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First you laugh at a Jewish joke or quip. Then, against your will, you suddenly fall silent and thoughtful. And that is because Jews are so frequently jesting philosophers. A hard life has made them realists, realists without illusion.

— Nathan Ausubel A Treasury of Jewish Humor (1951)

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More quotes by Nathan Ausubel

Of all the astonishing experiences of the widely dispersed Jewish people none was more extraordinary than that concerning the Khazars.

Pictorial History of the Jewish People (1953)

One of the profoundest religious changes effected by the synagogue almost immediately upon its establishment twenty-five centuries ago was to bring communion with God directly and easily to the the individual worshiper.

The Book of Jewish Knowledge (1964)

Jews have received their tempering from an unflinching realism learned for a high fee in the school of life; they have always felt the need of fortifying their spirits with the armor of laughter against the barbs of the world.

A Treasury Of Jewish Folklore (1948)

Folklore is a true and unguarded portrait, for where art may be selective, may conceal, may gloss over defects and even prettify, folk art is always revealing, always truthful in the sense that it is spontaneous expression.

A Treasury Of Jewish Folklore (1948)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Nathan Ausubel (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.