Becker Bros. Printers
Office and Factory Forms
Commercial & Office Stationery
Established 1915
7709 TWELFTH
4 blocks N. of Grand Blvd.
r
TY 5 - 0547
Challenge to Writers: Need to Resuscitate Jewish Joke
(A Seven Arts Feature)
By SHIN FEY SAMAKH
If it is true, as Dr. Sigmund
Freud said, that there is no
other people that makes so
merry unreservedly over its
own shortcomings" as does the
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Happy New Year
■••■ 0 •I•11.0 MOW 0S
i
RISDON MILK
ICE CREAM . : . .i
a
Holiday Greetings
BERRY & SEYBURN
Property Management
3500 David Stott Bldg.
WO 1-8369
Sincere Wishes for a Most Happy New Year
CADILLAC BODY SERVICE
Custom Collision Work on All Makes of Cars
ALL WORK GUARANTEED
8524 Dunbarton Rd., near Grand River TY 8-5600
Best Wishes on the New Year
CENTRAL HEATING COMPANY
Gas - Oil - Warm Air-Conditioner - Repairs of All Kinds
D. A. LAVEN
15905 James Couzens Hwy.
UN 2-9517
New Year Best Wishes
CENTRAL SCRAP IRON
& METAL CO.
Metals
Jack Levenson and Jack Ellish
Dealer in All Kinds of Scrap and
17239 Swift Ave. at 6 Mi. Rd. & Russell, TW 2 8100
-
Happy New Year to Our Friends and Patrons
COHEN & SON
Kosher Meat & Poultry Market
26035 Coolidge
LI 7-4121
New Year Greetings
COLLINS AUTO ELECTRIC
25102 John R, Madison Heights
LI 3-6464
>-
New Year Greetings
Waterproofing — Building Restoration
TY 8-8490
DETROIT INDEPENDENT SPRINKLER CO.
Complete Fire Protection Systems
684 W. Baltimore
TR 4-1575
Happy New Year to Our Friends and Patrons
EASTERN POULTRY CO.
2542 Riopelle
Ir vilt vissen, ver der kligs-
ster mentsh iz? Vel ich aych
zogen. Die kligsste folk fun
ale Felker zanen die idn. Dos
iz doch a y'due-zach. Un die
kligsste idn zanen doch gevis
die tsionissn--dos is doch oych
on a sofek. Un vauter die kligs-
ste tsionisstn zanen die russe-
she tsionisstn, ver den? Un
fun die russeshe tsionisstn die
kligsste zanen doch gevis die
fun tsentralkomitet, vorum as
zey voltn nit geven die kligs-
ste, volt men zey doch nit gek-
libn in tsentralkomit. Un vider
farshteyt men doch, as der
kligsster fun tsentralkomitet
iz der president. Un der,—
hert it?—iz aza shoyte, eyner
in der velt.
To undertake to translate this
would represent a sacrilege.
Those who know Yiddish will
know it; the others must have
it explained; and once a story
W. H. BELTER
WO 1-0707
Vos is dos? Es Shteyt
dach, macht kukireku un is nit
kein hon?
Answer: A meshugener.
An anthology of Jewish humor,
translatable and untranslatable,
would occupy scores of volumes.
Our storytellers have told jokes,
have developed the anecdotes,
know the value of satire, made
use of gags, epigrams, wise-
cracks.
If they overstepped the
bounds of realism they at least
may have proved the point in a
wisecrack by Benjamin Frank-
lin: "Strange! that a Man who
has wit enough to write a Satire
should have folly enough to
publish it!"
In our own time, especially
in the Jewish press, we are in
danger of having become too
dull. We have begun to accuse
ourselves of lacking in humor
Season's Best Wishes
BRANDT BROS.
INC.
Heating Contractors
Boilers Repaired and Replaced
6154 BIVOUAC
VI 1-3475
Best Wishes for a
Happy New Year
SAMUEL BRODY
& SONS
14411 West Eight Mile
Detroit 35
New Year Best Wishes
NEW YEAR GREETINGS
DYNAMIC IRON
& METAL CO
Buyers of Scrap Iron
& Metal Waste Materials
3800 Lonyo
LU 2-1442
Season's Greetings
EDER
FURNITURE CO.
Louis Eder
1753 FORT
DU 1-1940
Lincoln Pork
Happy New Year to
Our Relatives and Friends
EIDELMAN BROS.
INC.
Wholesale Floor Coverings
5875 Concord
WA 5-4181
Holiday Greetings
BEULAH STARR
908 Mutual Bldg.
WO 2-2789
Holiday Good Wishes
CADILLAC FENCE
& SUPPLY CO.
