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) 25 percent
B) 33 percent
C) 50 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 makes him hit a miraculous hole-in-one.
B) He bans him from the synagogue.
C) He makes him lose his golf clubs.
D) He strikes him with lightning.
  • 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 it ruined his golf game.
C) Because he has no one to tell about his amazing shot.
D) Because he was caught by the congregation.
  • 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) I do not know the answer.
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) He goes to one and refuses to step foot in the other.
D) One is for holidays and one is for daily prayer.
  • 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 is very precise.
C) Because he has a coupon.
D) Because he does not buy retail.
  • 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 gives it all to the poor.
C) He keeps all the money for himself.
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) There is a fork in the sugar bowl.
C) They only serve kosher food.
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 roses.
B) A dozen gemstones.
C) A dozen rabbis.
D) A dozen bagels.
  • 10. In the story about the man on his deathbed, why does he not get his mother's brisket?
A) There was no brisket left.
B) The mother says it is for the shiva.
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) Is the pay good?
B) Are you sure you can act?
C) That is a wonderful role.
D) Tell them you want a speaking 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 Miguel.
C) She does not like the weather in Miami.
D) He is not calling her enough.
  • 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 a lawyer.
C) He is not married yet.
D) He is the President but not a doctor.
  • 14. Why does the man in the hospital want to be transferred?
A) Because the room is noisy.
B) Because the staff is rude.
C) Because he cannot kvetch.
D) Because the food is bad.
  • 15. What question did the waiter ask the group of dining Jewish mothers?
A) Are you ready to order?
B) Would you like dessert?
C) How is the food?
D) Is anything all right?
  • 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) Oy, was I thirsty.
C) I am still thirsty.
D) The water was cold.
  • 17. Where are the foolish Jewish residents from in Eastern European Jewish humor?
A) Warsaw
B) Kraków
C) Vilnius
D) Chełm
  • 18. Which English folk figures are similar to the wise men of Chełm?
A) Wise Men of Gotham
B) Robin Hood
C) Sherlock Holmes
D) King Arthur
  • 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) Aaron Zeitlin
B) Shlomo Simon
C) Ovsey Driz
D) Isaac Bashevis Singer
  • 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) Journalism
B) Playwriting
C) Prose
D) Verse
  • 23. Who wrote the comedy Chelmer Chachomim?
A) Allen Mandelbaum
B) Isaac Bashevis Singer
C) Y. Y. Trunk
D) Aaron Zeitlin
  • 24. How did the court in Chełm punish the fish that slapped a resident?
A) Frying
B) Exile
C) Public shaming
D) Drowning
  • 25. In the creation myth of Chełm, what was in the second, heavier sack?
A) Foolishness
B) Wisdom
C) Gold
D) Sin
  • 26. What is the book by Allen Mandelbaum that treats the wise men as scholars?
A) The Fools of Chełm
B) Village of Idiots
C) The Heroes of Chelm
D) Chelmaxioms
  • 27. When do many traditions in Jewish humor date back to?
A) 19th century
B) 18th century
C) 20th century
D) 17th century
  • 28. Which animated film is mentioned in the text as recounting Chełm tales?
A) The Fools of Chełm
B) Chelmaxioms
C) The Wise Men of Helm
D) Village of Idiots
  • 29. What problem were the Rabbis discussing in the synagogue attic in the assimilation joke?
A) Squirrels.
B) Mice.
C) Bats.
D) Birds.
  • 30. What was the result of giving the squirrels a bar mitzvah?
A) They started attending services daily.
B) They became members of the congregation.
C) They were never seen again.
D) They brought other squirrels to the synagogue.
  • 31. What does the text say Jews often mock in their own humor?
A) Political leaders.
B) The laws of physics.
C) Other religious groups.
D) Their own negative stereotypes.
  • 32. According to the joke about converts, who are the only normal ones in the congregation?
A) The elderly members.
B) The choir members.
C) The converts.
D) The Rabbis.
  • 33. What excuse does Joshua ben Hananiah give for the fragrant odor of the Sabbath dish?
A) Garlic from the market.
B) The heat of the oven.
C) A spice called Shabbat.
D) A secret family recipe.
  • 34. Who requests the secret spice from Joshua ben Hananiah?
A) The Rabbi.
B) Caesar.
C) The community leader.
D) A student.
  • 35. Which movement was associated with the emergence of modern Jewish humor in the nineteenth century?
A) Zionism
B) Hasidism
C) Haskalah
D) Orthodoxy
  • 36. Which folk character is associated with the Sephardic tradition of Jewish humor?
A) Moshe Waldoks
B) Saul Bellow
C) Djoha
D) Rabbi Jeremiah
  • 37. What were the jesters known as in Eastern European Jewish communities?
A) Shtoch
B) Mishnah
C) Haskalah
D) Badchens
  • 38. What was one of the first successful radio sitcoms to feature a Jewish family?
A) Shiva Baby
B) Seinfeld
C) Curb Your Enthusiasm
D) The Goldbergs
  • 39. Which of these is NOT listed as a famous Jewish comedian in the text?
A) Milton Berle
B) Charlie Chaplin
C) Jerry Lewis
D) Joan Rivers
  • 40. What was Hershele Ostropoler's profession before he was a jester?
A) Writer
B) Ritual slaughterer
C) Rabbi
D) Innkeeper
  • 41. Where was Hershele Ostropoler reportedly from?
A) Poland
B) Germany
C) Russia
D) Ukraine
  • 42. Who authored the illustrated children's books about Hershel?
A) Eric Kimmel
B) Trina Schart Hyman
C) Rabbi Boruch
D) The Vilna Troupe
  • 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 Baal Shem Tov's followers
B) The Pamyat headquarters
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) 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) A historic enemy of the people
B) The man who stole his gold
C) A tyrant who ruined the country
D) The genius who thought up this worker's paradise
  • 47. What kind of humor does the text mention is found in Israeli jokes?
A) Absurdist humor
B) Gallows humor
C) Slapstick humor
D) Political satire
  • 48. Which of the following is cited as a Yiddish term that sounds comical to English speakers?
A) Schnitzel
B) Boulevard
C) Angel
D) Shnook
  • 49. What is a 'shm-reduplication' construct mentioned in the text?
A) Shlemiel-shlimazel
B) Fancy-schmancy
C) Kibbutz-schnitzel
D) Shnook-shmendrik
  • 50. What linguistic trait of Yiddish became part of Jewish comedians' verbal word play?
A) Using only Yiddish slang
B) Ending sentences with questions
C) Avoiding all English words
D) Speaking in rhyme
  • 51. Which of these words is specifically mentioned as being considered inherently funny?
A) Boulevard
B) Sandwich
C) Midnight
D) Shlimazel
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