Rabbi appointed Pope Francis’s ‘comedic advisor’

Stand-up comedian Bob Alper, 70, wins title with one-liner about his wife; will donate reward to homeless in Ethiopia

JTA — A rabbi has been named Pope Francis’s official “comedic advisor.”

Bob Alper, 70, a rabbi turned stand-up comedian and author, managed to craft the perfect pontifical punchline to beat out thousands of other entrants in the “Joke with the Pope” competition — earning himself the title “honorary comedic advisor to the pope.”

The night before Pope Francis arrived for his first US visit on September 22, the Pontifical Mission Societies, the Catholic Church’s missionary arm, launched ajokewiththepope.org. The website called on comedians to submit “a clean and kind” joke — the sort the pope might crack — to be judged by a panel of holy humorists. Aside from the title, up for grabs was $10,000 for a charity of the winner’s choosing.

According to The Pontifical Mission Societies, thousands of jokes from 47 different countries were sent in over the course of three weeks. Alper, who delivered his joke via video, bested comic giants like Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien. He will donate his prize money to housing the homeless in Ethiopia.

What was Alper’s winning entry?

https://youtu.be/15hfY2S0e9Q?list=PL-df1yrgYzU7FMv40USdBOeu75ylDn_Nx

“My wife and I have been married for 46 years, and our lives are totally in sync. At the same time that I got a hearing aid, she stopped mumbling,” he jokes in the video.

“It had it all,” Father Andrew Small, The Pontifical Mission Societies’ national director, told The Jewish Week of Alper’s joke. “It was the kind of joke I think the pope would use himself, and that’s what befits an honorary comedic advisor.”

Alper said the one-liner was among his best work. “It’s reality,” he said. “It’s something with which people can identify. It exemplifies the Pope’s values, which are family, humor, warmth.”

Ordained as a rabbi by Hebrew Union College in 1972, Alper served a Vermont congregation for 14 years before taking the leap, full time, into stand-up comedy, according to The Jewish Week. He’s been performing mostly at Jewish venues and college campuses for the past 27 years and has penned three books about his experience as a rabbi-comedian.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Father Small said of Alper’s victory. “My response is ‘Mazeltov.’”