couples, humourous quips that can be used in speeches for special occasions, and a generous sprinkling of naughtier jokes.

Author : Jeremy Dauber
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 416 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2017-10-31
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780393247886

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Jewish Comedy: A Serious History by Jeremy Dauber Pdf

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.

Author : Richard Raskin
Publisher : Quid Pro Books
Page : 286 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2015-08-21
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781610273213

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Life is Like a Glass of Tea by Richard Raskin Pdf

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)

Author : Sam Hoffman
Publisher : Metro Publishing
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2012-10
Category : Humor
ISBN : 9781857829549

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Old Jews Telling Jokes by Sam Hoffman Pdf

A grasshopper walks into a bar and orders a drink. The bartender looks at him and says, 'You know we have a drink named after you?' The grasshopper replies, 'You have a drink named Stanley?' Just one of the gags in this book, many of which explore Jewish themes.

Author : Leonard Jay Greenspoon
Publisher : Purdue University Press
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Jewish wit and humor
ISBN : 9781557535979

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Jews and Humor by Leonard Jay Greenspoon Pdf

"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].

Author : Devorah Baum
Publisher : Profile Books
Page : 99 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2017-10-26
Category : Humor
ISBN : 9781782831938

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The Jewish Joke by Devorah Baum Pdf

'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.

Author : David Minkoff
Publisher : Macmillan
Page : 32 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2011-08-30
Category : Humor
ISBN : 9781429959551

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Jewish Jokes: A Clever Kosher Compilation by David Minkoff Pdf

Previously published as part of Oy! The Ultimate Book of Jewish Jokes. From circumcision to bar mitzvahs and rabbis to relationships, here is a feast of over 300 old and new Jewish jokes and witty anecdotes---and you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy them! David Minkoff's website has attracted attention and contributions from around the world. Containing jokes to tell children, a compatibility test for couples, and humorous quips for special occasions, his book is a truly unique collection. Praise for OY! The Ultimate Book of Jewish Jokes. "This clever kosher compilation generates giggles galore." ---Publishers Weekly "Terrific and addicting . . . guaranteed to make you laugh." ---The Reporter (New York)

Author : Joseph Telushkin
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 237 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 1992
Category : Jewish wit and humor
ISBN : LCCN:92011633

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Jewish Humor by Joseph Telushkin Pdf

Author : Henry Eilbirt
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 1991
Category : Humor
ISBN : IND:30000026022529

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What is a Jewish Joke? by Henry Eilbirt Pdf

Engaging and insightful history and analysis, generously illustrated with samples of the "genre." Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Author : Devorah Baum
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2019-11-12
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1643132377

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The Jewish Joke by Devorah Baum Pdf

Comedy is full of famously funny Jews, from Groucho Marx to Larry David to Sarah Silverman. This smart and funny book includes tales from many of these much-loved comics, and will appeal to their broad audience, while revealing the history, context, and wider culture of Jewish joking. 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, and yet 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? With jokes from Lena Dunham to Woody Allen, as well as Freud and Marx (Groucho, mostly), Baum balances serious research with light-hearted humor and provides fascinating insight into this wellknown and much loved cultural phenomenon.