Coronal mass ejection

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_mass_ejection 

Coronal mass ejections are usually visible in white-light coronagraphs. Here, the white circle represents the size of the Sun.

A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a significant ejection of magnetic field and accompanying plasma mass from the Sun's corona into the heliosphere. CMEs are often associated with solar flares and other forms of solar activity, but a broadly accepted theoretical understanding of these relationships has not been established.

If a CME enters interplanetary space, it is referred to as an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME). ICMEs are capable of reaching and colliding with Earth's magnetosphere, where they can cause geomagnetic storms, aurorae, and in rare cases damage to electrical power grids. The largest recorded geomagnetic perturbation, resulting presumably from a CME, was the solar storm of 1859. Also known as the Carrington Event, it disabled parts of the newly created United States telegraph network, starting fires and shocking some telegraph operators.

Near solar maxima, the Sun produces about three CMEs every day, whereas near solar minima, there is about one CME every five days.

Physical description

CMEs release large quantities of matter and magnetic flux from the Sun's atmosphere into the solar wind and interplanetary space. The ejected matter is a plasma consisting primarily of electrons and protons embedded within the ejected magnetic field. This magnetic field is commonly in the form of a flux rope, a helical magnetic field with changing pitch angles.

The average mass ejected is 1.6×10¹² kg (3.5×10¹² lb). However, the estimated mass values for CMEs are only lower limits, because coronagraph measurements provide only two-dimensional data.

CMEs erupt from strongly twisted or sheared, large-scale magnetic field structures in the corona that are kept in equilibrium by overlying magnetic fields.

Origin

Simplified model of magnetic fields emerging from the photosphere

CMEs erupt from the lower corona, where processes associated with the local magnetic field dominate over other processes. As a result, the coronal magnetic field plays an important role in the formation and eruption of CMEs. Pre-eruption structures originate from magnetic fields that are initially generated in the Sun's interior by the solar dynamo. These magnetic fields rise to the Sun's surface—the photosphere—where they may form localized areas of highly concentrated magnetic flux and expand into the lower solar atmosphere forming active regions. At the photosphere, active region magnetic flux is often distributed in a dipole configuration, that is, with two adjacent areas of opposite magnetic polarity across which the magnetic field arches. Over time, the concentrated magnetic flux cancels and disperses across the Sun's surface, merging with the remanents of past active regions to become a part of the quiet Sun. Pre-eruption CME structures can be present at different stages of the growth and decay of these regions, but they always lie above polarity inversion lines (PIL), or boundaries across which the sign of the vertical component of the magnetic field reverses. PILs may exist in, around, and between active regions or form in the quiet Sun between active region remnants. More complex magnetic flux configurations, such as quadrupolar fields, can also host pre-eruption structures.

In order for pre-eruption CME structures to develop, large amounts of energy must be stored and be readily available to be released. As a result of the dominance of magnetic field processes in the lower corona, the majority of the energy must be stored as magnetic energy. The magnetic energy that is freely available to be released from a pre-eruption structure, referred to as the magnetic free energy or nonpotential energy of the structure, is the excess magnetic energy stored by the structure's magnetic configuration relative to that stored by the lowest-energy magnetic configuration the underlying photospheric magnetic flux distribution could theoretically take, a potential field state. Emerging magnetic flux and photospheric motions continuously shifting the footpoints of a structure can result in magnetic free energy building up in the coronal magnetic field as twist or shear. Some pre-eruption structures, referred to as sigmoids, take on an S or reverse-S shape as shear accumulates. This has been observed in active region coronal loops and filaments with forward-S sigmoids more common in the southern hemisphere and reverse-S sigmoids more common in the northern hemisphere.

Magnetic flux ropes—twisted and sheared magnetic flux tubes that can carry electric current and magnetic free energy—are an integral part of the post-eruption CME structure; however, whether flux ropes are always present in the pre-eruption structure or whether they are created during the eruption from a strongly sheared core field (see § Initiation) is subject to ongoing debate.

Some pre-eruption structures have been observed to support prominences, also known as filaments, composed of much cooler material than the surrounding coronal plasma. Prominences are embedded in magnetic field structures referred to as prominence cavities, or filament channels, which may constitute part of a pre-eruption structure (see § Coronal signatures).

Early evolution

The early evolution of a CME involves its initiation from a pre-eruption structure in the corona and the acceleration that follows. The processes involved in the early evolution of CMEs are poorly understood due to a lack of observational evidence.

Initiation

CME initiation occurs when a pre-eruption structure in an equilibrium state enters a nonequilibrium or metastable state where energy can be released to drive an eruption. The specific processes involved in CME initiation are debated, and various models have been proposed to explain this phenomenon based on physical speculation. Furthermore, different CMEs may be initiated by different processes.

It is unknown whether a magnetic flux rope exists prior to initiation, in which case either ideal or non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) processes drive the expulsion of this flux rope, or whether a flux rope is created during the eruption by non-ideal process. Under ideal MHD, initiation may involve ideal instabilities or catastrophic loss of equilibrium along an existing flux rope:

• The kink instability occurs when a magnetic flux rope is twisted to a critical point, whereupon the flux rope is unstable to further twisting.
• The torus instability occurs when the magnetic field strength of an arcade overlying a flux rope decreases rapidly with height. When this decrease is sufficiently rapid, the flux rope is unstable to further expansion.
• The catastrophe model involves a catastrophic loss of equilibrium.

Under non-ideal MHD, initiations mechanisms may involve resistive instabilities or magnetic reconnection:

• Tether-cutting, or flux cancellation, occurs in strongly sheared arcades when nearly antiparallel field lines on opposite sides of the arcade form a current sheet and reconnect with each other. This can form a helical flux rope or cause a flux rope already present to grow and its axis to rise.
• The magnetic breakout model consists of an initial quadrupolar magnetic topology with a null point above a central flux system. As shearing motions cause this central flux system to rise, the null point forms a current sheet and the core flux system reconnects with overlying magnetic field.

Initial acceleration

Following initiation, CMEs are subject to different forces that either assist or inhibit their rise through the lower corona. Downward magnetic tension force exerted by the strapping magnetic field as it is stretched and, to a lesser extent, the gravitational pull of the Sun oppose movement of the core CME structure. In order for sufficient acceleration to be provided, past models have involved magnetic reconnection below the core field or an ideal MHD process, such as instability or acceleration from the solar wind.

In the majority of CME events, acceleration is provided by magnetic reconnection cutting the strapping field's connections to the photosphere from below the core and outflow from this reconnection pushing the core upward. When the initial rise occurs, the opposite sides of the strapping field below the rising core are oriented nearly antiparallel to one another and are brought together to form a current sheet above the PIL. Fast magnetic reconnection can be excited along the current sheet by microscopic instabilities, resulting in the rapid release of stored magnetic energy as kinetic, thermal, and nonthermal energy. The restructuring of the magnetic field cuts the strapping field's connections to the photosphere thereby decreasing the downward magnetic tension force while the upward reconnection outflow pushes the CME structure upwards. A positive feedback loop results as the core is pushed upwards and the sides of the strapping field are brought in closer and closer contact to produce additional magnetic reconnection and rise. While upward reconnection outflow accelerates the core, simultaneous downward outflow is sometimes responsible for other phenomena associated with CMEs (see § Coronal signatures).

In cases where significant magnetic reconnection does not occur, ideal MHD instabilities or the dragging force from the solar wind can theoretically accelerate a CME. However, if sufficient acceleration is not provided, the CME structure may fall back in what is referred to as a failed or confined eruption.

Coronal signatures

The early evolution of CMEs is frequently associated with other solar phenomena observed in the low corona, such as eruptive prominences and solar flares. CMEs that have no observed signatures are sometimes referred to as stealth CMEs.

Prominences embedded in some CME pre-eruption structures may erupt with the CME as eruptive prominences. Eruptive prominences are associated with at least 70% of all CMEs and are often embedded within the bases of CME flux ropes. When observed in white-light coronagraphs, the eruptive prominence material, if present, corresponds to the observed bright core of dense material.

When magnetic reconnection is excited along a current sheet of a rising CME core structure, the downward reconnection outflows can collide with loops below to form a cusp-shaped, two-ribbon solar flare.

