When Jews Were Funny

Just watched this documentary today.

The news has been so terrible lately ... terrorism everywhere, thoughtless murder and hate crimes. I just wanted to find something that made me laugh. And nothing makes me laugh more than watching old jews tell jokes or talk about their relatives.

Like the name implies, The filmmaker was trying find out why jews were so funny years ago. He really found out that they still are ... they (we) find humor in just about anything and always have. It's a survival thing I guess.

Here are some old Jewish stories:

Moishe is in a train with his head back moaning loudly. "Oy, am I thoisty!"
His friend Izzy looks over at him and he again says, "Oy, am I thoisty!"
This continues for about ten minutes. Every few minutes Moishe puts his head back and moans :       "Oy, am I thoisty!"

Finally, Izzy gets up, thinking that he can't listen to this for another two hours and gets a cup of water and hands it to Moishe. He drinks it down and smiles broadly at Izzy.

Two minutes later he puts his head back and says ... "Oy WAS I thoisty!"

Here.s another:

A little old grandmother (Bubbie) was sitting at the beach with her grandson as he was happily playing at the edge of the water when all of a sudden the tide shifts and swallows him up and drags him out to sea. "Oh my God ... why have you taken my little boy ... my grandson ... in the prime of his young life? God please let him live ... please bring him back!"

Suddenly the clouds open and the seas shift and the little boy is carried back to the shore by a big wave. Bubble scoops the little boy back into her arms, looks at him and then looks upward toward the heavens.

"He had a hat!"

One more:

A rabbi was stranded on a desert island for 20 years. He kept busy by using some of the shells and natural materials he found building shelter. Then one day a ship came to his rescue. The captain came ashore and looked at what the rabbi had built ... not one but two synagogues.

"Rabbi", the captain asked, "Why two synagogues?"

The rabbi pointed to the one on the left. "Because this one I go to and that one I WOULDN'T STEP FOOT IN."


I miss Sammy ... and Thank God ... Curb Your Enthusiasm is coming back on the air!