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