Passover humor? No, this isn’t some kind of joke. Well, actually it is. Although Passover is more associated with maror than mirth, today we are going to look at the lighter side of the holiday of liberation on the World Wide Web.
Harry Leichter’s Jewish Humor site is massive with more than 50 pages of jokes, at www.haruth.com/jhumorlink.htm His Pesach page has a healthy selection of groaners including this one, at www.haruth.com/ JhumorPesach.html
“A Jewish man took his Pesach lunch to eat outside in the park. He sat down on a bench and began eating. A little while later a blind man came by and sat down next to him. Feeling neighborly, the Jewish man passed a sheet of matzoh to the blind man. The blind man ran his fingers over the matzoh for a few minutes, looked puzzled, and finally exclaimed, ‘Who wrote this nonsense?'”
Do you think you know everything about Passover? Then try the Passover quiz. Here’s a sample question from Jacob Richman’s Humor Pages, http://jr.co.il/humor/passover.htm: “On Seder night, we are supposed to drink wine until: a) Uncle Irving’s jokes sound new to you (b) you can no longer tell the difference between Pharaoh and Moses (c) you don’t miss bread.”
Or how about going a round of Passover Jeopardy (where you get the answer and try to figure out the question)? The answer: “A classroom, a Passover ceremony and a latke.” The question: “What is a cheder, a seder and a tater?” You’ll find it at www.humormatters.com/ holidays/passover.htm]
One of the most delightful Pesach sites that you’ll find is Uncle Eli’s Special for-Kids Most Fun Ever Under-the-Table Passover Haggadah, www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Uncle_Eli/Eli.html
Written in the style of Dr. Seuss, Uncle Eli retells the Haggadah in a familiar yet unique way: “Why is it only on Passover night we never know how to do anything right? We don’t eat our meals in the regular ways the ways that we do on all other days…Cause on all other nights we may eat all kinds of wonderful good bready treats like big purple pizza that tastes like a pickle crumbly crackers and pink pumpernickel…Yes — on all other nights we eat all kinds of bread but tonight of all nights we munch matzah instead.”
Passover wouldn’t be the same without its wonderful songs. But if you are looking for a break from “Dayenu” or “Chad Gadya,” there are plenty of more contemporary tunes to try out such as “There’s No Seder Like our Seder,” “Afikomen” (sung to the tune of “Oklahoma”) and the best of the bunch, “Our Passover Things”: “Cleaning and cooking and so many dishes Out with the hametz, no pasta, no knishes, Fish that’s gefillted, horseradish that stings, These are a few of our Passover things.” These and others are at kosher4passover.com/ parodies.htm
But before we conclude, a holiday health warning for you, from Jerry’s Jewish Humor WebPage, www.fortunecity.com/millenium/southwater/113/jewish_humor_1.html: Did you know that a group of leading medical people have published data that indicates that seder participants should not partake of both chopped liver and charoses? It is indicated that this combination can lead to charoses of the liver!