Folktales of the Jews, Volume 1: Tales from the Sephardic Dispersion

71. The Rabbi and the Priest (IFA 14039)

71 The Rabbi and the Priest T O L D B Y A L F R E D O S A R A N O T O M A T I L D A K O E N - S A R A N O One day a rabbi and a priest were traveling together in a train, talking about religion. The priest took a small parcel out of his pocket, opened it, and prepared to eat. What had he brought to eat? Bread and pork salami. But before he took the first bite, the priest turned to the rabbi. “Please! Would you like a taste?” The rabbi trembled all over. But trying to sound natural, he answered, “No thank you. Don’t you know that we Jews don’t eat pork?” “Ah,” replied the priest. “You don’t know what you’re missing!” And he proceeded to eat the bread and salami. When the train reached the station, the two got off and shook hands. Before each went his own way, the rabbi turned to the priest. “Give my regards to your wife!” “What?” replied the priest. “Don’t you know that priests don’t marry?” “Ah!” replied the rabbi. “You don’t know what you’re missing!” 590 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 71 (IFA 14039) Told by Alfredo Sarano to Matilda Koen-Sarano in Jerusalem in 1982.1 Cultural, Historical, and Literary Background This tale belongs to a narrative cycle about humorous encounters between rabbis and priests in which the rabbi maintains verbal witty superiority. The joke is most relevant to Jews living in Catholic countries; however, it is also current among Jews of other countries, where celibacy is not required of religious leaders. An oral version, recorded in the United States, is available.2 In other versions of this tale, Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786) responds wittily to a bishop’s query.3 Reik4 cited a tradition in which the philosopher and philologist Lazarus Geiger (1829–1870) makes the witty repartee. This joke was also known among eastern European Jews,5 and Cray6 considered the variants of this story to be “the most widely known of the rabbi trickster cycle.” A study of this basic situation has been conducted,7 and a discussion of this joke in the context of humor about food taboos is available.8 There are two other common punch lines for this tale. In one version, having the last word, the rabbi says “It is better than ham.” In the other, in reply to the priest’s urging him to eat ham, the rabbi says, “I’ll eat it on your wedding day.” Similarities to Other IFA Tales In the IFA, there are six other versions of this story. • IFA 2551: A Dispute between a Priest and a Rabbi (Poland). • IFA 7399: Who Is the Loser? (Russia). • IFA 10351: The Rabbi’s Loss and the Priest’s Loss (Spain).9 • IFA 12574: What Is Tastier? (Turkey).10 • IFA 15907: The Priest and the Rabbi (Poland, Yiddish speaker). • IFA 16199: The Priest and the Rabbi (Poland, Yiddish speaker). Folklore Motifs • C110 “Tabu: sexual intercourse.” • C221.1.1.5 “Tabu: eating pork.” • J1250 “Clever verbal retorts—general.” • J1262 “Repartee based on doctrinal discussions.” • T310 “Celibacy and continence.” • V360 “Christian and Jewish traditions about each other.” • X700 “Humor concerning sex.” __________ Notes __________ 1. First published in Koen-Sarano, Kuentos del folklor de la famiya DjudeoEspanyola , 298–299. 71 / The Rabbi and the Priest  591  2. Dorson, “Jewish-American Dialect Stories on Tape,” 145–146 no. 39. 3. S. Mendelsohn, Let Laughter Ring, 37; and Teitelbaum, An Anthology of Jewish Humor and Maxims, 356. 4. Jewish Wit, 156. 5. Druyanow, Sefer ha-Bedih.ah ve-ha-H.. idud (The book of jokes and witticisms) 2:392 no. 2023. 6. “The Rabbi Trickster,” 341–342 nos. 13a–13c. 7. L. Mintz, “Humoristic Confrontations of Religious Figures.” 8. C. Davies, Ethnic Humor around the World, 281–282. 9. Published in H.aviv, Taba‘at ha-Kesem be-Golani (The magic ring in Golani), 27 no. 2. 10. Published in Alexander and Noy, The Treasure of Our Fathers, 194–195 no. 67.  592  Folktales of the Jews: Volume 1  592  Folktales of the Jews: Volume 1 ...