Jewish humor - Quiz
Jewish humor
  • 1. According to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, what percentage of American Jews rated humor as essential to their Jewish identity?
A) 42 percent
B) 33 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 25 percent
  • 2. In the joke about the Reform Rabbi playing golf on Yom Kippur, what does God do to punish him?
A) He makes him hit a miraculous hole-in-one.
B) He strikes him with lightning.
C) He makes him lose his golf clubs.
D) He bans him from the synagogue.
  • 3. Why is the Reform Rabbi's hole-in-one considered a punishment in the joke?
A) Because he was caught by the congregation.
B) Because it ruined his golf game.
C) Because he has no one to tell about his amazing shot.
D) Because he broke his golf club in the process.
  • 4. In the joke about the three rabbis and the lobster, what is the Reform rabbi's response when asked about a beracha?
A) You must say it before eating.
B) I do not know the answer.
C) It is forbidden to eat lobster.
D) What's a beracha?
  • 5. In the joke about the desert island, why did the man build two synagogues?
A) He is very religious and needs both.
B) One for him and one for his friends.
C) One is for holidays and one is for daily prayer.
D) He goes to one and refuses to step foot in the other.
  • 6. In the joke about the schnorrer in New York, why does he want 73 cents for coffee and pie?
A) Because that is the current price.
B) Because he has a coupon.
C) Because he does not buy retail.
D) Because he is very precise.
  • 7. How does the Rabbi in the donation joke handle the money thrown into the air?
A) He asks God to take whatever is His.
B) He keeps all the money for himself.
C) He keeps what falls inside the circle.
D) He gives it all to the poor.
  • 8. What is the punchline of the joke about the first Starbucks in Israel?
A) They close on the Sabbath.
B) They only serve kosher food.
C) There is a fork in the sugar bowl.
D) The coffee is free for religious people.
  • 9. What does the barber find on his doorstep after cutting Rabbi Finklestein's hair for free?
A) A dozen rabbis.
B) A dozen roses.
C) A dozen bagels.
D) A dozen gemstones.
  • 10. In the story about the man on his deathbed, why does he not get his mother's brisket?
A) The mother refused to share it.
B) The brisket was burnt.
C) The mother says it is for the shiva.
D) There was no brisket left.
  • 11. What does the mother tell her son after he says he got the part of a 'Jewish husband' in the school play?
A) Is the pay good?
B) Tell them you want a speaking role.
C) Are you sure you can act?
D) That is a wonderful role.
  • 12. What is the main complaint of the mother whose son is living in Miami with a man named Miguel?
A) He is not calling her enough.
B) He could not find a nice Jewish boy.
C) She does not like Miguel.
D) She does not like the weather in Miami.
  • 13. In the telephone conversation between Miriam and Sharon, why is Sharon disappointed about her son Reuven?
A) He never visits her.
B) He is not married yet.
C) He is the President but not a doctor.
D) He is not a lawyer.
  • 14. Why does the man in the hospital want to be transferred?
A) Because he cannot kvetch.
B) Because the room is noisy.
C) Because the food is bad.
D) Because the staff is rude.
  • 15. What question did the waiter ask the group of dining Jewish mothers?
A) Is anything all right?
B) Would you like dessert?
C) How is the food?
D) Are you ready to order?
  • 16. In the joke about the old man on the train, what does he say after drinking the water?
A) Thank you for the water.
B) I am still thirsty.
C) The water was cold.
D) Oy, was I thirsty.
  • 17. Where are the foolish Jewish residents from in Eastern European Jewish humor?
A) Warsaw
B) Chełm
C) Vilnius
D) Kraków
  • 18. Which English folk figures are similar to the wise men of Chełm?
A) Robin Hood
B) Sherlock Holmes
C) King Arthur
D) Wise Men of Gotham
  • 19. Which German folk figures are similar to the wise men of Chełm?
A) Schildbürger
B) Baron Munchausen
C) Faust
D) Brothers Grimm
  • 20. Who wrote The Fools of Chełm and Their History?
A) Shlomo Simon
B) Ovsey Driz
C) Isaac Bashevis Singer
D) Aaron Zeitlin
  • 21. What award did Isaac Bashevis Singer receive?
A) National Book Award
B) Nobel Prize
C) Booker Prize
D) Pulitzer Prize
  • 22. What genre did Ovsey Driz use for his Chełm stories?
A) Prose
B) Playwriting
C) Verse
D) Journalism
  • 23. Who wrote the comedy Chelmer Chachomim?
A) Aaron Zeitlin
B) Isaac Bashevis Singer
C) Allen Mandelbaum
D) Y. Y. Trunk
  • 24. How did the court in Chełm punish the fish that slapped a resident?