CME eruptions can also produce EUV waves, also known as EIT waves after the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope or as Moreton waves when observed in the chromosphere, which are fast-mode MHD wave fronts that emanate from the site of the CME.

A coronal dimming is a localized decrease in extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray emissions in the lower corona. When associated with a CME, coronal dimmings are thought to occur predominantly due to a decrease in plasma density caused by mass outflows during the expansion of the associated CME. They often occur either in pairs located within regions of opposite magnetic polarity, a core dimming, or in a more widespread area, a secondary dimming. Core dimmings are interpreted as the footpoint locations of the erupting flux rope; secondary dimmings are interpreted as the result of the expansion of the overall CME structure and are generally more diffuse and shallow. Coronal dimming was first reported in 1974, and, due to their appearance resembling that of coronal holes, they were sometimes referred to as transient coronal holes.

Propagation

Observations of CMEs are typically through white-light coronagraphs which measure the Thomson scattering of sunlight off of free electrons within the CME plasma. An observed CME may have any or all of three distinctive features: a bright core, a dark surrounding cavity, and a bright leading edge. The bright core is usually interpreted as a prominence embedded in the CME (see § Origin) with the leading edge as an area of compressed plasma ahead of the CME flux rope. However, some CMEs exhibit more complex geometry.

From white-light coronagraph observations, CMEs have been measured to reach speeds in the plane-of-sky ranging from 20 to 3,200 km/s (12 to 2,000 mi/s) with an average speed of 489 km/s (304 mi/s) 1996 and 2003. Observations of CME speeds indicate that CMEs tend to accelerate or decelerate until they reach the speed of the solar wind (§ Interactions in the heliosphere).

When observed in interplanetary space at distances greater than about 50 solar radii (0.23 AU) away from the Sun, CMEs are sometimes referred to as interplanetary CMEs, or ICMEs.

Interactions in the heliosphere

As CMEs propagate through the heliosphere, they may interact with the surrounding solar wind, the interplanetary magnetic field, and other CMEs and celestial bodies.

CMEs can experience aerodynamic drag forces that act to bring them to kinematic equilibrium with the solar wind. As a consequence, CMEs faster than the solar wind tend to slow down whereas CMEs slower than the solar wind tend to speed up until their speed matches that of the solar wind.

How CMEs evolve as they propagate through the heliosphere is poorly understood. Models of their evolution have been proposed that are accurate to some CMEs but not others. Aerodynamic drag and snowplow models assume that ICME evolution is governed by its interactions with the solar wind. Aerodynamic drag alone may be able to account for the evolution of some ICMEs, but not all of them.

CMEs typically reach Earth one to five days after leaving the Sun. The strongest deceleration or acceleration occurs close to the Sun, but it can continue even beyond Earth orbit (1 AU), which was observed using measurements at Mars and by the Ulysses spacecraft. ICMEs faster than about 500 km/s (310 mi/s) eventually drive a shock wave. This happens when the speed of the ICME in the frame of reference moving with the solar wind is faster than the local fast magnetosonic speed. Such shocks have been observed directly by coronagraphs in the corona, and are related to type II radio bursts. They are thought to form sometimes as low as 2 R_☉ (solar radii). They are also closely linked with the acceleration of solar energetic particles.

As ICMEs propagate through the interplanetary medium, they may collide with other ICMEs in what is referred to as CME–CME interaction or CME cannibalism.

During such CME-CME interactions, the first CME may clear the way for the second one and/or when two CMEs collide it can lead to more severe impacts on Earth. Historical records show that the most extreme space weather events involved multiple successive CMEs. For example, the famous Carrington event in 1859 had several eruptions and caused auroras to be visible at low latitudes for four nights. Similarly, the solar storm of September 1770 lasted for nearly nine days and also caused repeated low-latitude auroras. The interaction between two moderate CMEs between the Sun and Earth can create extreme conditions on Earth. Recent studies have shown that the magnetic structure in particular its chirality/handedness, of a CME can greatly affect how it interacts with Earth's magnetic field. This interaction can result in the conservation or loss of magnetic flux, particularly its southward magnetic field component, through magnetic reconnection with the interplanetary magnetic field.

Morphology

In the solar wind, CMEs manifest as magnetic clouds. They have been defined as regions of enhanced magnetic field strength, smooth rotation of the magnetic field vector, and low proton temperature. The association between CMEs and magnetic clouds was made by Burlaga et al. in 1982 when a magnetic cloud was observed by Helios-1 two days after being observed by SMM. However, because observations near Earth are usually done by a single spacecraft, many CMEs are not seen as being associated with magnetic clouds. The typical structure observed for a fast CME by a satellite such as ACE is a fast-mode shock wave followed by a dense (and hot) sheath of plasma (the downstream region of the shock) and a magnetic cloud.

Other signatures of magnetic clouds are now used in addition to the one described above: among other, bidirectional superthermal electrons, unusual charge state or abundance of iron, helium, carbon, and/or oxygen.

The typical time for a magnetic cloud to move past a satellite at the L1 point is 1 day corresponding to a radius of 0.15 AU with a typical speed of 450 km/s (280 mi/s) and magnetic field strength of 20 nT.

Solar cycle

Further information: Solar cycle

The frequency of ejections depends on the phase of the solar cycle: from about 0.2 per day near the solar minimum to 3.5 per day near the solar maximum. However, the peak CME occurrence rate is often 6–12 months after sunspot number reaches its maximum.

Impact on Earth

Photo from the ISS of aurora australis during a geomagnetic storm on 29 May 2010. The storm was most likely caused by a CME that had erupted from the Sun on 24 May 2010, five days prior to the storm.

Only a very small fraction of CMEs are directed toward, and reach, the Earth. A CME arriving at Earth results in a shock wave causing a geomagnetic storm that may disrupt Earth's magnetosphere, compressing it on the day side and extending the night-side magnetic tail. When the magnetosphere reconnects on the nightside, it releases power on the order of terawatts directed back toward Earth's upper atmosphere. This can result in events such as the March 1989 geomagnetic storm.

CMEs, along with solar flares, can disrupt radio transmissions and cause damage to satellites and electrical transmission line facilities, resulting in potentially massive and long-lasting power outages.

Shocks in the upper corona driven by CMEs can also accelerate solar energetic particles toward the Earth resulting in gradual solar particle events. Interactions between these energetic particles and the Earth can cause an increase in the number of free electrons in the ionosphere, especially in the high-latitude polar regions, enhancing radio wave absorption, especially within the D-region of the ionosphere, leading to polar cap absorption events.

The interaction of CMEs with the Earth's magnetosphere leads to dramatic changes in the outer radiation belt, with either a decrease or an increase of relativistic particle fluxes by orders of magnitude. The changes in radiation belt particle fluxes are caused by acceleration, scattering and radial diffusion of relativistic electrons, due to the interactions with various plasma waves.

Halo coronal mass ejections

A halo coronal mass ejection is a CME which appears in white-light coronagraph observations as an expanding ring completely surrounding the occulting disk of the coronagraph. Halo CMEs are interpreted as CMEs directed toward or away from the observing coronagraph. When the expanding ring does not completely surround the occulting disk, but has an angular width of more than 120 degrees around the disk, the CME is referred to as a partial halo coronal mass ejection. Partial and full halo CMEs have been found to make up about 10% of all CMEs with about 4% of all CMEs being full halo CMEs. Frontside, or Earth-direct, halo CMEs are often associated with Earth-impacting CMEs; however, not all frontside halo CMEs impact Earth.

Future risk

In 2019, researchers used an alternative method (Weibull distribution) and estimated the chance of Earth being hit by a Carrington-class storm in the next decade to be between 0.46% and 1.88%.

History

Further information: Solar observation

First traces

CMEs have been observed indirectly for thousands of years via aurora. Other indirect observations that predated the discovery of CMEs were through measurements of geomagnetic perturbations, radioheliograph measurements of solar radio bursts, and in-situ measurements of interplanetary shocks.

The largest recorded geomagnetic perturbation, resulting presumably from a CME, coincided with the first-observed solar flare on 1 September 1859. The resulting solar storm of 1859 is referred to as the Carrington Event. The flare and the associated sunspots were visible to the naked eye, and the flare was independently observed by English astronomers R. C. Carrington and R. Hodgson. At around the same time as the flare, a magnetometer at Kew Gardens recorded what would become known as a magnetic crochet, a magnetic field detected by ground-based magnetometers induced by a perturbation of Earth's ionosphere by ionizing soft X-rays. This could not easily be understood at the time because it predated the discovery of X-rays in 1895 and the recognition of the ionosphere in 1902.