VETERAN
Food Products Co.
13675 Plymouth
WE 3-8755
13231 Conant
TW 3-4393
IIMINNO ■1■
HOLIDAY GOOD CHEER
CHARLES M.
CLAPSADDLE
33 Vernier Road
Grosse Pointe Shores
TU 4-3980
New Year Greetings
Villa-Zion
Geriatric Hospital
Kosher Cuisine
13965 Linwood
TU 3 - 4444
GREETINGS
Best Wishes on the New Year
COLLEGE WOODS
SERVICE
Pollak's Custom
Dress Making
Mobil Gas - Motor Tuning
Repairing - Battery Charging
Tires - Tubes - Batteries
Service Calls - Towing, etc.
10200 W. 7 Mile, UN 4-2904
HENRY OGARA, Prop.
Greetings on New Year's
CURTIS DRUGS
18201 Wyoming corner Curtis
1931 East Jefferson
WE DELIVER
LO 8-3055
DI 1-2450
BOKOS
WAFFLE SHOP
There is need to recapture
the Jewish joke, to have a
measure of literature in a light-
er vein, to gain new strength
through reconstructed self-criti-
cism—self-ridicule if necessary.
Will the English-Jewish press
be able to find a new trek to-
wards that most valuable of all
human assets: genuine humor?
That's the challenge of the hour
to Jewish writers.
341-6001
Distributors of
U.S. Tires and Batteries
Greetings of the Season
Happy New Year
has to be explained it necessi-
tates an addendum of philos-
ophy!
To prove the point, it is nec-
essary to quote also from the
Reteneshn — the riddles — in
"L'Chayim!" Here is one of
them:
.
New Year Greetings
CROWE AND ASSOCIATES
5327 Tireman
Jewish people, then we must
begin to ask ourselves: what
has happened to Jewish humor
since it became necessary to
translate a Jewish joke?
Everybody loves a good story,
and if it is a Yiddish jest or
pun, even if it is a chestnut,
it is certain to draw a laugh.
But when it becomes neces-
sary to translate the Yiddish
joke, it loses its value even if it
continues to inspire laughter.
Which raises the challenging
question: was the tribute to our
sense of humor by Freud limit-
ed to the Yiddishists, or can the
fine quality of telling a story
well and enjoying it heartily be
resuscitated even by the Eng-
lish-speaking Jew?
There is a wealth of Jewish
humor. It is to be found in the
Bible and the Talmud, and even
in the dark Middle Ages, Jewish
writers punned, resorted to sat-
ire, told stories and laughed at
their woes.
A number of books packed
with humor have been publish-
ed in Israel, and an enterprising
publisher would do well—pro-
vided he gets a good translator'
—to reissue some of the books
in English.
The late Israel Supreme Court
Justice Cheshin was a master
storyteller and the author of
several books of Jewish humor
one of them having been is-
sued by the Jewish Publication
Society, containing courtroom
stories .
Rufus Lea si (Israel Gold-
berg) and Nathan Ausubel au-
thored books of Jewish humor
in this country. The works of
Immanuel Olsvanger, contain-
ing excellently told stories, in
Yiddish, printed in Roman
characters, drew wide attention
as Schocken publications.
One of the Olsvanger stories,
in his book "L'Chayim!", is
worth retelling. Let it be re-
peated as it appears in Olsvan-
ger's text:
DER KLIGSSTER MENTSH
Season's
Most Cordial Greetings
19490 Livernois
864-7766
Open Thurs., Fri. and Sat.
'til 9 p.m.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
MUSKOVITZ &
PERSHIN
PLUMBING & HEATING
2955 W. Davison
TO 8-8870
New Year Greetings
DETROIT MILL
SUPPLY CO.
Sports Outlet
Stores
18406 W. McNichols
KE 2-2520
Mr. & Mrs. Abe Weisman
Ferndale — Royal Oak
Dearborn
New Year Greetings
New Year Greetings
NEW YEAR GREETINGS
BOND-BILT
CONSTRUCTION
DORN
Fruit & Produce Co.
13800 W. 8 Mile Rd,
UN 3-3547
1501 DIVISION
Serving Breakfast
Lunch - Dinner
Carry-outs — Open 8-6 Daily
Closed Sundays & Holidays
1909 EAST FERRY
WA 2-5600
TE 2-1758
Harold and Carol Blacher
and Jeffrey
63 - THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS -- Friday, Sept. 13, 1963
New Year Greetings