A) Exile
B) Drowning
C) Public shaming
D) Frying
  • 25. In the creation myth of Chełm, what was in the second, heavier sack?
A) Foolishness
B) Gold
C) Wisdom
D) Sin
  • 26. What is the book by Allen Mandelbaum that treats the wise men as scholars?
A) The Fools of Chełm
B) Chelmaxioms
C) Village of Idiots
D) The Heroes of Chelm
  • 27. When do many traditions in Jewish humor date back to?
A) 20th century
B) 18th century
C) 17th century
D) 19th century
  • 28. Which animated film is mentioned in the text as recounting Chełm tales?
A) Village of Idiots
B) The Wise Men of Helm
C) The Fools of Chełm
D) Chelmaxioms
  • 29. What problem were the Rabbis discussing in the synagogue attic in the assimilation joke?
A) Squirrels.
B) Birds.
C) Mice.
D) Bats.
  • 30. What was the result of giving the squirrels a bar mitzvah?
A) They became members of the congregation.
B) They brought other squirrels to the synagogue.
C) They started attending services daily.
D) They were never seen again.
  • 31. What does the text say Jews often mock in their own humor?
A) Political leaders.
B) Other religious groups.
C) Their own negative stereotypes.
D) The laws of physics.
  • 32. According to the joke about converts, who are the only normal ones in the congregation?
A) The Rabbis.
B) The choir members.
C) The elderly members.
D) The converts.
  • 33. What excuse does Joshua ben Hananiah give for the fragrant odor of the Sabbath dish?
A) The heat of the oven.
B) Garlic from the market.
C) A secret family recipe.
D) A spice called Shabbat.
  • 34. Who requests the secret spice from Joshua ben Hananiah?
A) The community leader.
B) Caesar.
C) The Rabbi.
D) A student.
  • 35. Which movement was associated with the emergence of modern Jewish humor in the nineteenth century?
A) Orthodoxy
B) Hasidism
C) Zionism
D) Haskalah
  • 36. Which folk character is associated with the Sephardic tradition of Jewish humor?
A) Rabbi Jeremiah
B) Djoha
C) Moshe Waldoks
D) Saul Bellow
  • 37. What were the jesters known as in Eastern European Jewish communities?
A) Haskalah
B) Badchens
C) Shtoch
D) Mishnah
  • 38. What was one of the first successful radio sitcoms to feature a Jewish family?
A) Shiva Baby
B) The Goldbergs
C) Curb Your Enthusiasm
D) Seinfeld
  • 39. Which of these is NOT listed as a famous Jewish comedian in the text?
A) Joan Rivers
B) Charlie Chaplin
C) Milton Berle
D) Jerry Lewis
  • 40. What was Hershele Ostropoler's profession before he was a jester?
A) Rabbi
B) Innkeeper
C) Writer
D) Ritual slaughterer
  • 41. Where was Hershele Ostropoler reportedly from?
A) Russia
B) Ukraine
C) Germany
D) Poland
  • 42. Who authored the illustrated children's books about Hershel?
A) Eric Kimmel
B) Rabbi Boruch
C) Trina Schart Hyman
D) The Vilna Troupe
  • 43. In the joke regarding the assassination of Tsar Alexander II, whom does the rabbi link the Jews with?
A) Chimneysweeps
B) Bankers
C) Farmers
D) Politicians
  • 44. Which group performed a comedy about Hershele Ostropoler in 1930?
A) The Pamyat headquarters
B) The Baal Shem Tov's followers
C) The Vilna Troupe
D) A local Ukrainian theatre
  • 45. In the joke about pork, what does the rabbi say he will do at the priest's wedding?
A) Refuse to attend
B) Eat a kosher meal
C) Try some pork
D) Convert to Christianity
  • 46. How did the old man describe Lenin to the customs official in Moscow?
A) The man who stole his gold
B) A historic enemy of the people
C) The genius who thought up this worker's paradise
D) A tyrant who ruined the country
  • 47. What kind of humor does the text mention is found in Israeli jokes?
A) Gallows humor
B) Slapstick humor
C) Political satire
D) Absurdist humor
  • 48. Which of the following is cited as a Yiddish term that sounds comical to English speakers?
A) Angel
B) Boulevard
C) Shnook
D) Schnitzel
  • 49. What is a 'shm-reduplication' construct mentioned in the text?
A) Shlemiel-shlimazel
B) Shnook-shmendrik
C) Kibbutz-schnitzel
D) Fancy-schmancy
  • 50. What linguistic trait of Yiddish became part of Jewish comedians' verbal word play?
A) Avoiding all English words
B) Using only Yiddish slang
C) Ending sentences with questions
D) Speaking in rhyme
  • 51. Which of these words is specifically mentioned as being considered inherently funny?
A) Sandwich
B) Boulevard
C) Shlimazel
D) Midnight
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