About 18 hours after the flare, further geomagnetic perturbations were recorded by multiple magnetometers as a part of a geomagnetic storm. The storm disabled parts of the recently created US telegraph network, starting fires and shocking some telegraph operators.

First optical observations

The first optical observation of a CME was made on 14 December 1971 using the coronagraph of Orbiting Solar Observatory 7 (OSO-7). It was first described by R. Tousey of the Naval Research Laboratory in a research paper published in 1973. The discovery image (256 × 256 pixels) was collected on a Secondary Electron Conduction (SEC) vidicon tube, transferred to the instrument computer after being digitized to 7 bits. Then it was compressed using a simple run-length encoding scheme and sent down to the ground at 200 bit/s. A full, uncompressed image would take 44 minutes to send down to the ground. The telemetry was sent to ground support equipment (GSE) which built up the image onto Polaroid print. David Roberts, an electronics technician working for NRL who had been responsible for the testing of the SEC-vidicon camera, was in charge of day-to-day operations. He thought that his camera had failed because certain areas of the image were much brighter than normal. But on the next image the bright area had moved away from the Sun and he immediately recognized this as being unusual and took it to his supervisor, Dr. Guenter Brueckner, and then to the solar physics branch head, Dr. Tousey. Earlier observations of coronal transients or even phenomena observed visually during solar eclipses are now understood as essentially the same thing.

Instruments

On 1 November 1994, NASA launched the Wind spacecraft as a solar wind monitor to orbit Earth's L₁ Lagrange point as the interplanetary component of the Global Geospace Science (GGS) Program within the International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) program. The spacecraft is a spin axis-stabilized satellite that carries eight instruments measuring solar wind particles from thermal to greater than MeV energies, electromagnetic radiation from DC to 13 MHz radio waves, and gamma-rays.

On 25 October 2006, NASA launched STEREO, two near-identical spacecraft which, from widely separated points in their orbits, are able to produce the first stereoscopic images of CMEs and other solar activity measurements. The spacecraft orbit the Sun at distances similar to that of Earth, with one slightly ahead of Earth and the other trailing. Their separation gradually increased so that after four years they were almost diametrically opposite each other in orbit.

Notable coronal mass ejections

Further information: List of solar storms

On 9 March 1989, a CME occurred, which struck Earth four days later on 13 March. It caused power failures in Quebec, Canada and short-wave radio interference.

On 23 July 2012, a massive, and potentially damaging, solar superstorm (solar flare, CME, solar EMP) occurred but missed Earth, an event that many scientists consider to be Carrington-class event.

On 14 October 2014, an ICME was photographed by the Sun-watching spacecraft PROBA2 (ESA), Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (ESA/NASA), and Solar Dynamics Observatory (NASA) as it left the Sun, and STEREO-A observed its effects directly at 1 AU. ESA's Venus Express gathered data. The CME reached Mars on 17 October and was observed by the Mars Express, MAVEN, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Science Laboratory missions. On 22 October, at 3.1 AU, it reached comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, perfectly aligned with the Sun and Mars, and was observed by Rosetta. On 12 November, at 9.9 AU, it was observed by Cassini at Saturn. The New Horizons spacecraft was at 31.6 AU approaching Pluto when the CME passed three months after the initial eruption, and it may be detectable in the data. Voyager 2 has data that can be interpreted as the passing of the CME, 17 months after. The Curiosity rover's RAD instrument, Mars Odyssey, Rosetta and Cassini showed a sudden decrease in galactic cosmic rays (Forbush decrease) as the CME's protective bubble passed by.

Stellar coronal mass ejections

There have been a small number of CMEs observed on other stars, all of which as of 2016 have been found on red dwarfs. These have been detected mainly by spectroscopy, most often by studying Balmer lines: the material ejected toward the observer causes asymmetry in the blue wing of the line profiles due to Doppler shift. This enhancement can be seen in absorption when it occurs on the stellar disc (the material is cooler than its surrounding), and in emission when it is outside the disc. The observed projected velocities of CMEs range from ≈84 to 5,800 km/s (52 to 3,600 mi/s). There are few stellar CME candidates in shorter wavelengths in UV or X-ray data. Compared to activity on the Sun, CME activity on other stars seems to be far less common. The low number of stellar CME detections can be caused by lower intrinsic CME rates compared to the models (e.g. due to magnetic suppression), projection effects, or overestimated Balmer signatures because of the unknown plasma parameters of the stellar CMEs.

Jewish humor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_humor 

The tradition of humor in Judaism dates back to the Torah and the Midrash from the ancient Middle East, but generally refers to the more recent stream of verbal and often anecdotal humor of Ashkenazi Jews which took root in the United States over the last hundred years, including in secular Jewish culture. European Jewish humor in its early form developed in the Jewish community of the Holy Roman Empire, with theological satire becoming a traditional way of clandestinely opposing Christianization.

Modern Jewish humor emerged during the nineteenth century among German-speaking Jews of the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment), matured in the shtetls of the Russian Empire, and then flourished in twentieth-century America, arriving with the millions of Jews who emigrated from Eastern Europe between the 1880s and the early 1920s.

Beginning with vaudeville and continuing through radio, stand-up, film, and television, a disproportionately high percentage of American comedians have been Jewish. Time estimated in 1978 that 80 percent of professional American comics were Jewish.

Jewish humor is diverse, though it most often favors wordplay, irony, and satire, while its themes are highly anti-authoritarian, mocking religious and secular life alike. Sigmund Freud considered Jewish humor unique in that its humor is primarily derived from mocking the in-group (Jews) rather than the "other". However, rather than simply being self-deprecating, it also contains an element of self-praise.

History

Jewish humor is rooted in several traditions. Recent scholarship places the origins of Jewish humor in one of history's earliest recorded documents, the Hebrew Bible, as well as the Talmud. In particular, the intellectual and legal methods of the Talmud, which uses elaborate legal arguments and situations often seen as so absurd as to be humorous, in order to tease out the meaning of religious law. For example:

The Mishnah states: If a fledgling bird is found within fifty cubits of a dovecote, it belongs to the owner of the dovecote. If it is found outside the limit of fifty cubits, it belongs to the person who finds it.

Rabbi Jeremiah asked: If one foot of the fledgling is within fifty cubits and one foot is outside of it, what is the law?

It was for this question that Rabbai Jeremiah was thrown out of the House of Study

-- Talmud (Bava Batra 23b)

Hillel Halkin in his essay about Jewish humor traces some roots of the Jewish self-deprecating humor to the medieval influence of Arabic traditions on the Hebrew literature by quoting a witticism from Yehuda Alharizi's Tahkemoni. A later Sephardic tradition centered on a Nasreddin-derived folk character known as Djohá.

A more recent one is an egalitarian tradition among the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe in which the powerful were often mocked subtly, rather than attacked overtly—as Saul Bellow once put it, "Oppressed people tend to be witty." Jesters known as badchens used to poke fun at prominent members of the community during weddings, creating a good-natured tradition of humor as a levelling device. Rabbi Moshe Waldoks, a scholar of Jewish humor, argued:

You have a lot of shtoch, or jab humor, which is usually meant to deflate pomposity or ego, and to deflate people who consider themselves high and mighty. But Jewish humor was also a device for self-criticism within the community, and I think that's where it really was the most powerful. The humorist, like the prophet, would basically take people to task for their failings. The humor of Eastern Europe especially was centered on defending the poor against the exploitation of the upper classes or other authority figures, so rabbis were made fun of, authority figures were made fun of and rich people were made fun of. It really served as a social catharsis.

After Jews began to migrate to America in large numbers, they, like other minority groups, found it difficult to gain mainstream acceptance and obtain upward mobility (as Lenny Bruce lampooned, "He was charming. ... They said, 'C'mon! Let's go watch the Jew be charming!'"). The newly-developing entertainment industry, combined with the Jewish humor tradition, provided a potential route for Jews to succeed. One of the first successful radio "sitcoms", The Goldbergs, featured a Jewish family. As radio and television matured, many of its most famous comedians, including Jack Benny, Sid Caesar, George Burns, Eddie Cantor, Jack Carter, Henny Youngman, Milton Berle, and Jerry Lewis were Jewish. The Jewish comedy tradition continues today, with Jewish humor much entwined with that of mainstream humor, as comedies like Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Woody Allen films indicate.

