Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-310) and index.
Contents:
Jewish humor: an international brand p. 273. The Bible p. 6 -- The Midrash p. 13 -- Humor in the Midrash p. 15 -- The Mishna p. 18 -- The Talmud p. 19 -- Humor in the Talmud p. 23 -- Middle Ages: cultural flowering, expulsions, blood libels, pogroms and survival p. 31 -- Jews in the Muslim world p. 31 -- Babylon between the 7th and 11th centuries p. 32 -- Morocco p. 34 -- The "Golden Age": the appearance of secular Jewish humor p. 34 -- Jews in Medieval Europe p. 39 -- The "great expulsion" of the Jews of France p. 44 -- Persecutions in Christian Spain p. 46 -- The "Expulsion of Spain" p. 47 -- The Holy Roman Empire and Central Europe p. 48 -- The appearance of popular Jewish humor p. 51 -- The badchen p. 51 -- Purim holiday and the Purim-Shpil p. 58 -- Anti-Semitism and massacres between the 15th and I7th centuries p. 60 -- Morocco: the 1465 massacre of the Jews of Fez p. 60 -- Discrimination against Jews in the Ottoman Empire p. 60 -- Eastern Europe: the 1648-1649 massacres p. 61 -- Shabtai Tzvi (Sabbatai Zevi) the false Messiah (1626-1676) p. 61 -- The age of Enlightenment and Emancipation-changes to Jewish society p. 63 -- The Hassidic movement p. 65 -- The Mitnagdim (the opponents) p. 67 -- The Haskalah movement p. 67 -- Nineteenth century: anti-Semitism, blood libels and pogroms p. 76 -- The appearance of modern Jewish humor over the 18th and 19th centuries p. 80 -- The Jewish jokes of the 18th and 19th centuries p. 81 -- Popular Jewish jokes p. 83 -- Satirical Jokes p. 83 -- Intergroup jokes p. 87 -- Jokes about gentiles p. 91 -- The Schlemiel: the comic type of Jewish humor p. 95 -- The Wise Men of Chelm p. 95 -- The beginning of modem Jewish humorous literature: 19th Century p. 98 -- Jewish humorous literature: the first generation p. 98 -- Joseph Perl (1773-1839) p. 98 -- Isaac Erter (1791-1851) p. 100 -- Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) p. 102 -- Jewish humor literature: the second generation p. 104 -- Yiddish: humor-laced language p. 104 -- Mendele Mocher Sforim (1836-1917) p. 106 -- Abraham Goldfaden (1840-1908) p. 107 -- Isaac Leib Peretz (1851-1915) p. 109 -- Sholem Alcichem (1859-1916) p. 111 -- Jewish humor in the eyes of the gentiles p. 114 -- The establishment of the national Jewish Zionist movement p. 116 -- The Kishinev Pogrom p. 118 -- Jewish emigration from Europe to the United States p. 120 -- Jews in Russia following the Bolshevik revolution p. 121 -- Jewish culture in Europe between the World Wars p. 122 -- Jewish humorous literature: the third generation p. 123 -- Franz Kafka (1883-1924) p. 123 -- Isaac Babel (1894-1940) p. 125 -- Moyshe Kulbak (1896-1937) p. 127 -- Itzik Manger (1901-1969) p. 129 -- Shimon Dzigan and Israel Schumacher p. 130 -- Jewish jokes under Nazi and Soviet regimes p. 132 -- Jewish jokes regarding Stalin and Soviet nile p. 134 -- The Holocaust p. 137 -- Jewish humor in the Holocaust p. 139 -- The establishment of a Jewish state in the historic Land of Israel p. 143 -- Jewish humor flourishes in the United States p. 146 -- The "Borsht Belt" p. 147 -- The establishment of Jewish humor in the United States p. 148 -- The American Schlemiel in the cinema and television p. 149 -- Jewish women in the comedy and entertainment industry p. 155 -- Jewish American humorous literature: the first generation p. 156 -- Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-1991) p. 157 -- Leo Calvin Rosten (1908-1997) p. 159 -- Bernard Malamud (1914-1986) p. 160 -- Saul Bellow (1915-2005) p. 162 -- Philip Milton Roth (1933-2018) p. 164 -- Jewish American humorous literature: the second generation p. 170 -- Gary Shteyngart (1972) p. 170 -- Lara Vapnyar (1975) p. 172 -- Jonathan Safran Foer (1977) p. 173 -- The "literary" Jew in search of peace of mind p. 174 -- Jewish jokes in the United States p. 178 -- The Jewish mother jokes p. 180 -- The JAP (Jewish American Princess) jokes p. 182 -- Israeli humor and satire p. 185 -- Israeli satire p. 186 -- Satirical humor in the pre-State period (1890-1948) p. 187 -- The establishment of satirical theater p. 188 -- Satirical newspapers p. 191 -- The Chizbat (tall tale) p. 194 -- Satirical humor in the State of Israel: the first period (1948-1963) p. 198 -- Satirical theater p. 198 -- Hagashash Hahiver (the "Pale Tracker") p. 203 -- Satirical press p. 205 -- Satire in the radio p. 206 -- Satirical humor in the State of Israel: the second period (1964-1993) p. 208 -- Satirical press p. 208 -- Satirical theater p. 210 -- Satire in film: the beginning p. 216 -- "Bourekas" popular satire films (1964-1974) p. 217 -- Satire in film: second period (1976-1978) p. 218 -- Television satire p. 220 -- Satire in the radio p. 227 -- Satirical press: second period p. 228 -- Satirical humor in the State of Israel: the third period (1993 to present) p. 230 -- Television satire: third generation p. 231 -- Satirical press p. 241 -- Satirical humor in Israeli literature p. 244 -- Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1887-1970) p. 245 -- Ephraim Kishon (1924-2005) p. 247 -- A. B. Yehoshua (1936) p. 249 -- Haim Beer (1945) p. 251 -- Meir Shalev (1948) p. 252 -- Etgar Keret (1967) p. 253 -- Israeli-Jewish jokes p. 256 -- Israeli ethnic jokes p. 256 -- The old-new anti-Semitism p. 263 -- Self-humor p. 266 -- The Jewish joke p. 268 -- Jewish jokes referring to God p. 271 -- Jewish humor: an international brand p. 273.
Summary:
This book details the evolution of Jewish humour, highlighting its long history from the period of the Bible to the present day, and includes a wide spectrum of styles that are expressed in various works and fields, including the Bible, the Talmud, poetry, literature, folklore, jokes, movies, and television series. It focuses upon three socio-geographic regions where the majority of Jewish people lived during the 18th to 21st centuries and where Jewish humor was created, developed and thrived: Eastern Europe, the United States and Israel. The text is a complicated mosaic based on three central.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.