7
votes
May one celebrate April Fool's Day?
I think it'll be a bit dfficult to give overall rules about whether 'pranks' are allowed, since what one might consider a 'prank' is quite varied, with some items being forbidden and some being ...
- 6,943
6
votes
Are there any jokes in Tanach?
Bereshit 11: men are building a BIG tower to reach heaven, Hashem hears about it and He has to come down to spot it, so minuscule it is.
- 77
5
votes
May one celebrate April Fool's Day?
Fooling others [Jews] by saddening them even minutely is prohibited Deorayso even if they forgive afterward:
Mishna Bava Metziyah 58b:
כשם שאונאה במקח וממכר כך אונאה בדברים:
לא יאמר לו בכמה חפץ ...
- 28k
5
votes
Accepted
Is one allowed to go to a standup comedy show during the 3 weeks?
1) No
R' Shlomo Aviner takes a strict approach and writes unequivocally that the answer is no (#17 from the top).
סטנדאפ בבין המצרים
ש: מותר ללכת למופע סטנדאפ?
Standup during the 3 weeks: ...
- 12.2k
5
votes
Are there any jokes in Tanach?
In I Samuel, 21:15-16 Achish the King of Gath jokes that there was no need to bring David, who appeared as a madman to the kings presence. He quips: 'Am I short on crazy people that you need bring ...
- 159
5
votes
What puns are there in Tanach?
Most of these are from Chumash. My favorite is in Shmuel Aleph 15:14. Shaul was commanded to wipe out Amalek, including all of their animals. Shmuel came to see how Shaul had done. Shaul greeted ...
- 20.2k
5
votes
What's a Grammen?
From Yiddish Dictionary Online:
גראַם - m. gram - rhyme.
Thus, גראַמען would mean to rhyme.
This is, of course, just a partial answer.
[To the tune of "Yankee Doodle":]
Nasty Haman in Shushan, ...
- 19.2k
5
votes
Accepted
Are there any pranks in the talmud?
There is one clear prank story found in Talmud Bavli. The text of the story is found in (Nedarim 50b):
רבי עבד ליה הלולא לר"ש ברבי כתב על בית גננא עשרין וארבעה אלפין ריבואין דינרין נפקו על בית ...
- 21.2k
5
votes
Is it a sin to joke about sinning?
The Gemora Sanhedrin 102a says:
ויהוא לא שמר ללכת בתורת ה' אלהי ישראל בכל לבבו לא סר מעל חטאת ירבעם אשר החטיא את ישראל -
"And Yehu wasn't carefull to go in the way of Hashem with all his heart, ...
- 11.6k
4
votes
How old is Purim Torah?
The printed editions of Machzor Vitry contain a lengthy piyyut for ma'ariv of Purim, which starts with the words Leil shikurim hu zeh halailah ("Tonight is a night of drunkenness").
While some seem ...
- 46.7k
4
votes
Accepted
Imitating Rabbanim
R Avrohom Ehrman, writing in his book The laws of interpersonal relationships, explicitly addresses your case and calls it leitzanut (mockery). Based on Rabbeinu Yonah in Shaarei Teshuva, he describes ...
- 54.1k
4
votes
Being a jokester in Judiasm. Negative or positive?
I believe the answer is: It depends on the scenario, as you stated.
On one hand, there are many sources that speak about the negativity of merriment and the like. For example:
Psalms 1:1:
"Happy ...
- 28.6k
4
votes
source of a phrase found on a tombstone
It’s probably a typo for 22a, but if it is, it’s not a direct quote.
א"ל הנך נמי בני עלמא דאתי נינהו אזל לגבייהו אמר להו מאי עובדייכו אמרו ליה אינשי בדוחי אנן מבדחינן עציבי אי נמי כי חזינן בי תרי ...
- 34.7k
3
votes
Stumbling Block contained in the Babylonian Talmud
I think the point in those sugyas is that it was untenable for such a tragedy to befall a completely righteous person. So reasons were offered to justify their intense torture. Pronouncing the ...
- 34.1k
3
votes
What puns are there in Tanach?
When Yosef interprets the dreams of the butler and baker, he uses the same phrase in two very different ways:
To the butler he says (Breishis 40:13) ע֣וֹד ׀ שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֗ים יִשָּׂ֤א פַרְעֹה֙ אֶת־...
- 3,011
3
votes
Are there any jokes in Tanach?
The gemara in Sanhedrin 63b explains the pesukim in Yeashayhu 46:1-2 as a form of leitzanus (mockery,joke) of the avodah zarahas. The passuk makes fun of the idols as though they have uncontrollable ...
- 42.7k
3
votes
Having fun with telemarketers
See Shulchan Aruch CM 227:26 which says that there is no prohibition of Onaas Mamon (money) when done to a goy. This is because of the passuk לא תונו איש את אחיו - A goy is not Achiv.
Concerning ...
- 7,092
3
votes
Are there any pranks in the talmud?
Bar Kappara (possibly Eliezer haKappar, possibly his son Shimon) was a tanna who was known, within the Talmud, for his unusual antics and unchecked speech. In Nedarim 51a, for example, he causes Rebbi ...
- 19.1k
2
votes
Are there any pranks in the talmud?
The following does not seem to have been in good fun, but @Yez's comment asking if this counts was not answered.
Yevamos 63a
רב הוה קא מצערא ליה דביתהו כי אמר לה עבידי לי טלופחי עבדא ליה חימצי
...
- 50.3k
1
vote
What is the preferred attitude towards the Sources?
Chazal tell us (Sukkah 21b and Avodah Zarah 19b) that "even the mundane speech of Torah scholars requires study." So even if we suppose that some of the opinions in this passage were meant to be ...
- 10.4k
1
vote
Accepted
What's up with answering questions with questions in this joke from Family Guy?
@BCLC I suggest that the better source than the Jews Love Questions article is Leo Rosten's wonderful The Joys of Yiddish in which he "not only confirmed this syntax as a specifically Jewish ...
- 2,308
1
vote
Are there any pranks in the talmud?
Authenticity issues aside, the "incident of Beruria" cited by Rashi to Avodah Zarah 18b sounds like a prank gone wrong, and it is about Talmudic characters.
שפעם אחת ליגלגה על שאמרו חכמים נשים דעתן ...
- 50.3k
1
vote
What's wrong with pastrami on white bread with mayonnaise?
There's nothing inherently wrong with it, you just end up looking like an uncultured boor by doing it. It would be akin to ordering a prime, dry-aged steak at Peter Luger's well-done and then ...
- 21
1
vote
Are there any jokes in Tanach?
Here's one: (2 Kings Chapter 9)
"So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said: 'I have an ...
- 28.6k
1
vote
Are there any jokes in Tanach?
for me the best example of a perceived joke, followed by laughter one is when Sarah laughs hearing G-d telling her she will have a child, paraphrasing her answer to G-d is "you've got to be kidding, ...
- 11
1
vote
Are there any jokes in Tanach?
There is reference to a joke in Bereishis:
In the beginning there was nothing, and God made light of it
- 9,172
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