Sigmund Freud in his Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious, among other things, analyzes the nature of Jewish jokes.

Types

Religious humor

As befits a community to which religion was so important, much humor centres on the relationship of Judaism to the individual Jew and the community.

Two Rabbis argued late into the night about the existence of God, and, using strong arguments from the scriptures, ended up indisputably disproving His existence. The next day, one Rabbi was surprised to see the other walking into the shul for morning services.

"I thought we had agreed there was no God," he said.

"Yes, what does that have to do with it?" replied the other.

The part left out is the fact that it was traditional to go to services, regardless of what one believed, and the rabbi was merely following that tradition. This is like the story of the boy who tells his rabbi he can't daven (pray), because he no longer believes in God. The rabbi merely tells him, "Yes God, no God: doesn't matter! Three times a day, you DAVEN!"

Assimilation

The American Jewish community has been lamenting the rate of assimilation and absence of their children as they grow into adults.

Two Rabbis were discussing their problems with squirrels in their synagogue attic. One Rabbi said, "We simply called an exterminator and we never saw the squirrels again." The other Rabbi said, "We just gave the squirrels a bar mitzvah, and we never saw them again."

Self-deprecating

Jews often mock their own negative stereotypes.

Question: How can you always spot a convert to Judaism?
Answer: That's easy. They're the only normal ones in the congregation.

Wit

Similarly, in the tradition of the legal arguments of the Talmud, one prominent type of Jewish humor involves clever, often legalistic, solutions to Talmudic problems, such as:

Q: Is one permitted to ride in an airplane on the Sabbath?

A: Yes, as long as your seat belt remains fastened. In this case, it is considered that you are not riding, you are wearing the plane.

Tales of the Rebbes

Some jokes make fun of the "Rebbe miracle stories" and involve different Hasidim bragging about their teachers' miraculous abilities:

Three Hasidim are bragging about their Rebbes: "My rebbe is very powerful. He was walking once, and there was a big lake in his path. He waved his handkerchief, and there was lake on the right, lake on the left, but no lake in the middle." To which the second retorted, "That's nothing. My rebbe is even more powerful. He was walking once, and there was a huge mountain in his path. He waved his handkerchief, and there was mountain on the right, mountain on the left, but no mountain in the middle!" Said the third, "Ha! That is still nothing! My rebbe is the most powerful. He was walking once on Shabbos (Saturday, the holy day in Judaism, on which it is forbidden to handle money), and there was a wallet crammed full of cash in his path. He waved his handkerchief, and it was Shabbos on the right, Shabbos on the left, but not Shabbos in the middle!"

Or

Caesar said to Joshua ben Hananiah "Why does the Sabbath dish have such a fragrant odor?" Joshua said "We have a certain spice called Shabbat (shevet), that we put in it." "Let me have some", he requested. Joshua replied, "For those who observe Shabbat, it works; for those who don't, it doesn't."

— Shabbat 119a.

The lives of the early Hasidim, while not funny in and of themselves, are rich in humorous incidents. The dealings between rabbis, tzadikim, and peasants form a rich tapestry of lore.

Eastern European Jewish humor

A number of traditions in Jewish humor date back to stories and anecdotes from the 19th century.

Chełm

Jewish folklore makes fun of the Jewish residents of Chełm (Yiddish: כעלעם, Hebrew: חלם; often transcribed as Helm) in eastern Poland for their foolishness. These stories often center on the "wise" men and their silly decisions, similarly to the English Wise Men of Gotham or the German Schildbürger. The jokes were almost always about silly solutions to problems. Some of these solutions display "foolish wisdom" (reaching the correct answer by the wrong train of reasoning), while others are simply wrong.

Many of these stories have become well-known thanks to storytellers and writers such as Isaac Bashevis Singer, a Nobel Prize-winning Jewish writer in the Yiddish language, who wrote The Fools of Chełm and Their History (published in English translation in 1973), and the great Soviet Yiddish poet Ovsey Driz [yi; ru] who wrote stories in verse. The latter achieved great popularity in the Soviet Union in Russian and Ukrainian translations, and were made into several animated films.

Other notable adaptations of folklore Chełm stories into the mainstream culture are the comedy Chelmer Chachomim ("The Wise Men of Chelm") by Aaron Zeitlin, The Heroes of Chelm (1942) by Shlomo Simon, published in English translation as The Wise Men of Helm (Solomon Simon, 1945) and More Wise Men of Helm (Solomon Simon, 1965), and the book Chelmer Chachomim by Y. Y. Trunk. The animated short film comedy Village of Idiots also recounts Chełm tales.

Allen Mandelbaum's "Chelmaxioms : The Maxims, Axioms, Maxioms of Chelm" (David R. Godine, 1978) treats the wise men less as fools than as an "echt Chelm" of true scholars who in their narrow specialized knowledge are nonetheless knowledgeable but lacking sense. The poetry of [Chelmaxioms] is supposedly the discovered lost manuscripts of the wise men of Chelm.

Here are a few examples of a Chełm tale:

It is said that after God made the world, he filled it with people. He sent off an angel with two sacks, one full of wisdom and one full of foolishness. The second sack was much heavier. So after a time it started to drag. Soon it got caught on a mountaintop and so all the foolishness spilled out and fell into Chełm.

One Jewish Chełm resident bought a fish on Friday in order to cook it for Sabbath. He put the live fish underneath his coat and the fish slapped his face with its tail. He went to the Chełm court to submit a charge and the court sentenced the fish to death by drowning.

In Chełm, the shammes used to go around waking everyone up for minyan (communal prayer) in the morning. Every time it snowed, the people would complain that, although the snow was beautiful, they could not see it in its pristine state because by the time they got up in the morning, the shammes had already trekked through the snow. The townspeople decided that they had to find a way to be woken up for minyan without having the shammes making tracks in the snow.
The people of Chełm hit on a solution: they got four volunteers to carry the shammes around on a table when there was fresh snow in the morning. That way, the shammes could make his wake up calls, but he would not leave tracks in the snow.

The town of Chełm decided to build a new synagogue. So, some strong, able-bodied men were sent to a mountaintop to gather heavy stones for the foundation. The men put the stones on their shoulders and trudged down the mountain to the town below. When they arrived, the town constable yelled, "Foolish men! You should have rolled the stones down the mountain!" The men agreed this was an excellent idea. So they turned around, and with the stones still on their shoulders, trudged back up the mountain, and rolled the stones back down again.

A young housewife living in the town of Chełm had a very strange occurrence. One morning, after buttering a piece of bread she accidentally dropped it on the floor. To her amazement, it fell buttered side up. As everyone knows, whenever a buttered piece of bread is dropped on the floor, it always falls buttered side down; this is like a law of physics. But on this occasion it had fallen buttered side up, and this was a great mystery which had to be solved. So all the Rabbis and elders and wise men of Chełm were summoned together and they spent three days in the synagogue fasting and praying and debating this marvelous event among themselves. After those three days they returned to the young housewife with this answer: "Madam, the problem is that you have buttered the wrong side of the bread."

The sexton of the synagogue decided to install a poor box so that the fortunate might share their wealth with the needy. On shabbes eve, he announced to the congregation that a new opportunity for a mitzvoh was available. "But," one member complained, "it will be so easy for the goneffs (thieves) to steal from the box." The sexton thought long and hard that night, and announced the next day that he had found a solution. Pointing upward, he showed, the poor box was now suspended from a chain at the ceiling, high, high, high overhead. "But now how do we put money in the box?" The next week, the congregation saw the wonderful solution. A lovely circular stairway now ascended to the poor box making it easy to contribute.

Hershele Ostropoler

Hershele Ostropoler, also known as Hershel of Ostropol, was a legendary prankster who was based on a historic figure. Thought to have come from Ukraine, he lived in the small village of Ostropol, working as shochet, a ritual slaughterer. According to legend he lost his job because of his constant joking, which offended the leaders of the village.

