ThatQuiz
|
Test Library
|
Take this test now
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) 50 percent
B) 33 percent
C) 25 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 lose his golf clubs.
B) He strikes him with lightning.
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 was caught by the congregation.
C) Because it ruined his golf game.
D) Because he has no one to tell about his amazing shot.
  • 4. In the joke about the three rabbis and the lobster, what is the Reform rabbi's response when asked about a beracha?
A) What's a beracha?
B) You must say it before eating.
C) I do not know the answer.
D) It is forbidden to eat lobster.
  • 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) One is for holidays and one is for daily prayer.
C) He is very religious and needs both.
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 has a coupon.
C) Because he does not buy retail.
D) Because that is the current price.
  • 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) The mother says it is for the shiva.
B) The mother refused to share it.
C) The brisket was burnt.
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) Are you sure you can act?
B) Is the pay good?
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) She does not like Miguel.
B) She does not like the weather in Miami.
C) He could not find a nice Jewish boy.
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 is the President but not a doctor.
B) He never visits her.
C) He is not married yet.
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 staff is rude.
C) Because the room is noisy.
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) Is anything all right?
C) Would you like dessert?
D) How is the food?
  • 16. In the joke about the old man on the train, what does he say after drinking the water?
A) The water was cold.
B) Oy, was I thirsty.
C) Thank you for the water.
D) I am still thirsty.
  • 17. Where are the foolish Jewish residents from in Eastern European Jewish humor?
A) Warsaw
B) Kraków
C) Chełm
D) Vilnius
  • 18. Which English folk figures are similar to the wise men of Chełm?
A) Wise Men of Gotham
B) King Arthur
C) Robin Hood
D) Sherlock Holmes
  • 19. Which German folk figures are similar to the wise men of Chełm?
A) Schildbürger
B) Faust
C) Brothers Grimm
D) Baron Munchausen
  • 20. Who wrote The Fools of Chełm and Their History?
A) Aaron Zeitlin
B) Isaac Bashevis Singer
C) Ovsey Driz
D) Shlomo Simon
  • 21. What award did Isaac Bashevis Singer receive?
A) Pulitzer Prize
B) Nobel Prize
C) Booker 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) Aaron Zeitlin
D) Y. Y. Trunk
  • 24. How did the court in Chełm punish the fish that slapped a resident?
A) Frying
B) Drowning
C) Exile
D) Public shaming
  • 25. In the creation myth of Chełm, what was in the second, heavier sack?
A) Gold
B) Foolishness
C) Wisdom
D) Sin
  • 26. What is the book by Allen Mandelbaum that treats the wise men as scholars?
A) The Heroes of Chelm
B) Chelmaxioms
C) Village of Idiots
D) The Fools of Chełm
  • 27. When do many traditions in Jewish humor date back to?
A) 19th century
B) 17th century
C) 20th century
D) 18th century
  • 28. Which animated film is mentioned in the text as recounting Chełm tales?
A) Chelmaxioms
B) Village of Idiots
C) The Wise Men of Helm
D) The Fools of Chełm
  • 29. What problem were the Rabbis discussing in the synagogue attic in the assimilation joke?
A) Bats.
B) Squirrels.
C) Mice.
D) Birds.
  • 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 were never seen again.
D) They started attending services daily.
  • 31. What does the text say Jews often mock in their own humor?
A) Their own negative stereotypes.
B) Political leaders.
C) The laws of physics.
D) Other religious groups.
  • 32. According to the joke about converts, who are the only normal ones in the congregation?
A) The elderly members.
B) The Rabbis.
C) The converts.
D) The choir members.
  • 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) A student.
B) Caesar.
C) The community leader.
D) The Rabbi.
  • 35. Which movement was associated with the emergence of modern Jewish humor in the nineteenth century?
A) Orthodoxy
B) Zionism
C) Hasidism
D) Haskalah
  • 36. Which folk character is associated with the Sephardic tradition of Jewish humor?
A) Djoha
B) Moshe Waldoks
C) Saul Bellow
D) Rabbi Jeremiah
  • 37. What were the jesters known as in Eastern European Jewish communities?
A) Mishnah
B) Shtoch
C) Haskalah
D) Badchens
  • 38. What was one of the first successful radio sitcoms to feature a Jewish family?
A) Seinfeld
B) Shiva Baby
C) The Goldbergs
D) Curb Your Enthusiasm
  • 39. Which of these is NOT listed as a famous Jewish comedian in the text?
A) Joan Rivers
B) Jerry Lewis
C) Milton Berle
D) Charlie Chaplin
  • 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) Ukraine
B) Poland
C) Russia
D) Germany
  • 42. Who authored the illustrated children's books about Hershel?
A) The Vilna Troupe
B) Rabbi Boruch
C) Eric Kimmel
D) Trina Schart Hyman
  • 43. In the joke regarding the assassination of Tsar Alexander II, whom does the rabbi link the Jews with?
A) Farmers
B) Chimneysweeps
C) Bankers
D) Politicians
  • 44. Which group performed a comedy about Hershele Ostropoler in 1930?
A) The Baal Shem Tov's followers
B) The Vilna Troupe
C) A local Ukrainian theatre
D) The Pamyat headquarters
  • 45. In the joke about pork, what does the rabbi say he will do at the priest's wedding?
A) Eat a kosher meal
B) Convert to Christianity
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) A historic enemy of the people
C) A tyrant who ruined the country
D) The man who stole his gold
  • 47. What kind of humor does the text mention is found in Israeli jokes?
A) Political satire
B) Slapstick humor
C) Gallows humor
D) Absurdist humor
  • 48. Which of the following is cited as a Yiddish term that sounds comical to English speakers?
A) Boulevard
B) Angel
C) Schnitzel
D) Shnook
  • 49. What is a 'shm-reduplication' construct mentioned in the text?
A) Shnook-shmendrik
B) Fancy-schmancy
C) Shlemiel-shlimazel
D) Kibbutz-schnitzel
  • 50. What linguistic trait of Yiddish became part of Jewish comedians' verbal word play?
A) Avoiding all English words
B) Ending sentences with questions
C) Speaking in rhyme
D) Using only Yiddish slang
  • 51. Which of these words is specifically mentioned as being considered inherently funny?
A) Shlimazel
B) Sandwich
C) Boulevard
D) Midnight
Created with That Quiz — the site for test creation and grading in math and other subjects.