Everyone knows Jews are funny. But the question is, why? With a history fraught with trauma and persecution, the Jewish people have historically used humor as a “release valve,” and even as a tool of survival. Jews have used their outsider status and the distinctive characteristics of Jewish humor selfdeprecation, challenging authority, and audacity to rise disproportionately in the American comedy scene.

* Correction Writer: Adi Elbaz

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:46 Humor in ancient Jewish texts?
02:42 Jewish persecution in the Diaspora
03:34 The Jewish Enlightenment and "outsider" status
05:14 Fiddler on the Roof
05:56 Sigmund Freud's theory on humor
06:34 Unpacking intergenerational trauma with comedy
06:55 Socalled "chosenness"
08:45 Selfdeprecation
09:42 Antiauthoritarian and audacious comedy

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Image and footage credits:
Zoolander
Saturday Night Live
Happy Gilmore
Jim Carrey Unnatural
Chris Rock Total Blackout
Robin Williams HBO's Weapons of Self Destruction
Annie Hall
History of the World Part 1
History of the World Part 2
The Ten Commandments
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
A Night at the Opera
Modi at the Comedy Cellar
Horse Feathers
Rodney Dangerfield
The Simpsons
Hot Ones
Fiddler on the Roof
Goodfellas
Isidor Popper
Picture Alliance/Heritage Images, Fine Art Images
Bernd Kortländer
Pictorial Parade—Archive Photos/Getty Images
The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon
Netflix is a Joke
Comedy Club Network
I Think You Should Leave
Jewish Review of Books
Just for Laughs Elon Gold
Sam Morril
Ahamed Weinberg Don't Tell Comedy
CNN
Conan on TBS
Dale C Sander
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

Executive Producer:
— Barry Skolnick
CoExecutive Producer:
— Shmuel Katz


About Explainers: From ancient Jewish traditions to the modern State of Israel, we explain it all. Diving into anything and everything related to Jewish culture, history, and even religion.
Understand Jewish holidays, Israeli politics, Jewish diasporic communities, and more. Learn about Judaism in pop culture, debunking myths about Jews, and explore obscure Israeli landmarks. We’re asking questions as basic as “What is the Talmud?”, and as obscure as “How did hiphop boost Kosher wine sales?”, and everything in between.

About Unpacked: We provide nuanced insights by unpacking all things Jewish. People are complex and complicated — yet we’re constantly being pushed to oversimplify our world. At Unpacked we know that being complex makes us more interesting. Because of this, we break the world down with nuance and insight to drive your curiosity and challenge your thinking.

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