In his subsequent wanderings throughout Ukraine, he became a familiar figure at restaurants and inns.

Eventually he settled down at the court of Rabbi Boruch of Medzhybizh, grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. The rabbi was plagued by frequent depressions, and Hershele served as a sort of court jester, mocking the rabbi and his cronies, to the delight of the common folk.

After his death he was remembered in a series of pamphlets recording his tales and witty remarks.

He was the subject of several epic poems, a novel, a comedy performed in 1930 by the Vilna Troupe, and a U.S. television programme in the 1950s. Two illustrated children's books, The Adventures of Hershel of Ostropol, and Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, have been published. Both books were written by Eric Kimmel and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. In 2002, a play entitled Hershele the Storyteller was performed in New York City. He is also the protagonist in a new series of comics for children with the titles The Adventures of Hershele, Hershele Rescues the Captives, Hershele and the Treasure in Yerushalayim, Hershele makes the Grade, and Hershele Discovers America.

See also: Motke Chabad

Humor about antisemitism

Much Jewish humor takes the form of self-deprecating comments on Jewish culture, acting as a shield against antisemitic stereotypes by exploiting them first:

Rabbi Altmann and his secretary were sitting in a coffeehouse in Berlin in 1935. "Herr Altmann," said his secretary, "I notice you're reading Der Stürmer! I can't understand why. A Nazi libel sheet! Are you some kind of masochist, or, God forbid, a self-hating Jew?"
"On the contrary, Frau Epstein. When I used to read the Jewish papers, all I learned about were pogroms, riots in Palestine, and assimilation in America. But now that I read Der Stürmer, I see so much more: that the Jews control all the banks, that we dominate in the arts, and that we're on the verge of taking over the entire world. You know – it makes me feel a whole lot better!"

Or, on a similar note:

After the assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, a government official in Ukraine menacingly addressed the local rabbi, "I suppose you know in full detail who was behind it."

"Ach," the rabbi replied, "I have no idea, but the government's conclusion will be the same as always: they will blame the Jews and the chimneysweeps."
"Why the chimneysweeps?" asked the befuddled official.

"Why the Jews?" responded the rabbi.

And another example, a direct slice of galgenhumor (gallows humor):

During the days of oppression and poverty of the Russian shtetls, one village had a rumor going around: a Christian girl was found murdered near their village. Fearing a pogrom, they gathered at the synagogue. Suddenly, the rabbi came running up, and cried, "Wonderful news! The murdered girl was Jewish!"

There is also humor originating in the United States, such as this joke:

During World War II, a sergeant stationed at Fort Benning gets a telephone call from a prejudiced woman.

"We would love it," she said, "if you could bring five of your soldiers over to our house for Thanksgiving dinner."
"Certainly, ma'am," replied the sergeant.
"Oh... just make sure they aren't Jews, of course," said the woman.
"Will do," replied the sergeant. So, that Thanksgiving, while the woman is baking, the doorbell rings. She opens her door and, to her horror, five black soldiers are standing in front of her.
"Oh, my!" she exclaimed. "I'm afraid there's been a terrible mistake!"

"No ma'am," said one of the soldiers. "Sergeant Rosenbloom never makes mistakes!"

This one combines accusations of the lack of patriotism, and avarice:

Post-Soviet Russia. Rabinovich calls the Pamyat headquarters: "Is it true that we Jews sold out Mother Russia?" "Damn right, you filthy kike!" "Oh good. Could you tell me where I might get my share?"

American Jewish humor

A 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 42 percent of American Jews rated humor as essential to their Jewish identity.

About religion

One common strain of Jewish humor examines the role of religion in contemporary life, often gently mocking the religious hypocrite. For example:

A Reform Rabbi was so compulsive a golfer that once, on Yom Kippur, he left the house early and went out for a quick nine holes by himself. An angel who happened to be looking on immediately notified his superiors that a grievous sin was being committed. On the sixth hole, God caused a mighty wind to take the ball directly from the tee to the cup – a miraculous shot.

The angel was horrified. "A hole in one!" he exclaimed, "You call this a punishment, Lord?!"

Answered God with a sly smile, "So who can he tell?"

Or, on differences between Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements:

An Orthodox, a Conservative, and a Reform rabbi are each asked whether one is supposed to say a beracha (blessing) over a lobster (non-kosher food, normally not eaten by religious Jews).
The Orthodox rabbi asks, "What is this...'lobster'...thing?" The Conservative rabbi doesn't know what to say, muttering about responsa. The Reform rabbi says, "What's a beracha?"

In particular, Reform Jews may be lampooned for their rejection of traditional Jewish beliefs. An example, from one of Woody Allen's early stand-up routines:

We were married by a Reform rabbi in Long Island. A very Reform rabbi. A Nazi.

Jokes have been made about the shifting of gender roles (in the more traditional Orthodox movement, women marry at a young age and have many children, while the more liberal Conservative and Reform movements make gender roles more egalitarian, even ordaining women as Rabbis). The Reconstructionist movement was the first to ordain homosexuals, all of which leads to this joke:

At an Orthodox wedding, the bride's mother is pregnant. At a Conservative wedding, the bride is pregnant. At a Reform wedding, the rabbi is pregnant. At a Reconstructionist wedding, the rabbi and her wife are both pregnant.

Often jokes revolve around the social practice of the Jewish religion:

A man is rescued from a desert island after 20 years. The news media, amazed at this feat of survival, ask him to show them his home.

"How did you survive? How did you keep sane?" they ask him, as he shows them around the small island.
"I had my faith. My faith as a Jew kept me strong. Come." He leads them to a small glen, where stands an opulent temple, made entirely from palm fronds, coconut shells and woven grass. The news cameras take pictures of everything – even a torah made from banana leaves and written in octopus ink. "This took me five years to complete."
"Amazing! And what did you do for the next fifteen years?"
"Come with me." He leads them around to the far side of the island. There, in a shady grove, is an even more beautiful temple. "This one took me twelve years to complete!"
"But sir" asks the reporter, "Why did you build two temples?"

"This is the temple I attend. That other place? Hah! I wouldn't set foot in that other temple if you PAID me!"

As with most ethnicities, jokes have often mocked Jewish accents—at times gently, and at others quite harshly. One of the kinder examples is:

One early winter morning, Rabbi Bloom was walking beside the canal when he saw a dog in the water, trying hard to stay afloat. It looked so sad and exhausted that Rabbi Bloom jumped in, and after a struggle, managed to bring it out alive.

A passer-by who saw this remarked, "That was very brave of you! You must love animals; are you a vet?"

Rabbi Bloom replied, "And vhat did you expect? Of course I'm a–vet! I'm a–freezing cold as vell!"

About Jews

Jewish humor continues to exploit stereotypes of Jews, both as a sort of "in-joke", and as a form of self-defence. Jewish mothers, "cheapness"/frugality, kvetching, and other stereotyped habits are all common subjects. Frugality has been frequently singled out:

An old Jewish beggar was out on the street in New York City with his tin cup.

"Please, sir," he pleaded to a passerby, "could you spare seventy-three cents for a cup of coffee and some pie?"
The man asked, "Where do you get coffee and pie for seventy-three cents in New York? It costs at least a dollar!"

The beggar replied, "Who buys retail?"

Or,

What did the waiter ask the group of dining Jewish mothers? "Pardon me ladies, but is ANYTHING all right?"

Or,

A Catholic priest, a Reverend, and a Rabbi are discussing their income.

The Priest says: "I draw a circle on the ground, take the offering, and throw it up into the air. Any money that falls outside the circle is for the Lord, and the money that falls inside the circle is for me."
The Reverend says: "I do things almost the same, except the money that falls outside the circle is my salary, and the money that falls inside the circle is for the Lord."

The Rabbi says: "I do things quite different. I take the offering, throw it up into the air, and pray: "Lord take whatever You need, and feel free to send back the rest."

Or,

Did you hear they built the first Starbucks in Israel? There's a fork in the sugar bowl.

Or,

A Buddhist monk goes to a barber to have his head shaved. "What should I pay you?" the monk asks. "No price, for a holy man such as yourself," the barber replies. And what do you know, the next day the barber comes to open his shop, and finds on his doorstep a dozen gemstones.

