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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) 25 percent
B) 42 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 33 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 bans him from the synagogue.
D) He makes him lose his golf clubs.
  • 3. Why is the Reform Rabbi's hole-in-one considered a punishment in the joke?
A) Because he has no one to tell about his amazing shot.
B) Because he broke his golf club in the process.
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 goes to one and refuses to step foot in the other.
C) He is very religious and needs both.
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 he does not buy retail.
B) Because that is the current price.
C) Because he is very precise.
D) Because he has a coupon.
  • 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 what falls inside the circle.
C) He keeps all the money for himself.
D) He gives it all to the poor.
  • 8. What is the punchline of the joke about the first Starbucks in Israel?
A) They only serve kosher food.
B) There is a fork in the sugar bowl.
C) The coffee is free for religious people.
D) They close on the Sabbath.
  • 9. What does the barber find on his doorstep after cutting Rabbi Finklestein's hair for free?
A) A dozen roses.
B) A dozen rabbis.
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 brisket was burnt.
B) The mother says it is for the shiva.
C) There was no brisket left.
D) The mother refused to share it.
  • 11. What does the mother tell her son after he says he got the part of a 'Jewish husband' in the school play?
A) Tell them you want a speaking role.
B) Are you sure you can act?
C) That is a wonderful role.
D) Is the pay good?
  • 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) She does not like Miguel.
C) She does not like the weather in Miami.
D) He could not find a nice Jewish boy.
  • 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 is not a lawyer.
C) He is the President but not a doctor.
D) He never visits her.
  • 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 food is bad.
D) Because the room is noisy.
  • 15. What question did the waiter ask the group of dining Jewish mothers?
A) How is the food?
B) Are you ready to order?
C) Would you like dessert?
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) The water was cold.
B) Thank you for the water.
C) I am still thirsty.
D) Oy, was I thirsty.
  • 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) Sherlock Holmes
C) Robin Hood
D) King Arthur
  • 19. Which German folk figures are similar to the wise men of Chełm?
A) Baron Munchausen
B) Faust
C) Schildbürger
D) Brothers Grimm
  • 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) Booker Prize
C) National Book Award
D) Nobel Prize
  • 22. What genre did Ovsey Driz use for his Chełm stories?
A) Prose
B) Verse
C) Journalism
D) Playwriting
  • 23. Who wrote the comedy Chelmer Chachomim?
A) Y. Y. Trunk
B) Aaron Zeitlin
C) Isaac Bashevis Singer
D) Allen Mandelbaum
  • 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) Wisdom
B) Gold
C) Foolishness
D) Sin
  • 26. What is the book by Allen Mandelbaum that treats the wise men as scholars?
A) The Heroes of Chelm
B) Village of Idiots
C) The Fools of Chełm
D) Chelmaxioms
  • 27. When do many traditions in Jewish humor date back to?
A) 17th century
B) 20th century
C) 18th century
D) 19th century
  • 28. Which animated film is mentioned in the text as recounting Chełm tales?
A) The Fools of Chełm
B) The Wise Men of Helm
C) Village of Idiots
D) Chelmaxioms
  • 29. What problem were the Rabbis discussing in the synagogue attic in the assimilation joke?
A) Mice.
B) Squirrels.
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) Other religious groups.
B) The laws of physics.
C) Political leaders.
D) Their own negative stereotypes.
  • 32. According to the joke about converts, who are the only normal ones in the congregation?
A) The converts.
B) The choir members.
C) The elderly members.
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) A secret family recipe.
C) The heat of the oven.
D) A spice called Shabbat.
  • 34. Who requests the secret spice from Joshua ben Hananiah?
A) A student.
B) The community leader.
C) The Rabbi.
D) Caesar.
  • 35. Which movement was associated with the emergence of modern Jewish humor in the nineteenth century?
A) Zionism
B) Hasidism
C) Orthodoxy
D) Haskalah
  • 36. Which folk character is associated with the Sephardic tradition of Jewish humor?
A) Rabbi Jeremiah
B) Moshe Waldoks
C) Saul Bellow
D) Djoha
  • 37. What were the jesters known as in Eastern European Jewish communities?
A) Shtoch
B) Badchens
C) Haskalah
D) Mishnah
  • 38. What was one of the first successful radio sitcoms to feature a Jewish family?
A) The Goldbergs
B) Curb Your Enthusiasm
C) Shiva Baby
D) Seinfeld
  • 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) Rabbi
B) Writer
C) Ritual slaughterer
D) Innkeeper
  • 41. Where was Hershele Ostropoler reportedly from?
A) Ukraine
B) Russia
C) Poland
D) Germany
  • 42. Who authored the illustrated children's books about Hershel?
A) Eric Kimmel
B) The Vilna Troupe
C) Rabbi Boruch
D) Trina Schart Hyman
  • 43. In the joke regarding the assassination of Tsar Alexander II, whom does the rabbi link the Jews with?
A) Politicians
B) Chimneysweeps
C) Farmers
D) Bankers
  • 44. Which group performed a comedy about Hershele Ostropoler in 1930?
A) A local Ukrainian theatre
B) The Pamyat headquarters
C) The Baal Shem Tov's followers
D) The Vilna Troupe
  • 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) A historic enemy of the people
B) The genius who thought up this worker's paradise
C) The man who stole his gold
D) A tyrant who ruined the country
  • 47. What kind of humor does the text mention is found in Israeli jokes?
A) Political satire
B) Absurdist humor
C) Gallows humor
D) Slapstick humor
  • 48. Which of the following is cited as a Yiddish term that sounds comical to English speakers?
A) Boulevard
B) Schnitzel
C) Shnook
D) Angel
  • 49. What is a 'shm-reduplication' construct mentioned in the text?
A) Kibbutz-schnitzel
B) Shnook-shmendrik
C) Fancy-schmancy
D) Shlemiel-shlimazel
  • 50. What linguistic trait of Yiddish became part of Jewish comedians' verbal word play?
A) Avoiding all English words
B) Speaking in rhyme
C) Using only Yiddish slang
D) Ending sentences with questions
  • 51. Which of these words is specifically mentioned as being considered inherently funny?
A) Shlimazel
B) Sandwich
C) Midnight
D) Boulevard
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