Jewish haiku

Jewish haiku are poetic parodies combining the style and conventions of ancient Japanese haiku with traditional Jewish noodging. Widely circulated in e-mails and quoted on web pages^{[citation needed]}, often without attribution, many of these poems were first published in "Haikus for Jews: For You a Little Wisdom" (Harmony Books, 1999) by David M. Bader.

Although they are called haiku and consist of three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables respectively, these short poems have more in common with senryu than with traditional Japanese haiku.

The following are examples of humorous^[1] Jewish haiku:

The sparkling blue sea
beckons me to wait one hour
after my sandwich.

No fins, no flippers,
the gefilte fish swims with
some difficulty.

In the ice sculpture
reflected bar mitzvah guests
nosh on chopped liver. ^[2]

Notes

1. ^ While most Jewish haiku are humorous, the first part of the Shema, one of Judaism's most important prayers, also follows the syllable pattern and the scansion of the haiku:

   She-ma Yis-ra-el,
   A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu,
   A-do-nai E-chad.

2. ^ Haikus for Jews: For You a Little Wisdom (Harmony Books, 1999) by David M. Bader, quoted with permission.

External links

Haikus for Jews