Later that day, a priest comes in to have his hair cut. "What shall I pay you, my son?" "No price, for a man of the cloth such as yourself." And what do you know, the next day the barber comes to open his shop, and finds on his doorstep a dozen roses.

Later that day, Rabbi Finklestein comes in to get his payot trimmed. "What do you want I should pay you?" "Nothing, for a man of God such as yourself." And the next morning, what do you know? The barber finds on his doorstep – a dozen rabbis!

Or,

A Jewish man lies on his deathbed, surrounded by his children. "Ah," he says, "I can smell your mother's brisket – how I would love to taste it one last time before I die." So one of his sons hurries down to the kitchen, but he returns empty-handed.
"Sorry, papa. She says it's for the shiva (mourning period)."

Or, about traditional roles of men and women in Jewish families:

A boy comes home from school and tells his mother he got a part in the school play.

"That's wonderful!" says the mother, "Which part?"
"The part of a Jewish husband," says the boy, proudly.

Frowning, the mother says, "Go back and tell them you want a speaking role!"

Or,

A Jewish girl bemoans, "Finally, I meet a nice, rich Jewish boy! He's just like papa. He looks like him. He acts like him. Oy vey, mama hates him!"

Or, on parenting (from David Bader's Haikus for Jews):

Is one Nobel Prize

so much to ask from a child

after all I've done?

Or

"Sarah, how's that boy of yours?"

"David? Ach, don't ask – he's living in Miami with a man named Miguel."
"That's terrible!"

"I know – why couldn't he find a nice Jewish boy?"

Or

Miriam and Sharon, long-time friends, are catching up on one another's lives by telephone.

"But that's enough about me," says Miriam. "I hear your son Isaac has a very successful neurology practice in Brooklyn!"
"Yes, yes," says Sharon. "I could kvell for days."
Continues Miriam, "And that's to say nothing of Reuven. Our first Jewish President of the United States... and he's your son!!"

"Ah yes," replies Sharon, disappointment creeping into her voice. "Reuven... the one who's not a doctor."

Or, on kvetching (complaining),

A Jewish man in a hospital tells the doctor he wants to be transferred to a different hospital.

The doctor says "What's wrong? Is it the food?"
"No, the food is fine. I can't kvetch."
"Is it the room?"
"No, the room is fine. I can't kvetch."
"Is it the staff?"
"No, everyone on the staff is fine. I can't kvetch."
"Then why do you want to be transferred?"

"I can't kvetch!"

An old Jewish man riding on a train begins to moan: "Oy, am I thirsty; oy, am I thirsty", to the annoyance of the other passengers. Finally, another passenger gets a cup of water from the drinking fountain and gives it to the old man, who thanks him profusely and gulps it down. Feeling satisfied, the other passenger sits down again, only to hear "Oy, was I thirsty; oy, was I thirsty".

A version of that joke is quoted in Born To Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All Its Moods, by Michael Wex, who writes,

"It contains virtually every important element of the Yiddish-speaking mind-set in easily accessible form: the constant tension between the Jewish and the non-Jewish; the faux naivete that allows the old man to pretend that he isn't disturbing anyone; the deflation of the other passenger's hopes, the disappointment of all his expectations after he has watered the Jew; and most importantly of all, the underlying assumption, the fundamental idea that kvetching—complaining—is not only a pastime, not only a response to adverse or imperfect circumstance, but a way of life that has nothing to do with the fulfillment or frustration of desire."

About Christianity

Many Jewish jokes involve a rabbi and a Christian clergyman, exploiting different interpretations of a shared environment. Often they start with something like "A rabbi and a priest..." and make fun of either the rabbi's interpretation of Christianity or (seeming) differences between Christian and Jewish interpretation of some areas.

A Catholic priest says to a rabbi, "It seems to me that, since the Creator made pork, He must have made it for some purpose. Therefore, it must be a sin not to use it, don't you think? So, will you finally eat some pork?"
The rabbi replies, "I will try some, Father – at your wedding."

A rabbi once asked his old friend, a priest, "Could you ever be promoted within your Church?"

The priest says, thoughtfully, "Well, I could become a bishop."
The rabbi persists, "And after that?"
With a pause for consideration, the priest replies, "Maybe I could be a cardinal, even."
"And then?"
After thinking for some time, the priest responds, "Someday I may even rise to be the Pope."
But the rabbi is still not satisfied. "And then?"
With an air of incredulity, the priest cries, "What more could I become? God Himself?"

The rabbi says quietly, "One of our boys made it."

A rabbi is on his deathbed, and a friend asks him if he has any last requests. The Rabbi asks his friend to find him a Catholic priest, so that he might convert.

Confused, his friend asks, "Rabbi, why? You have been a great teacher and leader of your followers, and you have led a good and honorable Jewish life. Why would you want to become a Catholic now, before you die?"
He says, "Eh, better one of them than one of us."

(Note: This joke is also seen with an Irish Catholic replacing the Rabbi, and a Protestant minister replacing the Catholic priest.)

A rabbi, a minister, and a priest were playing poker when the police raided the game.

Turning to the priest, the lead police officer said, "Father Murphy, were you gambling?" Turning his eyes to heaven, the priest whispered, "Lord, forgive me for what I am about to do." To the police officer, he then said, "No, officer; I was not gambling." The officer then asked the minister, "Pastor Johnson, were you gambling?" Again, after an appeal to heaven, the minister replied, "No, officer; I was not gambling." Turning to the rabbi, the officer again asked, "Rabbi Goldstein, were you gambling?"

Shrugging his shoulders, the rabbi replied, "With whom?"

A minister told his friend Rabbi Goldman, "Last night, I dreamed of the Jewish Heaven. It was a slum, and it was overflowing with people – running, playing, talking, sitting – doing all sorts of things. But the dream, and the noise, was so terrific that I woke up."

The rabbi said, "Really? Last night, I dreamed of the Protestant Heaven. It was a nice, proper suburb, with neatly trimmed lawns, and houses all neatly lined up."
"And how did the people behave?" asked the minister.

"What people?"

A Catholic priest is called away by a family emergency one day, while on duty attending confession. Not wanting to leave the confessional unattended, he asks his friend, a rabbi from the synagogue across the street, if he can fill in for him.

The rabbi says he wouldn't know what to do, so the priest agrees to stay with him for a few minutes and show him the ropes.
They enter their half of the confessional together and soon enough, a woman enters and says, "Father forgive me, for I have sinned."
"What did you do?" asks the priest.
"I have committed adultery," she replies.
"How many times?" continues the priest.
"Three times."
"Do three Hail Marys, put $5 in the poor-box, and sin no more," finishes the priest.
The woman leaves and not long after a man enters and says, "Father forgive me, for I have sinned."
"What did you do?"
"I have committed adultery."
"How many times?"
"Three times."
"Do three Hail Marys, put $5 in the poor-box, and sin no more." The man leaves.
The rabbi tells the priest he thinks he's got it figured out now, so the priest leaves, and the rabbi waits until another woman enters the confessional, who says, "Father forgive me, for I have sinned."
"What did you do," asks the rabbi.
"I have committed adultery," she replies.
"How many times?"
"Twice."

"I tell you what," says the rabbi. "Go do it one more time and come back. We got a special this week, three for $5!"

Jewish humor in the Soviet Union

See Russian jokes in general, or more specifically Rabinovich jokes, Russian Jewish jokes, Russian political jokes; also History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union.

Q: Rabinovich, what is a fortune?
A: A fortune is to live in our Socialist motherland.
Q: And what's a misfortune?
A: A misfortune is to have such a "fortune".

Or, in the last years of the Soviet Union:

Q: Comrade Lev, why now, just when things are getting better for your people, are you applying for an exit visa to make aliyah to Israel?
A: Well, comrade, there are two reasons. One is that my next-door neighbor is Pamyat and he tells me that after they get rid of you communists, they are coming next after the Jews.
Q: But they will never get rid of us communists!
A: I know, I know, of course you are right! And that's the other reason.

Or

An old Jewish man was finally allowed to leave the Soviet Union, to emigrate to Israel. When he was searched at the Moscow airport, the customs official found a bust of Lenin.

