Index
God
A Jew dies. He ascends to Heaven. At the pearly gates, he is introduced to St. Peter.
“We have one entry requirement for Jews,” St. Peter says. “To get in, you need to tell a joke that makes God laugh.”
The Jew is confused.
“And if God doesn’t laugh, you stay in Purgatory until you can think of a joke that makes God laugh.”
“Can I have some time to think about it?” the Jew says.
“Don’t tell that one,” St. Peter says. “He’s heard it before.”
So the Jew sits on a cloud outside the gates and thinks for a while. When he’s ready, he tells St. Peter, and St. Peter summons God to the gates to hear the Jew’s joke.
“What have you got for me?” God says.
“Well —” the Jew says. Then he tells a long and involved joke about the Holocaust.
God doesn’t laugh. He looks shocked.
“That wasn’t funny,” God says. “That’s just awful. All those poor people.”
“Well,” the Jew says, to God, “I guess you had to be there.”