Ship of Fools: The wayward son

Thread: The wayward son Board: The Laugh Judgment / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Simon (# 1) on :

Joke submitted by Andrew Rilstone, simon and Kenneth Nesbitt:

A Rabbi is saying his evening prayers.

"O Lord," he says, "a great shame has come upon my family. My eldest son has turned Christian."

God shrugs his shoulders sadly. "Your son!" he says.

[Title]

[ 02. August 2005, 11:22: Message edited by: Pyx_e ]

Posted by Foaming Draught (# 9134) on :

It's better in the original lengthier form which features a Jewish businessman consulting a rabbi who consults God and reports back.

Posted by Zeke (# 3271) on :

This is very much like the kind of jokes that Jewish people tell (I think I saw a variant of it in a book that was a salute to Yiddish). You can just hear the tone of God's voice, just like a couple of friends at the local temple complaining to each other about their problems. I thought it was pretty funny.

I think some people might be offended by the implication that Jesus had it all wrong and that God was disappointed in him, but for some reason that didn't bother me at all.

Posted by The Prophetess (# 1439) on :

Erm, I didn't find this one particularly funny because it seems to hinge on an understanding of Jesus's identity that I don't share. I don't consider him to be Christian, but Jewish. Perhaps a Jewish listener might think differently.

Posted by CatCov (# 9864) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Foaming Draught:
It's better in the original lengthier form which features a Jewish businessman consulting a rabbi who consults God and reports back.

I agree. The repetition of "Your son!" is what sets up the punchline --- if telling this short version it almost seems that God should say something more.

Posted by Dave the Bass (# 155) on :

The version I know is even longer. It has two Jewish friends realising that both their sons have become Christians. They go to see the rabbi, only to find he has the same problem, so all three go into the synagogue to ask God about it, and you can guess the rest. It's the build up and the repetition that make the punch-line really funny. You also need to be able to do a good Jewish accent to make it work.

Posted by Simon (# 1) on :

Here's one of the alternative versions we received, just for the record, sent to us by a chap called Lawrence...

quote:
Sarah met Rachel at the store. Rachel asked how Sarah was doing.

"Funny you should mention that. My only son, I wanted him to become a Rabbi, came to me last week and said he was going to become a Christian."

"Oh dear, What did you do?"

"I went to the Rabbi and said: 'My only son, I wanted him to become a Rabbi, came to me last week and said he was going to become a Christian.'"

"And the Rabbi said: 'Funny you should mention that. My only son, I wanted him to succeed me as Rabbi, came to me last week and said he was going to become a Christian.'"

"I asked the Rabbi what did he do. He said, 'I went into the synagogue and prayed: "Lord, Master of the Universe, what am I to do? My only son, I wanted him to succeed me as Rabbi, came to me last week and said he was going to become a Christian." Suddenly the building started shaking, there was thunder and lightning and this mighty voice boomed out: "Funny you should mention that..."'"

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

My first reaction was 'Wot's so effing funny?' Not having heard it firsthand from an old Jewish guy, I failed to see the humour, though I sort of got the point. Would that Lawrence's long version were the first one you posted, Simon!

Posted by The Coot (# 220) on :

Quite liked this, but I was hearing God with the Jewish mother voice so perhaps that's why...

Posted by ken (# 2460) on :

quote:
Originally posted by The Coot:
Quite liked this, but I was hearing God with the Jewish mother voice so perhaps that's why...

We once had a vicar who could act.

At a Bible study or something he read Numbers 11 doing God and Moses in different Jewish accents.

When he got to Moses saying: "Am I their mother?" we were rolling in the aisles.

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