Why we laugh? I believe Jews love to laugh. We laugh at ourselves, at our quirks and at the very things that make us who we are. We laugh out of affection, not malice. Throughout history, humor has helped us find light in dark moments, whether facing war, antisemitism, or the many injustices our people have endured.

Jewish humor is not easy to define. As William Novak and Moshe Waldoks write in “The Big Book of Jewish Humor,” “It is easier to describe Jewish humor in terms of what it is not than what it is. It is not, for example, escapist. It is generally not cruel and does not attack the weak or the infirm. At the same time, it is also not polite or gentle.”

Not everyone gets every joke, and that is all right. If Jewish humor makes you uncomfortable because it brushes against stereotypes, you are entitled to that feeling. Others are entitled to find in it comfort, honesty and joy.

If you agree that laughter is one of our oldest traditions, read on. And if you have a good Jewish joke, send it to me at [email protected].

Your Laugh Of The Week

For no reason at all, every Wednesday in November is dedicated to Buddy Hackett, and Hollywood is where he went from comic to cultural landmark. In the early 1960s, Buddy Hackett became the actor you could not ignore, even in a room full of stars. His turn as Marcellus Washburn in The Music Man gave him one of the most joyful musical numbers ever filmed, shouting “Shipoopi” with a kind of abandon only he could pull off.

A year later, he helped drive the chaos in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, paired with Mickey Rooney as two men who approached disaster with optimism and volume. Kids met him through Disney’s The Love Bug, where he played Tennessee Steinmetz, the eccentric mechanic who somehow made a sentient Volkswagen feel normal.

Buddy Hackett never looked like a Hollywood lead, which made him perfect for the movies that needed someone real. He brought the same energy you saw in his nightclub routines, only now filtered through musical numbers, wild stunts, and that unmistakable open-mouthed grin.

He was the scene-stealer who turned small roles into the moments you remembered long after the credits rolled.

Every Wednesday in November belongs to Buddy Hackett, and the TV years are where he really earned it.

By the mid-1950s, he was the guest every host wanted. Hackett was chaos in a suit, turning The Tonight Show, What’s My Line?, and The Perry Como Show into his own playground. On his short-lived sitcom Stanley, filmed live with a young Carol Burnett, Hackett played a newsstand clerk with the face of a man who’d seen everything and couldn’t believe any of it. His timing was as precise as it was explosive.

Whether riffing with Johnny Carson or mugging for Arthur Godfrey, Hackett reminded America that laughter didn’t need polish, nit needed honesty.

For no reason at all, every Wednesday in November is now Buddy Hackett Day, and that feels about right. Before he was belting “Shipoopi” in The Music Man, Buddy Hackett was Leonard Hacker, a Brooklyn kid who bombed his first set in the Catskills and somehow kept going.

The Borscht Belt was his boot camp. Between the hecklers and the herring, he found a rhythm that never left him. After serving in World War II, he came home, dropped the “er,” and became the wide-eyed, barrel-chested comic who’d soon conquer television. His break came in smoky clubs like the Pink Elephant, where his rubber-band expressions made him a human cartoon.

The audience didn’t know it yet, but Hackett was shaping what modern stand-up would sound like, blunt, fast and shamelessly Jewish.

This is the infamous “Country with the most Jews” clip seen on S2E21 of “Hollywood Squares” originally aired on February 23, 1968. This clip came from a Game Show airing in the 2000’s and is uncut.

Past Laugh’s Of The Week

I went in for my annual physical, and the doctor noticed I looked a little worried. 
He asked, “Is something bothering you?”
I said, “Honestly, yes. I’m getting so forgetful… I forget where I park the car, forget if I replied to messages, can’t remember if I changed the subject line on the newes Morning Light email. Doc, I need help. What can I do?”
He paused, looked at me kindly, and said…
“Could you pay me in advance?”

Henny Youngman’s Top 10 One-Liners, in reverse.

10. Two dumb guys go bear hunting. They see a sign saying, “Bear Left,” so they went home.
9. Be it ever so homely, there’s no face like yours.
8. I still love the oldie about the convict who was going to the electric chair and called his lawyer. The barrister replied, “Don’t sit down!”
7. The food on the plane was fit for a king. “Here, King!”
6. He’s a real pain in the neck; of course, some people have a lower opinion of him.
5. Your presence makes me long for your absence.
4. I took my wife to a wife-swapping party. I had to throw in some cash.
3. My doctor put his hand on my wallet and said, “Cough.”
2. Take my wife… please!
1. I haven’t talked to my wife in three weeks. I didn’t want to interrupt her.

15. I miss my wife’s cooking — as often as I can.

14. That’s a nice suit you’re wearing. When did the clown die?

13. A panhandler says to me, “Mister, I haven’t tasted food in a week.” I said, “Don’t worry, it still tastes the same.”

12. My wife will buy anything marked down. She brought home two dresses and an escalator.

11. You’re one of the main reasons for twin beds.

20. A guy says to a doctor, “I’m having trouble with my love life at home.” The doctor says, “Take off twenty pounds and run ten miles a day for two weeks.” Two weeks later, the guy calls: “How’s your love life now?” “I don’t know, I’m 140 miles away!”

19. A woman wrapped herself in Saran Wrap to take weight off. Her husband comes home, sees her, and says, “Leftovers again!”

18. My mother was 88 years old. She never used glasses. Drank right out of the bottle!

17. What’s the latest dope — besides you?

16. A man goes to a psychiatrist. The doctor says, “You’re crazy.” The man says, “I want a second opinion!” “OK, you’re ugly, too!”

For his birthday, Horowitz’ mother gives him two ties—one blue, one red. Very classy, very tasteful. Later, in the evening the two meet for dinner and the son is wearing one of the ties. His mother takes one look at him and says:

The cruise was horrible—it never stopped raining. But the food was great, especially the buffet. I had two of everything

Feel free to download and steal this joke for yourself. 

Your Jewish Joke From Previous Weeks

Your Jewish Joke From Previous Weeks