By Steve Rabey
Religion Correspondent

For a century, American Jews have had an outsized role in American comedy.

From Groucho Marx to Jerry Seinfeld, Jackie Mason to Jon Stewart, Joan Rivers to Gilda Radner, and Jerry Lewis to Seth Rogen, Jews have used jest to make fun of both themselves and the world, and to keep from crying.

“If they’re laughing, how can they bludgeon you to death?” asked Mel Brooks, whose 1967 dark comedy film “The Producers” satirized the producers of a Broadway play praising Hitler.

Temple Shalom in Colorado Springs will offer a serious look at being Jewish and being funny in a 10-week class, “Jewish Humor — Sinai to Seinfeld — Jews and their humor,” on Wednesday evenings beginning this week.

“We need some humor in our life,” said Kobi Chumash, a popular teacher who will be leading the course amid a rise in antisemitism, online hate speech and hate crimes stemming from Hamas’ attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel’s military response in Gaza.

“The Jewish community around the world has experienced some hard situations, and we thought this would be an uplifting course,” said Chumash, Temple Shalom’s executive director.

The classes will include videos, lectures and discussion of readings.

“Jews are very sensitive when other people make fun of them, but they always poke fun at themselves,” he said. “You can see it through history. Jokes, sarcasm and laughter are mechanisms to cope with pain and with suffering. It’s remarkable how that does work.”

One-third of American Jews said having a good sense of humor is essential to Jewish identity, more than double the 15% who said following Jewish law is essential, according to a 2021 report from Pew Research Center.

“Jews have a sense of humor that helps them and moves them forward,” Chumash said. “Humor is our way of saying current problems are not the end of the world, that we can do something, and there is a way to overcome obstacles.”

Jewish humor has roots in Jewish scripture, Chumash says, including at least one reference to potty humor. In 1 Kings 18:27, the prophet Elijah mocks the prophets of Baal when their god fails to deliver a miracle.

Elijah challenges the prophets to shout louder “to catch the attention of your god! Perhaps he is talking to someone, or is out sitting on the toilet, or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!” (Living Bible translation.)

Other examples include:

— Balaam and his donkey (Numbers 22:21–34). Balaam, a professional seer, cannot see an angel in the road, but his donkey sees the angel clear as day.

“The irony is humorous,” Chumash says. “The seer is blind, and the animal has clearer spiritual vision.”

— The fat king Eglon (Judges 3:15–25). The assassination of the obese King Eglon of Moab “contains physical humor and irony, even as it tells a violent story,” Chumash says.

— Jonah’s exaggerated pouting (Jonah 4). “After Nineveh repents and is spared, Jonah becomes melodramatically upset,” Chumash says. “The exaggerated emotional swings and God’s gentle questioning create satirical humor about prophetic self-importance.”

Chumash was born in Israel and served seven years in the Israeli Air Force. He and his family moved to Colorado Springs in 2003 and the next year he began teaching Hebrew at Colorado College, where he also serves as the school’s Coordinator of Jewish Life.

He’s also teaching a “Crash Course in Jewish History,” which covers 4,500 years over 10 Tuesday classes starting March 10.

Chumash’s two classes are part of Temple Shalom’s robust educational offerings, which include classes for children and youth. Rabbi Jay Sherwood teaches a weekly adult class on the Torah and a conversion class for people interested in practicing Judaism.

The Jewish humor class is offered through the Florence Melton School
of Adult Jewish Learning and costs $295 for non-Temple members. The history class costs $160. Both classes run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Registration information can be found on the Events & Programs page of Temple Shalom’s website.