I was a judge at the funniest rabbi contest once, but not the year Rabbi Eisenberg participated. I was a judge a couple years later. The winner that year wasn’t even a rabbi. The funniest rabbi in Cleveland in 2013 was a doctor\/mohel — Kiva Shtull.<\/p>\n The judges made comments after each rabbis did their shtick. We rated the ravs. Afterward, an audience member said to me, \u201cYou were very nice in your comments.\u201d<\/p>\n Why not?\u00a0 Author Theodore Dalrymple wrote (about “comedian” Boris Johnson of England), “Telling a joke that falls flat is an excruciating social experiment.” Telling original jokes, non-stop, in front of 200 people at the Schmaltz Museum of Jewish Heritage — that’s not for the faint of heart or your typical pulpit rabbi. I had stocked-piled complimentary adjectives in advance. My arsenal was droll, gut-busting<\/em> (didn\u2019t use that one), cheery, sharp, zany, wacky, witty <\/em>and perturbing<\/em>.<\/p>\n Nobody was perturbing,<\/em> unfortunately.<\/p>\n I gave<\/strong><\/span> the highest rating to the mohel, who moonlighted as the spiritual leader of Congregation Shir Shalom in Bainbridge Township, Ohio. He got wry<\/em>, droll <\/em>and zany<\/em>. (The shul went under about a year later. I don’t know why.)<\/p>\n I just rediscovered a video of Dr. Shtull\u2019s comedy routine. It holds up, at least for the first couple minutes. I’m not sure if Rabbi Eisenberg — the second funniest rabbi of 2011 — has a video. Probably. But check out Shtull’s shtick. Listen at least till you hear the word Chabad<\/em> — around the two-minute mark.<\/p>\n
\nI ran<\/strong><\/span> into a funny rabbi the other night. Happens. Some rabbis are funny. Rabbi Matt Eisenberg told me he is the \u201csecond funniest rabbi in Cleveland.\u201d Why number-two? He explained he came in second in Cleveland\u2019s Funniest Rabbi Contest in 2011. Fourteen years later, he’s still funny. He did a clever Purim shpiel based on Fiddler on the Roof<\/em>.<\/p>\n