Having the Last Laugh Against Antisemitism

It’s a classic “Seinfeld” scene:

Dr. Tim Whatley: Jerry, it's our sense of humor that sustained us as a people for 3,000 years.
Jerry: 5,000.
Dr. Tim Whatley: 5,000. Even better.

Our sense of humor plays a huge role in the Jewish mindset and the story of our survival.

Ruth Wisse wrote a book entitled No Joke: Making Jewish Humor, which explores the phenomenon of Jewish humor, jokes, and comedy. She quotes the London Daly Telegraph (4/10/01) that “Jewish humor is one of the wonders of the world. No other community can compete with the range and subtlety of Jewish jokes.” Jews are empirically funny. Some estimate that the proportion of Jewish professionals in U.S. comedy is as high as 80 percent. Wisse notes (p. 17) that “Jewish comedy must go where the Jews go, into the concentration camps of Adolf Hitler and gulags of Joseph Stalin.” There is a Yiddish witticism recorded in the Warsaw Ghetto that captures the essence of Jewish humor: “God forbid that this war should last as long as we are able to endure it.”

Our ability to laugh is built into the spiritual DNA of our peoplehood.

Avraham was chosen to be a patriarch of a great nation. For that to happen, he needed to have a child. What did Avraham do when told he would have that child? He laughed. It wasn’t only Sarah who laughed. She just seems to be the one blamed…

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (Bereishit 17:17) explains this laughter as essential to Jewish continuity.

“The beginning of the Jewish people was absurd. To the rational mind…this people's history, expectations, hopes and life appear as a monstrous, ludicrous, pretension…The laughter that follows the Jew on their way through history testifies to the Divine character of their path. The laughter does not disturb them, because they were prepared for this laughter in advance.”

Yitzchak provided the Jewish people with a legacy of laughter. How to laugh off the challenges and difficulties. We have already heard whatever joke our enemies want to tell, and we’ll have the last laugh.

Recently, there has been more attention paid to jokes about Jews and when the line is crossed into antisemitism. Yes, Dave Chappelle’s Saturday Nigh Live opening monologue. I know some – even some Jewish comics – thought it was funny. Some thought it was not funny. Some thought it was funny, but this is not the time for such humor. I played the monologue for my teenage daughter. She was bored.

Last week, I heard Jerry Seinfeld live in conversation with Brian Williams. When asked about Chappelle, he commented that comics should avoid saying things that will then be associated with statements or actions that are inappropriate. Don’t go treading down the slippery slope.

I think there is a heightened sensitivity these days because comments go viral, and the media can take an off-the-cuff reference and make it a headline. The wider the jokes are heard can create a danger, but it doesn’t mean the joke teller is necessarily antisemitic. It is a serious issue, but it shouldn’t define our daily lives or affect our sense of Jewish pride. We cannot control other people’s portrayal of us. We can control what we do as individuals and as a community.

I find it interesting that the targets of antisemitic aggression (e.g. slurs shouted, shoving, hats knocked off) are more often visible Jews. While it is often the comments or jokes which garner the most attention (and go viral), the violence is more often directed at visibly Orthodox or Chasidic Jews. How do they respond? They don’t write articles, call for corporate boycotts, or start campaigns. They partner with law enforcement and local government, advocate for more protection, and keep going to shul.

We get the last laugh by doubling down on being Jewish and showing Jewish pride. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote: “Non-Jews respect Jews who respect Judaism, and they are embarrassed by Jews who are embarrassed by Judaism.” (Radical Then, Radical Now, Chapter 15)

Yes, there is rising antisemitism out there. There are important educational and communal initiatives that wonderful organizations are offering in response. The issue is on the governmental and law enforcement radar screen. I know this from firsthand experience chairing Nassau County’s Task Force on Antisemitism. Good people care and want to act. Our job, though, is to just be Jewish. Be more proudly and visibly Jewish. The world is complicated and hateful speech and antisemitism are an unfortunate, growing reality. Actions, though, speak more loudly than words or laughs or likes.

Jews may be getting the message. An article in the New York Times described how in-person Shabbat meals are making a comeback. It seems that some young people who are busy on Friday nights are gathering on Thursday nights for “Shabbat: meals. “It’s a little weird that it’s not on a Friday,” Rabbi Green said, “but whatever gets people excited about Shabbat works for me.” What?!?!

I thought this isjust one more example of the sense of entitlement Gen-Z’ers have. Shabbat has to respond to their lifestyle. But it seems that, for some, the increased interest in Shabbat is an opportunity to support and celebrate Jewish culture in response to the rise in antisemitism.

“People want to show that they are proud of being Jewish and they believe in the spirit of Judaism.”

“As we are watching antisemitism come to an uncomfortable rise, we need to do more.”

So…go for it! More Shabbat, more Judaism. More Jewish pride!

Chanukah is an ideal time for proudly doing Jewish. The lights of the Menorah face outwards so people will see them. We can share the light with friends, family, and neighbors. I encourage everyone to transform their home into a “Chanukah Home of Light” and choose one night to host people for the Menorah lighting – especially if you know people (Jewish or non-Jewish) who are less familiar with Chanukah. Large Menorah lightings are great opportunities to show Jewish pride and spark a conversation about Judaism. This year, the JCAB will spearhead be two large, outdoor Menorah lightings in Atlantic Beach – one outside the Shul and one at the Green on Park Street.

Yitzchak Avinu underwent many trials in his lifetime - from his early rivalry with Yishmael to the binding to the rivalry between his sons to going blind in his old age. Yet, it is Yitzchak who carries a name that means, “He will laugh.” Perhaps it’s because when Jews persevere and remain committed to our Torah and our people, we get the last laugh.