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The Great Medieval Rabbis Who Wrote Parodies of Religious Texts
The sophisticated tradition of Purim humor.
There are some who believe that religion and humor are fundamentally at odds: the former is rooted in reverence, the latter in mockery. I would confront that claim with the holiday of Purim, which begins Thursday night and celebrates the story told in the book of Esther—a biblical book with parodic, even satirical, elements. As a result, much of the day is given up to merriment; joke-telling and humorous skits are venerable traditions. But Purim humor isn’t just a folk custom: Jewish scholars composed learned and sophisticated parodies of sacred texts for the day.
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The Great Medieval Rabbis Who Wrote Parodies of Religious Texts
The sophisticated tradition of Purim humor.