Oldal 507 [507]
504
Pádurean
ticide, or the political, such as undermining the state, were normally undertaken
by the group. "The Jews have gathered, With pitchforks and axes, Our Lord to
murder, says an old Romanian carol (Oisteanu 2004: 362). This mythology is
confirmed by the medieval iconography, where Jewish crimes are generally sus¬
tained on compositions of figures. A simple logic, that a conspiracy implies at least
two culprits, pluralized the portrait of the Jew. Ihe Jew is never alone, not even
when his accomplices are not in sight. Nominating one Jew did not mean disre¬
garding the others.”°
However, this vision was not unique, and the myth of the plot was often de¬
bunked, revealing rather humorous natures than evil ones. The Jews’ funny talk,
their strangely peculiar deals, their seemingly unoffending nature, especially that
of the poor Jews, constructed many tales in the European culture. For example,
the “two Jews in a train” jokes became quite popular in some central and eastern
European countries. Startlingly, many Jewish jokes were produced by Jews them¬
selves, a testimonial to the unmatched quality of Jewish humor. This unique sense
of humor manifested itself in a rare and long-lasting readiness to laugh not only
at their persecutors but at the same time, occasionally, at themselves (Hillenbrand
1995: 72).”” The gag cartoons unveiled the diverse dialogue, the Jews became hu¬
manly complex: They were, indeed, talking small things and, not only did they
not elaborate maleficent collaborations, but they often argued.
“Not coincidentally, two Jews always contradict on any topic,” noticed the
Israeli writer Amos Oz in one of his books, How to Cure a Fanatic (2007: 92). In
fact, contradiction, rather than teamwork, stood at the base of the Jewish jokes. As
C. Eretescu observed, “Ytzig and Shtrul [find themselves] always in an argument
and [they are] never clear about their lives” (2004: 296).
Amos Oz also pointed out that his favorite story from the Talmud was one dis¬
cussing the incurable spirit of contradiction of the Jews. Let us retell this anecdote
in closing, as it also derides the very fact that the Jews talk too much. Two virtuous
rabbis engaged in a religious debate. For seven days and seven nights, they talked
restlessly, without sleeping and without eating, until God felt sorry for them and
intervened, giving justice to one of them. But the other one dared to contest God’s
decision: “Oh, mighty God, you gave the Torah to the people, please stay out of
this discussion,” he asked. And the rabbis continued to argue (Ibidem: 93-94).
26 In the anti-Semite paranoia, the total absence of Jews could signify their regrouping somewhere
else. Marius Mircu, a Jewish-Romanian journalist, captured the atmosphere in Jassy prior to the po¬
grom of 1941, when 500 Jews were murdered: “[The Jews] hid. They didn’t get out of their houses. Why
would they hide in their houses and cellars? They probably plot! They definitely plot! The Jews plot!”
(Mircu 1944: 8).
27 Barbu Lazareanu, a Romanian writer and satirist of Jewish descent, seems to have taken his humor
from his father, Hers Lazarovici: “The Moldavian boyars were crazy about the anecdotes with Jews
that Hers Lazarovici used to tell. The first one to laugh was himself, contaminating the others” (Iacob
2003: 44).