Two Jews – one young, the other old – were traveling by train from Kiev to Odessa. Neither knew the other. The young Jew was well groomed and had lots of packages with him, including a bag overflowing with several kinds of sausage.
“Are you Shapiro?” the elderly Jew asked.
“Yes I am,” exclaimed the surprised young Jew, “but how did you know? I’ve never seen you before.”
“It was really quite simple,” began the old man. “Travelling on this route with so many sausages, you couldn’t possibly be going to Odessa, because it’s easy to find sausage there. So you must be going to one of the small towns en route. It has to be a town with a large Jewish population, since you look Jewish. That means it must be Zhmerinka.
“For a young person like you to go to Zhmerinka before one of two reasons, either a marriage or funeral. Since no one has recently died in Zhmerinka, it must be for a marriage.
“I know of only two forthcoming marriages. One girl is marrying a hunchback, which obviously you are not, and the other is for marrying a fellow named Shapiro! And that is how I knew who you are!” –David Harris
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