Jewish Humor
The Marx Brothers
For the first ten years of sound film, there was no one anywhere who was funnier than Groucho, Chico and Harpo--three Jewish boys from New York City. They bequeathed to later comics a love of chaos, a taste for oddball mayhem, and inspired wordplay.
Read moreWhat Is It?
Defining Jewish Humor
Jewish humor mocks those who are powerful and pokes fun at the Jews' often-downtrodden status.
Absurdity & Language
How Jews' focus on language and texts set the stage for Jewish humor.
Laughing Through the Tears
Jewish humor as a coping mechanism.
Schlemiels & Schlemazels
Are they foolish or just unlucky?
Divine Humor
Poking fun at the Master of the Universe.
Jewish Comedians
Fanny Brice
A comedy star with a fake Yiddish accent.
Sarah Silverman
A Jewish comedian delivers bigotry with a smile.
Jon Stewart
Not your ordinary Jewish funny man (okay, maybe he is).
Joan Rivers
How a first generation Jewish American became an entertainment legend.
Lenny Bruce
Jewish and Goyish: A classic bit of American-Jewish humor.
History
Jewish Humor in America
From the Borscht Belt to Broadway and beyond.
Improv, Jerry Lewis, Sesame Street & Woody Allen
The late 1950s & '60s were a time of shifting winds.
Jewish Humor in the 70s and 80s
Archie Bunker, National Lampoon, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and Animal House.
Jewish Humor: A History
Jews have been seeing the humor in their lives for a very long time.
Jewish Humor 101
Anti-Semitism and poverty make great material for jokes.
Jokes
Jewish Jokes
Great traditional Jewish jokes.
Sages of Chelm
How clever they are!
Schnorrers
The art of begging.
The Truth About Jewish Summer Camp
A hilarious video from College Humor's Amir Blumenfeld.
101 Classic Jewish Jokes: Jewish Humor from Marx to Seinfeld
By Robert Menchin