The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-04-16
THE LITERARY WORLD.
TIE WIT And HUMOR IN HEBREW
LITERaTURE.
the Pungcncy and Flavor of the Wittieisms
Sometimes Lost by Translstion-Wh
Of Heine, Borne, Etc.

mark In his Histories deS LanyOeS semi
tiqucs" lie observes: Les pcuples
semitiques manquert complement de
curiosito ct die la facuite de rire.' And
strange 10 cay. Carlyle makes a some
what similpr observation, for he denies
10 the Jewish race the possession Of
hpmcr.
Now. there is an ancient Talmudic
odase to this effect: IL one pHson teils
thee n at thou hast asses ears, do not
mind it. but II two persons make thi'
assertion. at once place PACK saddic
upon thy back" II might De imagined
that. # two such eminent authorities
sgr I'm deny ing TO the Hebrew race the
faculty Of laughter and he power OF
cvoking laughter. there must be some
besis for The imputau q. lNit l '"lh"
that shall lave no difficulty in proNlns
that the charge is uui FUNDED
We meet in Hebrew literature anu III
the writings Of those who were nlfe','g
or indirectly nurlIrcd IN It's spirit VII"
humor. the sympathetic representation
of incongruous clements IN human nature
and life.
Many Of tho witiicisms. icing couched
in Hebrew. In German. or in that stranke'
deecnerative. and uncouth blend Of me
two languages called Niddish, altogcther
lose thsr pungency and flavor Wheh
translated into the vernacular
Some Of the most devout and attentive
readers of the Hebrew Scriptures may
perhaps. have failed 10 observe that even
these pages contain illustrations OF humor
in it's caustic form. And yet the scene
on Mount Carmel. with all It's sublime
accessories. Is not devoid Of an element
Of grim popularity.
The false prophets Of Baal cried 10 their
idol from morning unto even. 20 Baal
hear u.s. Then Elijah mockingly eN-
claims, Cry We louder, for he is goa ;
he is perhaps talking or walking. or he Is
on Journey, or peradvcnture he sleepeth
and must be awaked.' We have here the
main elements Of the ludcrous.
Again, what can be more instinct with
humor than Isaiahs description OF the
manufacture Of an idol2
In the Nlidrashic commentary on the
Book OF Lamentations We meet WIN
dainty little strokes Of mother-wit' whlch
resemble the smile OF tear-bedewed race
In one Of the many and varied comments
In The Midrash on the creation of woman,
the Emperor Hadran is introduced as
conversing with Rabbi Gamaliel. Win
the object Of casting ridicule on the
Bible Hadrian eXclaims. why, your
God is represented therein as thief
He surprised Adam in his sleep, ana
robbed him OF one Of his ribs. Inc
Rabbits daughter Graves permission 10
reply 10 the EnHeror But trst lev me
implore thy protection, puiSsant sire!
she exclaims. "A grave outrage has peen
narnetra,ed IN our house" "Who has
dared to inlict any harm on the abode
OF my friend?" asks the sovereign n
der cover OF night an audacious timer
broke into our house. took silver hagon
from our chest of plate. and left-a soldeh
one in its stead" "What a welcome
theft cries Hadrian; would That sucn
robbers might visit my palace every gay!
"And was not the Creator even such a
thief as this" archly rejoins the blushing
damsel. "who deprived Adam of rib, ana
I'm lieu thereof gave him a loving, lovely
bride?"
Some Of the preachers Of later days,
the maggidim. as they were termed, were
Of the opinion that they were by no
means guilty of irreverence or indecorum
II they succeeded in raising smile or
even elici.ing a laugh in the course OF
their sermons. One of the most famous
Of these wandering preachers was RABBI
Jacob, the maggid of Dubno, small
town in Poland. who hCurished at the
close Of the last century. The mashalim,
or parables. which ne was fond of in
Producing into his pulpit addresses, have
become household words in Jewry.
II is interesting to note how clever
some of thes Old World rabbis were at
repartee Ezekiel Landau received his
calls to Prague while he was still In
early manhood His appointment evoked
some jealousy on the part of older as
pirants When he took his seat for the
first time, at q gathering of the nota-
bles on a raised dais, one Of the disap-
pointed rivals observed, ironically,
Rabbi II seems to me that thy chair
is somewhat too high for thee" Landau,
turning 10 him, answered: Friend. thou
art mistaken; thy table is too low for
me-"
The elder McndelsJohn delighted IN
alniabie salnes of wit The story OF his
courtshIp is not without it's romantic
touches. He loved fair, blue-eyed mai
den, but lie was ill-favored and crook
backed The first impulse OF the maiden
Was 70 reject his suit. Shy and reserved
though he was, he one day took courage
and engaged in conversation with her.
do you believe what our sages Of old
have taught, that marriages are made
in Heaven" "Assuredly." replied the
pious maiden. Il l ave heard" he con-
tinued, that In my case something
weird and strange came 10 pass.
IL was told unto me that when l was
horn, the name of my future wife was duly
proclaimed. And the fiat went forth that
she should be afflicted with an unsightly
hump. Then my soul walled forth; A
damsel that is deformel Is apt 10 grow
sour and ill-tempered. Benefcent
Creator. lay the hump uIon me and suffer
this babe 10 grow in beauty charming all
beholdtrs." When the maiden heard these
her ha 81 will
admiration, and not many days lapsed
ere she became the bride of the happy
philosopher
In Helne and Borne we probably reach
the highest and most Perfect evolutions
Of Hebrew wit and humor 1t is true
that these two gifted writer's outwardiy
renounced Judaism but. as the historian
Braetz subtly puts II, only like combat
ants who, by assuming the colors OF
their enemy's uniform, could all the more
easily strike and successfully vanqush
him. The rich and varied blossoms OF
their fruitful min Is spr3ng from Jewish
soil. Their love OF truth, their devotion
TO freedom. but especially their wit were
Jewish The bursts Of light, with which
they ilumined Germany. now I'm all the
varied hues of the rainbow, and again In
lurid flashes. were all charged with the
electricity OF their Judaic origin and
training.
During the major portion OF this CEN
fury, the Hungarian Saphir was acknowl-
edged as the leading humorist In Austria
Some OF his sayings anent money are
as witty as they are true.
"Who has money? The rich That Is
misfortune. II only the poor people
had money we should see what poor devils
those rich PEOPLE are. IL is no art TO be
I'll Ae.