Customs: What is that?
Old man: What is that? What is that?! Don't say "What is that?" say "Who is that?" That is Lenin! The genius who thought up this worker's paradise!
The official laughed and let the old man through.
The old man arrived at Tel Aviv airport, where an Israeli customs official found the bust of Lenin.
Customs: What is that?
Old man: What is that? What is that?! Don't say "What is that?" say "Who is that?" That is Lenin! The sonofabitch! I will put him on display in my toilet for all the years he prevented an old man from coming home.
The official laughed and let him through.
When he arrived at his family's house in Jerusalem, his grandson saw him unpack the bust.
Grandson: Who is that?
Old man: Who is that? Who is that?! Don't say "Who is that?" say "What is that?" That, my child, is eight pounds of gold!

Israeli humor

Israeli humor featured many of the same themes as Jewish humor elsewhere, making fun of the country and its habits, while containing a fair bit of gallows humor as well, as a joke from a 1950 Israeli joke book indicates:

An elderly man refuses to leave for the air raid shelter until he can find his dentures. His wife yells at him, "What, you think they are dropping sandwiches?"

Israelis' view of themselves:

A man dies and comes up to the heavenly court to be judged. An angel informs him that he has to serve some time in hell, but not to worry, he can choose between three different hells: French hell, American hell and Israeli hell. Asks the man: "What's the difference?" Answers the angel: "Well, in French hell, everyone spends the day walking along the boulevards and feasting in bistros. Then, at midnight, everyone is placed in the most boiling-hot water until morning." The man: "Oy, sounds terrible." The angel: "It is." The man: "So what's American hell?" The angel: "Well, in American hell, everyone spends the day watching movies and eating fast-food. Then, at midnight, everyone is placed in the most boiling-hot water until morning." The man: "Oy, sounds terrible." The angel: "It is." The man: "So what's Israeli hell?" The angel: "Well, in Israeli hell, you live on a kibbutz: you wake up at dawn to work all day in the fields, at lunch you get some bread and cheese. Then, at midnight, everyone is placed in the most boiling-hot water until morning." The man: "That sounds horrible, why would anyone want Israeli hell?"

The angel: "'Midnight' isn't exactly midnight...the water isn't exactly hot...we could probably work out some sort of deal and maybe get you a schnitzel..."

Role of Yiddish

"Gefilte fish" on a car, a humoristic parody of the fish symbol

Some Yiddish words may sound comical to an English speaker. Terms like shnook and shmendrik, shlemiel and shlimazel (often considered inherently funny words) were exploited for their humorous sounds, as were "Yinglish" shm-reduplication constructs, such as "fancy-schmancy". Yiddish constructions—such as ending sentences with questions—became part of the verbal word play of Jewish comedians.

Culture of Samoa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Samoa

The traditional culture of Samoa is a communal way of life based on Fa'a Samoa, the unique socio-political culture. In Samoan culture, most activities are done together. The traditional living quarters, or fale (houses), contain no walls and up to 20 people may sleep on the ground in the same fale. During the day, the fale is used for chatting and relaxing. One's family is viewed as an integral part of a person's life. The aiga or extended family lives and works together. Elders in the family are greatly respected and hold the highest status, and this may be seen at a traditional Sunday umu (normal oven).

Samoan culture is present in both the Independent State of Samoa and in American Samoa (a territory of the United States).

Traditional art forms

Construction of a Samoan fale, c. 1896 (see: Architecture of Samoa)

Pe'a, traditional male tattoo.

Both men and women can be tattooed (tatau). A man's tattoo is called the soga'i miki while a woman's tattoo is called a malu.

Women play an important part in contributing with their skills in items of important cultural value including 'ie toga, finely woven mats used in ceremony and gift exchanges. In terms of material goods, during ritual exchange, women give fine mats 'ie toga and decorated bark cloth siapo while men give woodworking items and red feathers.

Bark cloth, called siapo in Samoa (similar to the Fijian tapa cloth called masi), both of which is made from beaten mulberry bark. Patterns or pictures are painted on with a natural brown dye taken from a tree source. These pictures typically depict abstract and realistic depictions of plant life, shells, fish, turtles, and hibiscus flowers. The siapo may be used for clothing, for wrapping objects and even simply for decorative reasons. Ornaments, jewellery and hair accessories are made from naturally occurring materials such as sea shells, coconut and coir. Traditional Samoan medicine is often practiced as a first-line before hospital medicine. This is a type of alternative medicine using plant leaves to massage the affected area.

Wooden figurative sculpture was extremely rare in pre-Christian Samoa, and shares some similarities with Fijian and Tongan sculpture.

'Ava ceremony

Main article: Samoa 'ava ceremony

The 'ava ceremony is the most significant ritual which takes place before all important occasions, including the bestowal of matai chiefly titles. The overall ceremony is highly ritualized, with specific gestures and phrases to be used at various times. Ceremonial items for the 'ava ceremony include the tanoa (round wooden bowl) similar to those used in the kava cultures of other Polynesian societies. The tanoa are made of varying sizes supported by many short legs around it. These bowls and other related instruments are often highly decorated. Known as kava in other parts of Polynesia, the 'ava is a beverage produced from a plant that is drunk throughout the western Pacific region. The drinking of ʻava in Samoa is generally done through highly ritualized ʻava ceremonies. The kava is prepared by a group of people called aumaga. It is brought to each participant by the tautuaʻava, or ʻava server, in the order proscribed by the tufaʻava, or ʻava distributor. Usually, the highest chief of the visiting party is served first, followed by the highest chief of the host party, and then service proceeds based on the rank of the rest of the participants. The drink is served in a polished coconut half shell.

Dance

Boy performing a Samoan fire dance (siva afi).

The traditional Samoan dance is the siva. The female siva is with gentle movements of the hands and feet in time to music. The sasa is a group dance performed sitting to a drum rhythm. Samoan males traditionally perform the fa'ataupati (slap dance), usually performed in a group with no music accompaniment. Other types of dance are modern dance by the younger generations. Traditional Samoan dance is arguably the one area of Samoan culture that has not been touched by Western Civilization. The maulu'ulu is a group dance performed by female counterparts only, also the taualuga is the main Samoan traditional dance that is performed by a village chief (manaia) or village chiefess (taupou). It is often performed at weddings, birthdays and other Samoan celebrations.

In the Samoan culture the Taualuga is used for special celebrations, started by the village chief's son (manaia) or village chief's daughter (taupou). The Tuiga is a Samoan Traditional headpiece(crown) that is made out of different types of things like feathers, human hair, and a variety of different types of shells. Also it's now a privilege to wear the Tuiga because in the 19th century it was only to be worn by the high chief's son, daughter, and also by extended families. Before they start the taualuga, he or she must bow their head and spread out their hands to the people, to thank the people for coming out and for their support. This happens before and after the taualuga. The way we prepare the outfit is stressful. But the outfit is made from fine woven mats that symbolizes time, honor, and traditions, then we add red feathers from the birds of the islands. Next the outfit with a Tapa is made from the bark of the tree and it represents the art and the craft of the Samoan culture. Then there was The Ula Nifo, it's a necklace that is made from whale-tooth that is worn by the head chief or worn by the person who dances the taualuga. It was also a symbol of wealth. Finally, the meaning of the dance. Back in Samoa in the 19th century the person who performed the dance was the high chief's son or daughter that was a virgin.

Languages

In American Samoa, most people are bilingual; they speak both English and Samoan. People in Samoa are also bilingual, but Samoan is stronger and more widely spoken, although the inhabitants of Swains Island speak Tokelauan.

Names

The meaning of a given name is important when naming a child in the Samoan community:

• personal traits: Malosi (strong), Umi (tall), Vave (fast), Fa'avalevale (foolish)
• religious: Toefuata’iga o le talalelei (restoration of the Gospel)
• events: Dodiana (this name was created to commemorate Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana's death)
• objects: Tala (dollar) "selegi"(quarter) "lima sege" (nickel) "sefulu sene" (dime)
• animals: Maile (dog) pusi(cat) pusi feai (wildcat) lioga(lion) aeto(eagle)
• descriptive: Leilani (heavenly flower)
• traditional: Pua’a’elo (this was the name of a Samoan high chief)

Dress

Casual day to day wear will usually comprise an ie lava lava and T-shirt with jandals for shoes (also known as thongs in other regions of the world). Shorts are an alternative to an ie lava lava.

