My boss is a Jewish carpenter

My boss is a Jewish carpenter

The religion of humor

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“What’s so funny about a Jewish carpenter?” Jen asks me while driving.

“What are you talking about?” Although I’m not sure why I ask, this is a normal course of conversation for Jen and me (and why I try to nap while she drives).

“I don’t get this bumper sticker.”

I don’t want to look up. This is right after my dad has died and Jen and I are on our way back to the funeral home to see if they’ve fixed the mistakes they made on Dad’s make-up in prepping him for burial.

Despite working on a funeral photo slideshow on my laptop while sitting shotgun, I look up. All I see is that we are just another car in a line of many, waiting impatiently for a stoplight to turn green.

“What bumper sticker is confusing you?” I ask her frustratingly.

Jen points to the one on the car directly in front of us. My boss is a Jewish carpenter.

“Are you serious?”

“Yea. I don’t get the joke.” And it’s clear she doesn’t.

“It’s not a joke.” I sigh heavily before continuing, “You really need to go to church once in a while.”

Jen hasn’t been raised in an every-Sunday-church family like I have. My faith is important to me and although I don’t go to church as religiously as I once had, when I do, Jen comes along. Granted, she reads the children’s bible, complete with biblical cartoons accompanying each parable, but she’s there and takes part in the service.

In addition to Jen’s amazing talents as a human and a partner, are her candid acknowledgements of when she finds herself in areas outside her many spheres of expertise. Like here, at this red light, fulling believing she has missed the punchline of the Jewish carpenter joke. Quickly, she pieces it all together, drawing deep from those colorful drawings intended for the blank canvas of a child’s mind, just starting to learn about God’s word.

“Ohhhhhh, I get it …” and I knew this was going to be good. 

“… the Jewish carpenter is Moses … ”

Before having a chance to react to that gem, she follows it with another just as priceless, “… the guy who built the ark, right?”

I shake my head while she laughs, realizing and admitting she’s in over her head — a testament to her religion of honesty.

I’m agnostic about whether she’s pairing my need for a deluge of relief with a true lack of awareness or if she’s being funny on purpose.

Humor is important to me and Jen makes me laugh — sometimes on purpose and sometimes by just being herself. It may not always be at the most appropriate time or with the most appropriate comment, but it’s always when I need it the most. 

So if you ever need some comic relief whether it’s truly innocent or intentional, I know a gal.