Hey, have you heard the one about the (fill-in-the-blank)? Or have you heard the one where a (fill-in-the blank), a (fill-in-the-blank), and a (fill-in-the-blank) walk into a bar?
Ethnic jokes. We’ve all heard them. Many of us have even shared them. But really, what is humourous about poking fun at the expense of someone else?
“Rabbi, it’s just a joke! It’s all in good fun. Loosen up!”
In their Tony-award winning musical, Avenue Q, Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx reflect on the racism inherent in the uncouth, but truthful ethnic joke:
Everyone's a little bit racist
Today.
So, everyone's a little bit racist
Okay!
Ethnic jokes might be uncouth,
But you laugh because
They're based on truth.
Don't take them as
Personal attacks.
Everyone enjoys them -
So relax!
Relax? Loosen up? Is a joke ever really just a joke? What is the end result of the joking? Negative beliefs and stereotypes are reinforced by the telling of ethnic jokes or using racist language.
I certainly cannot claim to have avoided telling or laughing at ethnic jokes. Over the years, however, such jokes have made me more and more uncomfortable. Perhaps because I realize that as a Jew, my ethnic group is often the butt of such jokes. And that is no laughing matter.
And if it’s not all right for people to make fun of us, why would it be all right for us to make fun of other groups?
Judaism places a great deal of importance on the words carried from one person to another. Perhaps the clear exhortation against hurtful language is a direct result of being on the receiving end of disparaging words throughout history. Our Holiness Code (Leviticus 19) lists talebearing (Leviticus 19:16) as one of the numerous activities we are to avoid if we are to remain a holy people. The Talmud expands upon this by teaching that “lashon hara kills three – the speaker, the one who hears it, and the one about whom the speaker speaks.” Clearly, our Tradition takes this issue very seriously.
Sharing ethnic jokes might seem like harmless fun. Disparaging remarks about a particular group has the potential to chip away at the self-pride its members ought to have. Self-image is malleable and therefore subject to external comments and beliefs. Like other ethnic minorities, we discern clues about our self-worth as Jews among the comments of others. It is for this reason that Jewish law clearly prohibits using language that has the potential to harm.
Whether hearing a joke at a party or receiving a joke as part of an email blast, be cautious. Remember – just as our words have the power to turn what is ordinary and make it holy, so too can they destroy sacredness and render it profane.
Kol Tuv!
Rabbi Rebecca Yaël Schorr
Rivster is a young, hip, mother-of-three, living in California. As the Associate Rabbi of Congregation B'nai Tzedek (www.cbtfv.org), she is one-half of the first father-daughter Rabbinic team to serve a congregation. Read her wonderful blog Frume Sarah's World and get to know her better on the MJM Social Network!
Do you have questions for our MJM Rabbi? Email us at meredith@modernjewishmom.com.
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