The First Book of Jewish Jokes: The Collection of L. M. BüschenthalWorks on Jewish humor and Jewish jokes abound today, but what formed the basis for our contemporary notions of Jewish jokes? How and when did these perceptions develop? In this groundbreaking study and translation, noted humor and folklore scholar Elliott Oring introduces us to the joke collections of Lippmann Moses Bschenthal, an enlightened rabbi, and an unknown author writing as Judas Ascher. Originally published in German in 1812 and 1810, these