Contemporary Jewish Humor Pushes Boundaries

c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Where have you gone, Uncle Miltie? The comic’s appeal and humor were so universal that Milton Berle was given the unofficial title “Mr. Television” during the 1950s. Think Jewish humor today, and one pictures the episode of “The Simpsons” in which Krusty the Klown tries to revive a flagging […]

c. 2007 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Where have you gone, Uncle Miltie?

The comic’s appeal and humor were so universal that Milton Berle was given the unofficial title “Mr. Television” during the 1950s.


Think Jewish humor today, and one pictures the episode of “The Simpsons” in which Krusty the Klown tries to revive a flagging career by turning his adult bar mitzvah into a TV spectacle featuring Mr. T.

Or Larry David portraying an obnoxious man in an interfaith marriage who is comfortable buying scalped tickets to a High Holy Days service in HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Or, on the farthest edges, Golden Globe winner Sacha Baron Cohen as a Kazakh anti-Semite who believes Jews can transform themselves into cockroaches in the movie “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.”

In the last generation, Jewish humor has become part of mainstream American comedy, achieving a comfort and acceptance that allows some of the brightest stars, from Jon Stewart to Jerry Seinfeld, to be open about their identity in their work _ something Berle and others in his era were less inclined to do.

“America has become much more comfortable about being Jewish,” says Rabbi Moshe Waldoks, co-editor with William Novak of the recently released 25th-anniversary edition of “The Big Book of Jewish Humor.”

But some people wonder whether everyone is in on the joke, and in particular, whether the virulent anti-Semitism of the Borat character or the over-the-top neuroses of David may reinforce rather than break down stereotypes.

“Unfortunately, there is still anti-Semitism in the world,” said Rabbi Richard Block of The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood, Ohio. “It’s possible to kid oneself about how safe it is.”

In their book, Novak and Waldoks tell how “traditional” Jewish humor goes back to 19th-century life in European villages. Persecution, poverty and uprootedness gave rise to much of the humor of the era, the authors say. But what many of the jokes also have in common are earthiness and subtlety that appeal to regular folks and intellectuals.


In 20th-century America, Novak and Waldoks note, the success of the Jews in permeating society tended to dilute the ethnic identity of much Jewish humor. While traditional Jewish humor was primarily in Yiddish, modern Jewish comedians have such access to the general public that they no longer must depend on the approval of the Jewish community.

In the introduction to their original book, the authors said there had been a price to pay for the openness of American society to Jewish performers, which has resulted in “the parevezation, or neutering, of much of the material.”

In a talk last year at the Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies in Beachwood, Waldoks said when he and Novak were putting together the first edition of “The Big Book of Jewish Humor” in 1981, they thought they were giving “a noble farewell to Jewish humor.”

That was not the case.

“I’m happy to say Jewish humor is alive and well,” Waldoks said.

The evidence of Jewish comics being conscious about their identity is everywhere, Waldoks said, from Billy Crystal’s autobiographical Broadway show “700 Sundays” to Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah song on “Saturday Night Live.”

Popular TV shows such as “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” integrate Jewish situations into the humor in “a very natural way,” Waldoks said. In their book, Waldoks and Novak say the pettiness of the Florida condo complex “or guarded gated ghetto” where Jerry Seinfeld’s parents live rises to a small-mindedness reminiscent of Sholom Aleichem’s shtetl stories.

Block said Jon Stewart, the host of Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” who was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, reflects a Jewish sensibility in the way he blends optimism and hopefulness with a strong sense of irony and a certain cynicism about current events.


“The way he integrates his Jewish identity and his humor is very positive and is in some ways exemplary,” Block said.

But Block and others express concern that some of the stereotypes made fun of by comedians such as David and Baron Cohen “might reinforce bigotry and prejudice,” especially for those who may not pick up on the subtlety of the satire.

Particularly controversial is the recent “Borat” film, in which peasants participate in the “running of the Jew” and a gun dealer is asked which weapon is best to protect against attacks by Jews.

The Office for Film and Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classified Borat as “O _ morally offensive,” in part because of its ethnic stereotypes.

Baron Cohen and his supporters say the film uses satire to uncover and mock prejudice. Waldoks called “Borat” “an anti-anti-Semitic film.”

The Anti-Defamation League expressed concern that some people would not be sophisticated enough to get the joke, “and that some may even find it reinforcing their bigotry.” The organization also said it recognized that Baron Cohen, who is proudly Jewish, is using humor to unmask the absurd and irrational side of anti-Semitism.


“The bottom line here is the ADL clearly believes Mr. Cohen is using satire to uncover anti-Semitism and expose it,” said Shari Kochman, ADL regional director in Cleveland.

Cleveland area actor Marc Moritz said he understands why some in the Jewish community object to David’s and Baron Cohen’s approach, but he thinks they are excellent artists whose work is intelligent and insightful.

“We’re not in control,” he noted, “of how people perceive our sense of humor.”

If it is any comfort, Novak and Waldoks point out that the discussion about whether some edgy Jewish humor is subversive and enlightening or too self-critical, even masochistic, is nothing new.

In their book, they say that one unidentified scholar responds in his lectures to “the inevitable question, `Isn’t Jewish humor masochistic?’ by saying, `No, and if I hear that line once more, I’m going to kill myself.”’

(David Briggs writes for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.)

KRE/PH END BRIGGS

Editors: To obtain photos of Stewart, Berle and “The Big Book of Jewish Humor,” go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.

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