48 | DECEMBER 22 • 2022
ARTS&LIFE
BOOKS
T
he Southfield creator
of The Easy-Shmeezy
language books has
hit store shelves yet again
with his latest, The World’s
Funniest Joke Book, published
by Menucha Publishers.
Even the book’s jacket
cover earns a smile. In large
block letters the words “#1
New York Times bestseller”
jump out and only when
someone holds the book
closer and lifts their glasses
will they see the words in
small print directly above
that: “Hoping to one day be
a …”
Moshe Sherizen, with his
quick wit and easy smile, said
the joke book was a natural
progression.
“I always liked to make
people laugh, even when I
was a kid,” Sherizen said, “A
few years ago, I consciously
started telling more jokes. I’d
tell jokes with the cashiers at
Home Depot — ‘How much
is a chimney? Nothing, it’s
on the house!’ — and they’d
start cracking up. Even the
people at City Hall, everyone
would be all stressed about
the sewer pipe bursting,
everything’s chaos and I’d
come in and offer
some comic relief.
Learning to read
a room and tell a
joke at just the right
time is an art … I
didn’t master that so well
as a kid!”
The idea of compiling
a joke book had been
simmering in Sherizen’s mind
for a few years, but once he
buckled down and began
compiling jokes — some
from online and some which
he thought of himself — it
took about six months until it
was ready for publication.
While the pocket-sized
joke book is filled with droll
one-liners and clever puns
such as “dogs can’t operate
MRI machines, but catscan,”
it’s much more than just
jokes. Sherizen also included
instructions on how to invent
jokes, a glossary for words
kids may not understand
and informational fun facts
written by his childhood
friend Avrumi Lorkis.
“When someone learns in
the context of a joke, they’re
not likely to forget it so
quickly,” Sherizen said.
The husband of 17 years to
Batya and father of six
“grew up” in Detroit.
“Well,” Sherizen
quickly corrects himself,
“I’m like Peter Pan. I
didn’t really grow up. I’m
not interested in growing
up, but I spent my formative
years here, yes.” He works
as a project manager for a
multi-family investment firm
based out of Israel.
AN ATTITUDE
OF GRATITUDE
“Life just happens every day;
things aren’t always perfect,”
Sherizen said. “For everyone
over the age of 5, there’s
always going to be some
tough stuff. We can’t always
control circumstances, but
we can control our mindset
… and gratitude is the key
to turning an ordinary life
extraordinary.”
About six months ago,
Sherizen decided to invent
a persona — The Gratitude
Dude — and logo and swag
to go with it. Yes, he did it
backwards. It was only after
that that he decided how
he’d go about spreading the
message!
Moshe
Sherizen poses
with some of his
Gratitude Dude
swag while enjoy-
ing his morning
coffee.
PHOTO CREDIT
Spreading laughter with books
and workshops.
The Gratitude
Dude
PHOTO CREDIT
ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER