Let the Torah be your guide for enlightenment and laughter

There are no jokes in the Torah, but there is an abundance of wit, irony, word play, sarcasm and humor.

On Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021, Susan Bernstein, program director at the Jewish Pavilion, presented a Lunch and Learn program for residents at Oakmonte Village. Seeing that an afternoon of lighthearted learning would go a long way to brighten the winter days, Bernstein showed that the Torah could furnish this "entertainment" if one knows where to look.

It may not be a coincidence that many modern jokes take their inspiration from biblical stories.

Many of the men in the Bible remained silent when faced with trauma, like Aaron when his two sons were killed after offering a strange sacrifice and he said nothing. There were many disagreements between husbands and wives like Abraham and Sarah. When Sarah wanted to dismiss her handmaid Hagar, Ishmael and Abraham remained speechless. Or with Isaac and Rebecca bringing up their sons, Jacob and Esau, when Rebecca takes the lead and we hear nothing from Isaac. And many other examples. These passages lent inspiration for this:

"A little Jewish boy was telling his mother how he had won a part in a play that was being done at school. His mother asked, "What is the part you will play, Saul?' Saul responded, 'I shall play the Jewish husband,' to which the mother replied, 'Well, you go right back to that teacher and tell her that you want a speaking part!'"