There’s a joker in every class

When I lived in New York, I taught English and Judaism to a class of elderly immigrants from the Soviet Union. Back then it wasn’t even the “former” Soviet Union.

As we approached Yom Kippur, I wondered how to explain the basics of the holiday in simple English. The prohibition on intimate relations gave me the most trouble. Finally, I decided to say “A husband and wife do not sleep together.” Immediately an old man shouts out from the back, “But with the other people it is okay. . .”

Comments

  1. lol!!!

  2. mother in israel says

    Leora, don’t forget my 7yo and the redhead.

  3. mother in israel says

    And thanks for the reassurance, I hope I didn’t offend anybody.

  4. HA! Good one, good one!!

  5. Are you trying to compete with Frum Satire for humor? Lessee, you had a wife-beating poke yesterday (though that one had a very good reason to poke), and this one is just plain ole adultery humor. With an old Russian guy thrown in. Both good posts, MiI, both good! I bet that old Russian guy would have been hysterical if he had led the class.

  6. thanks for the laugh!

  7. Good one.

  8. LOL!
    BTW, years ago, I also taught English and Judaism to elderly Russian immigrants. Your story inspired me to post about it today.

  9. A Living Nadneyda says

    Love it!
    גמר חתימה טובה.

  10. sylvia_rachel says

    LOL! đŸ˜€

  11. Very droll. Gmar chasimah tovah.

  12. That made me chuckle out loud (COL?)

  13. Jacob Da Jew says

    Ah, as this guy in Shul likes to say, even though there is snow on the roof, the boiler is still going.

  14. So what do we tell kids?

  15. Old people rock!

  16. That is hysterical. Reminds me a lot of my extended in-law family – somehow there is a directness and bluntness about life that is uniquely Russian.
    Gmar tov!!

  17. Balabusta in Blue Jeans says

    Perfect. Old Russian men are the best…