The Big Jewish Book for Jews: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Really Jewish Jew

by Ellis Weiner, Barbara Davilman

A hilarious compendium of traditional wisdom, recipes, and lore from the authors of the bestselling Yiddish with Dick and Jane. Modern Jews have forgotten cherished traditions and become, sadly, all- too assimilated. It's enough to make you meshugeneh. Today's Jews need to relearn the old ways so that cultural identity means something other than laughing knowingly at Curb Your Enthusiasm- and The Big Jewish Book for Jews is here to help. This wise and wise-cracking fully-illustrated book offers invaluable instruction on everything from how to sacrifice a lamb unto the lord to the rules of Mahjong. Jews of all ages and backgrounds will welcome the opportunity to be the Jewiest Jew of all, and reconnect to ancestors going all the way back to Moses and a time when God was the only GPS a Jew needed.

Genres: Jewish, Judaism, Nonfiction, Humor, Religion, Judaica, Audiobook

314 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2010

Reviews

[Doris Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it because it made me smile. It was witty and humorous with cute illustrations and tables. Some chapters: Introduction to "Hondling"; Fringe Benefits: The Tallit; How to Build a Sukkah; How to Change Your Name; How and Why To Make Chopped Liver; Learn to Embrace "Fiddler"; Use the Bible to Tell If Your Wife Is Unfaithful"; How to Build an Ark (Just in Case) – of Global Flooding.

Although it's light and funny, in parts the authors showed that they had a depth of knowledge of Judaism, and I learned some things I had not known before about Judaism. But it's mostly for fun.

I liked the jokes, such as:
Young rabbi on his first job, finds rats infesting his synagogue. He seeks advice from an elder rabbi. The elder thinks a few minutes, then says "Here's the solution. Wait in the sanctuary until they come out. When they do, perform a Bar Mitzvah service for all of them. Believe me, after that, you'll never see them again!" (This is "The Rabbi's Lament".)

I could enjoy re-reading it, and maybe I will.

[Bonnie G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't finish this so take from this what you will. The purported aim of this book is to make Judaism more modern and relevant for younger people and on that score it fails utterly. The information about Jewish culture feels right and shows some real insight, but the humor which is used here as a delivery system is too dated even for me and I am in my 50's. Shecky Greene is risen! Some of this made me smile but mostly it felt like I was spending a week at the Concord.

[Courtney Ferriter · Rating 3 out of 5]

** 3 stars **

Funny, tongue-in-cheek look at various aspects of Jewish identity: religious, cultural, social, linguistic, and more! Learn totally useful life skills like how to be passive-aggressive and how to overfeed your guests. Contemplate disciplining your child using "traditional" biblical methods (i.e. stoning them to death). Ponder why Chinese food, pickles, and chopped liver are considered essential Jewish foods. All these and more topics are covered in this humorous volume. I do think, however, that this book will only be funny to Jews or people who have spent lots of time around American Jews (especially in the era of the 1950s-1970s), as the humor relies on stereotypes and cultural knowledge of Judaism and Jewish identity.

[Carolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very funny read, I love learning about jewish culture, but at times it felt too cynical and harsh on itself, I felt a little uncomfortable with some jokes, but overall I liked it and appreciated the sense of humor.

[C. Varn · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book is funnier if you are a) Jewish and b) grew up in a Jewish community in the Northeast of the US, this book is fairly hilarious and yet insightful for key bits of Jewish cultural mentality. Covering both points of Jewish religion and the Jewish culture of the US post-War 2 but pre-1970s, it is a useful book as one laughs one's way into cultural literacy. Warning: it does rely on a lot of stereotypes but does so in a particular sardonic context.

[Shannon K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute, but I didn't really learn much about being Jewish except what's already a stereotype. I did discover, however, that many of my bizarre personality traits that I thought were just me are actually part of a rich religious and cultural heritage. Now I feel vindicated.

[David Skies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hooray! I will now be better able to write believable, stereotypically Jewish characters as they would have appeared in the early 1950's! Thank you, Big Jewish Book for Jews!

[Deirdre E Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny look at the American Jew - think The Nanny or Seinfeld.
In saying that, after listening to this fabulous book, one does get an idea of why they were often encouraged to leave a country.
Thoroughly enjoyable, thank you for collection of your word Ellis Weiner and Barbara Davilman, and for your eloquence Ellis, Barbara, Yuri Rasovsky and Lorna Raver, very much appreciated :-)

[Roseanne Saldivar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! A lot of information, presented in a organized, comical manner.

[B.L. Blankenship · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with so many cute anecdotes. It's altogether amusing and fun. I enjoyed it very much.

[Ivan Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and informative
Great performance from the characters used in this book

[Paola Paz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh... hay cosas chistosas, por ejemplo, descubrí que toda mi vida he hablado como rabino ortodoxo.
Para nada recomendado si quieres conocer esta cultura.

[Kelly]

9 April 2024 - taking a break from this book bec I haven't read any of it over a month.

[SC · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 2 out of 5]

[Update (2023-Apr-24): I tried listening again. I still found the sound effects silly, but I was able to get through it. I found the book mildly informative at times. They made a lot of jokes, but I never really laughed. I originally gave this audiobook 2 stars but I would up that rating to 2 1/2 stars because of the interspersed information. Overall though, I don't think it would be worth wading through all the silliness to get to it.]

[Original review follows except for a correction of a typo.]

I tried to listen to the audiobook, but I found it to be over-produced with too many silly sound effects. It wasn't funny and I felt patronized. I abandoned this book.

I imagine that reading this book rather than listening to the audiobook might be a better experience. After all... a book does not have silly sound effects and the reader can provide their own mental "voice" to deliver the comedic lines. That is more likely to make sense.

I doubt I will return to this book except possibly in written form.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s great and so true, also informational. So what, you read a book, gantesh magliah. !

[Jennifer Brower · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this book on audio and it was really fun. In fact, I have listened to it in its entirety about 5 times in the past few months. The author made it fun and it helps to make Jewish culture understandable to the non-Jewish world. Whether born into a Jewish family, a convert, or just a friend, you will definitely laugh out loud :)

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tongue-in-cheek (I think...) call for a return to the old Jewish way of living.
For the truly committed, and the curious who don't want to read a long, tedious
academic tome to get to the juicy stuff.

[Joel Lantz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was like looking into a mirror at times. A very funny and informative book.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous