# This is Jewish humor. I'm a goy. Help me understand! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 11, 2000, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-jewish-humor-im-a-goy-help-me-understand/29017 "2000-08-11T20:34:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-jewish-humor-im-a-goy-help-me-understand/29017/1 "2000-08-11T20:34:08Z")
I remember reading a book called, IIRC, _The Big Book of Jewish Humor_. Very funny and enlightening. Of course, a lot of the humor I could understand from Sunday School or from culture assimilation. Some of the humor went past me like a cheetah on a caffeine binge. One of the jokes I lacked a context for was a play on words. It was pretty much a one-liner, and I don’t even know if I can reconstruct it. But it made reference to a hypothetical situation, and then concluded that such a thing was called “Loot of the Frum” (sp?). I understand the obvious play on words with “Fruit of the Loom”, but is there something else I’m missing? Would the joke be any funnier if I understood what the Frum is/was? Even if it wouldn’t help the humor, I really want to know now. So help this _goyische bocher_. It would be a _mitzvah_ ;j ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-jewish-humor-im-a-goy-help-me-understand/29017/2 "2000-08-11T21:09:34Z")
Frum means a religious Jew, as opposed to a Frei (free) irreligious one. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-jewish-humor-im-a-goy-help-me-understand/29017/3 "2000-08-11T21:27:45Z")
**Dave** Get a copy of _the Joys of Yiddish_ by Leo Rosten. It is worth the price if you only use it once. Some of my best jokes come from his book. He illustrates each word with a joke or short story. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2000, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-jewish-humor-im-a-goy-help-me-understand/29017/4 "2000-08-12T04:08:03Z")
As long as people are explaining Jewish humor… In “Hannah and HEr Sisters,” there’s a scene where Woody Allen makes a brief, half-hearted attempt to become Catholic. And the major symptom of his dabbling in Catholicism was that… he bought mayonnaise and WOnder Bread. Jews seemed to find this hysterically funny. As a Catholic who hasn’t been forced to eat WOnder BRead since Kindergarten, I figure I’m missing something. WHat, exactly, makes this scene funny? ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2000, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-jewish-humor-im-a-goy-help-me-understand/29017/5 "2000-08-12T04:49:44Z")
Oh wow. I read _The Big Book of Jewish Humor_ over and over when I was a kid. And I have _The Joys of Yiddish_ right here to the left of my keyboard. I’ts a very useful book, as I often forget how to spell “ongepotchket.” And astorian, if you don’t get it, I don’t think anyone will be able to explain it. I remember a section in _The Big Book of Jewish Humor_ where someone had made a list of things that were “Jewish” and things that were “goyish.” All I remember is that green Jell-o and cheerleading were most definitely goyish. I suppose Wonder bread and mayo are goyish. (rye bread and mustard must be Jewish.) Maybe you could find a copy of the book. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-jewish-humor-im-a-goy-help-me-understand/29017/6 "2000-08-14T01:07:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Would the joke be any funnier if I understood what the Frum is/was? > [@](#): > > Frum means a religious Jew, as opposed to a Frei (free) irreligious one. Thanks. Now I know. And it’s not any funnier for the knowing. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-jewish-humor-im-a-goy-help-me-understand/29017/7 "2000-08-14T03:08:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astorian \* > \*\*As a Catholic who hasn’t been forced to eat WOnder BRead since Kindergarten, I figure I’m missing something. WHat, exactly, makes this scene funny? \*\* Mayonnaise and Wonder Bread is bush-league stuff (pun intended). When I want to totally gross out Jewish friends, I go all the way back to the MAD magazine parody of “Bridget Loves Bernie,” which had Bridget’s mom ordering up a pastrami on raisin toast with Miracle Whip. The deli waiter called out “A GENTILE NUMBER FIVE! WITH THE WORKS!” ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-jewish-humor-im-a-goy-help-me-understand/29017/8 "2000-08-14T15:25:19Z")
While I’m at it **DAVEW0071** , the word _bochur_ used to be used to mean a young man. Now, it is used to mean an unmarried man of any age. > [@](#): > > Someone had made a list of things that were “Jewish” and things that were "goyish That would be Lenny Bruce. If I may be permitted an old Yiddish joke of slight relevence: A guy goes into a resteurant on the Lower East Side and is served by a Chinese waiter. The waiter takes his order in Yiddish. The guy is amazed. He says to the owner “how did you get a Chinese waiter who can speak Yiddish?” The owner says “shh… he thinks we’re teaching him English”. Hope this is funnier than Dave’s… ---
**Author:** ![Phrogge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4da419/32.png) [@Phrogge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phrogge)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-jewish-humor-im-a-goy-help-me-understand/29017/9 "2000-08-14T16:53:35Z")
What’s green and frum and lives in your garden? A praying mantis! ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-jewish-humor-im-a-goy-help-me-understand/29017/10 "2000-08-14T23:31:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astorian \* > In “Hannah and HEr Sisters,” there’s a scene where Woody Allen makes a brief, half-hearted attempt to become Catholic. And the major symptom of his dabbling in Catholicism was that… he bought mayonnaise and WOnder Bread. > > Jews seemed to find this hysterically funny. As a Catholic who hasn’t been forced to eat WOnder BRead since Kindergarten, I figure I’m missing something. WHat, exactly, makes this scene funny? Well, first, take a look at the names of the items he pulls out: Wonder Bread; Miricle Whip. Those sort of set the tone for the scene. Secondly, for many Jews, cuisine is strongly tied to their Jewish self-identification, so the idea of Allen’s character divesting himself of his religion via diet sort of turns this connection on its head. Yes, mayo and white bread have more of a WASPish flavor (no pun intended) than Catholic, but for many Jews the distinction is more easily overlooked than for you. Can you tell the difference between a Conservative and a Reform shul? And, for the nit-pickers out there, yes I know the difference between mayonnaise and Miricle Whip. I’m just ignoring it. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-jewish-humor-im-a-goy-help-me-understand/29017/11 "2000-08-15T01:24:34Z")
Okay, I STILL don’t find the scene uproariously funny, but I suppose I’ll buy the idea that bland food = Goy culture to many Jews. Thing is, Woody wasn’t trying to become Episcopalian! He was trying to become CATHOLIC! Now, Woody is from Brooklyn (I’m from Queens), so it stands to reason that most of the Catholics he knew growing up were Italian. And whatever you may say about Italians, their food ain’t Jello and Wonder Bread!