Introductory joke to my son’s bar-mitzvah speech:
In a slalom race there are twenty gates to ski through in the shortest time possible. There was once an orthodox Jew from Montreal who tried out, and made it into the winter Olympics. He had broken a couple world records in the past, and finally the race came. The Swiss skier finished in 38.7 seconds, the German in 37.8, the Italian in 38.1, and the French in 38.0. The Canadian yeshiva bocher went down, and the time ticked away. After a full five minutes, he finally came down, panting. “What took you so long?” his coach yelled. The Canadian answered angrily, “Now who’s the wise guy that put a mezuzah on each one of those gates?”
Glossary:
yeshiva = place of Jewish learning
bocher = young man
mezuzah = small scroll with words of Torah that must be placed in doorway of one’s home (it is customary to kiss a mezuzah as one walks by)
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Update: For more on the bar-mitzvah and on our rabbi (from whom my son “stole” the joke), please read Tales from HP4 on Larry’s blog.
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Haveil Havalim, the Jewish blog carnival hosted this week by the industrious Imabima, is now online.
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i’m impressed that he started with a joke!:-) (and a funny one!)
mazel tov!!!!!
Our rabbi, Rabbi Bassous, starts almost every drasha on Shabbat with a joke. Sometimes two. So he’s a role model for opening a speech.
I think my son had good delivery, too. (so proud of him)
Great joke!
so proud of him
As well you should be! May he – and his siblings – continue to be a source of much joy and nachat to you and your family!
I was also going to say that starting with a joke was very brave. I am going to visit Larry’s blog..
I like the joke! It makes me wonder what the rest of the speech was about.
Did I already tell you? I tagged you in the Super-Power Meme. Getting a bit senile, I think…
SuperPower meme? Hmm, will have to think of how to deal with this one. Maybe some connection to a parsha post and Noah.
Mazel Tov on your sons bar mitzvah!
I remember hearing that joke, it’s a good one.
Did your son lain the parsha or haftorah?
He layned both, and he was so relieved when it was over! He surprised me with how beautiful his voice is. He also sang Az Yashir in Shaharit.
Very nice that he layned both! That is beautiful!
Mazel Tov on the bar mitzvah!
What a great photo, filled with serenity and warmth, even though it is a winter scene.