For events or work attire, the traditional ladies clothing is the puletasi which is a matching skirt and tunic with Samoan designs. The lava-lava is a sarong which may be worn by men or women. They are of different patterns and colors, but tend to be plain for men who may wear it as part of an official uniform. Some men have intricate and geometrical patterns that are tattooed onto their lower body and upper legs. The tattooing process is performed without any anaesthesia and is extremely painful. Ceremonial attire includes a headdress called tuiga which is made of shells and feathers.

Cuisine

Samoan umu, an oven of hot rocks above ground

See also: List of Oceanian cuisines

Sundays are traditionally a day of rest, and many families congregate to share an umu together for a Sunday afternoon meal. In a traditional household, the older members of the family will sit and eat first, and as the meal continues the younger members and then children are invited to eat. The umu contains an abundance and variety of dishes ranging from a whole pig, fresh seaweed and crayfish to baked taro and rice. Coconut appears in many Samoan dishes, for example, luau, a parcel of coconut cream wrapped in taro leaves baked in the umu. This dish is eaten in its entirety including the leaves and is rich in taste due to its coconut content.

Pisupo and supoketi served with white rice.

A staple of the modern Samoan diet is pisupo, or canned corned beef. Commonly imported from New Zealand or Australia, pisupo is conventionally served alongside white rice or alaisa fa'apopo (coconut rice), combined with vegetables and noodles to make sapasui, simmered with taro leaves in coconut milk as in palusami, or mixed with supoketi (cooked spaghetti).

The word pisupo is derived from pea soup, which was one of the first canned foods introduced to the island in the 19th century. Today, the word is applied more generically to all foods preserved in cans, especially corned beef, which has become incorporated into the daily social and gastronomic life of Samoans. On occasions such as weddings and birthdays, it has become commonplace to receive cans of corned beef as gifts.

Critics claim that pisupo represents a form of "food colonialism" wherein Western dietary standards displace those of the indigenous populations of the South Pacific, creating a dependence on foreign trade and the importation of processed goods. In recent years, pisupo has been targeted for contributing to an emerging health crisis in Samoa, which has seen a steady increase in obesity and diabetes since the 1960s. It was projected that, by 2020, 59% of men and 81% of women in Samoa would be classified as obese. Nutritionists have pointed to the influx of imported processed foods, sugary beverages, and rice as contributing to the rise in obesity and diabetes in the island. Canned corned beef, in particular, is high in saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol and, like many processed foods, is linked to hypertension.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Samoa

A church in Matavai village, Savai'i

Religion in Samoa encompasses a range of groups, but nearly 100% of the population in Samoa is Christian. The 2001 Census revealed the following distribution of Christian groups: Congregational Christian, 34.8 percent; Roman Catholic, 19.6 percent; Methodist, 15 percent; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , 12.7 percent; Assemblies of God, 6.6 percent; and Seventh-day Adventist, 3.5 percent. These statistics reflected continual growth in the number and size of Mormons and Assemblies of God and a relative decline in the membership of the historically larger denominations. The following groups constitute less than 5 percent of the population: Nazarene, Anglican, Congregational Church of Jesus, Worship Centre, Jehovah's Witnesses, Full Gospel, Peace Chapel, Elim Church, Voice of Christ, and Baptist.

Historic Methodist Chapel at Piula Theological College on Upolu island

There are also members of other religions such as Islam and the Baháʼí Faith; the shared estimate of the Baháʼí population in Samoa circa 2000 according to a profile by the World Council of Churches and the online encyclopedia Encarta was 2% of the nation—some 3600 people—and the only non-Christian community of any number. The country hosts one of only seven Baháʼí Houses of Worship in the world. The Baháʼí Houses of Worship was dedicated by Malietoa Tanumafili II, King of Samoa (1913-2007), who was the first reigning Bahá'í monarch. Although there were no official data, it is generally believed that there are also some practicing Hindus, Buddhists, and Jews in the capital city.

All religious groups are multiethnic; none are composed exclusively of foreign nationals or native-born (Western) Samoans. There are no sizable foreign national or immigrant groups, with the exception of U.S. nationals from American Samoa. Missionaries operated freely within the country. There is strong societal pressure at the village and local level to participate in church services and other activities, and financially support church leaders and projects. In some denominations, such financial contributions often total more than 30 percent of family income. The constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right in practice. The US government found there to be no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice in 2007.

Sports

Samoa performing their Siva Tau before playing South Africa at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Main article: Sports in Samoa

The main sports played in Samoa are rugby union and Samoan cricket (kilikiti). In rugby there are the 3 D's. 1 defence, 2 discipline, and the 3rd one is the DAKKLE. About 30 ethnic Samoans, many from American Samoa, currently play in the NFL. A 2002 article from ESPN estimated that a Samoan male (either an American Samoan, or a Samoan living in the 50 United States) is 40 times more likely to play in the NFL than a non-Samoan American. A number have also ventured into professional wrestling. Soccer is a popular sport in Samoa, with the national team being ranked 149th in the world.

Rugby union is the most popular sport in Samoa. The national team is consistently competitive against teams from vastly more populous nations. Samoa have competed at every Rugby World Cup since 1991, and have made the quarter-finals in 1991, 1995 and 1999. Samoa also play in the Pacific Nations Cup. The sport is governed by the Samoa Rugby Football Union, who are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, and thus, also contribute to the international Pacific Islanders rugby union team. At club level, there is the National Provincial Championship and Pacific Rugby Cup. Prominent Samoan players include Pat Lam and Brian Lima. In addition, there are many Samoans that have played for or are playing for the All Blacks.

Rugby league is a popular sport in Samoa, with the national team reaching the quarter-finals of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. Australian rules football is a popular sport in Samoa, played as Samoa Rules with the national team, the Bulldogs, competing at the Arafura Games and the 2002 and 2005 Australian Football International Cup.

Samoans have been very visible in American professional wrestling, despite the relatively small population of the islands. Dwayne Johnson, Peter Maivia, Yokozuna, Umaga/Jamal, Manu, Rosey, Samoa Joe, The Wild Samoans, The Headshrinkers, Rikishi, Roman Reigns, and Sonny Siaki all have a Samoan heritage.

Sports in American Samoa

Main article: Sports in American Samoa

Sports in American Samoa are influenced by American culture and American football and its league, NFL are popular. For the Independent State of Samoa, New Zealand and British influences has led to the popularity of rugby union, soccer, netball and volleyball.

Fa'aaloaloga

The most salient and perhaps the most prominent part of Samoan culture at formal events is the process of Fa'aaloaloga (formal presentation of gifts). At weddings, chiefly installations (sa'ofaiga), funerals, opening of houses / churches, or any other public gathering of Samoans, Fa'aaloaloga will always be performed.

Ever since the formalisation of Christianity in Samoa and the inclusion of the Christian taeao or mornings into the general recitation of 'mornings' in Samoan speeches, the set protocol has been that the first presentations are always presented to the religious representatives present at the event. This is followed by the highest ranking chiefs by order of rank.

A standard set of presentation is called the sua. This is usually made up of vailolo (drink with money in it; originally it was a coconut and a coconut frond called tuaniu), amoamosa (tray of biscuits and material or a combination of other small foodstuffs like a can of corned beef), and a suatalisua (a box of corned beef and chicken or similar). This is followed by a fine mat or several fine mats (mats of state - ie o le malo), which could vary from 5 metres (16 ft) long to 25–30 metres (82–98 ft) long and 10 metres (33 ft) high. Depending on the occasion and the rank of the person, each of those elements above could be magnified several times by the addition of numbers, and could also include a huge tapa cloth being tied to the young lady presenting the vailolo or draped several metres behind her as she presents it.

Museums

Main article: List of museums in Samoa

There are several museums in Samoa, ranging from Falemata'aga - The Museum of Samoa to the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum. In addition there are a number of arts centres.

Other

In American Samoa, there is a location called Turtle and Shark which is important in Samoan culture — it has a legend, about two people who turned into a turtle and a shark. The U.S. National Park Service says the following about Turtle and Shark: "Villagers from nearby Vaitogi continue to re-enact an important aspect of the legend at Turtle and Shark by performing a ritual song intended to summon the legendary animals to the ocean surface, and visitors are frequently amazed to see one or both of these creatures emerge from the sea in apparent response to this call."