Sari Kopitnikoff loves a good joke. Ever since she was young, she has always used puns and wordplay to make others laugh. She carried this passion into adulthood, and now works full-time as a creative Jewish “edutainer,” game maker, author and artist. She has published five books so far. Her newest book, “Only Kidding! My First Book of Jewish Jokes” is a Jewish-themed joke book that is sure to have readers kidding around.
Despite her love for humor, Kopitnikoff says it was actually pretty hard to make her laugh when she was a baby. She says it was rare for people to get even a small chuckle out of her, but she jokes that she was really just developing a high standard for humor then.
“It’s funny, thinking back, that I was actually a pretty serious kid,” Kopitnikoff shared with The Jewish Link. “But since then I’ve really embraced my funny side, and I love sharing the jokes that I come up with. There’s a real joy in getting another person to laugh, and it’s become one of my favorite things to do.”
Prior to her work as an author, Kopitnikoff worked as a teacher. She says that her time in the classroom cued her into children’s humor, and allowed her to develop the skills that would later go into “Only Kidding!”
“Kids have a very unique style of humor,” Kopitnikoff continued. “They start playing with language and making up jokes, and they get a kick out of wordplay and silliness. As an educator, I’m all about embracing that and nurturing the inherent sense of humor inside every child.”
“Only Kidding!” was published last month and features a slew of Jewish jokes and puns. Kopitnikoff says that she first decided to write the book when she was searching for one for her own children and couldn’t find any.
“It surprised me, because I went to the bookstore and just couldn’t find what I was looking for,” Kopitnikoff continued. “My kids are at the stage where they’re really enjoying jokes and humor, and I want them to be able to discover new ones that are age-appropriate and also have some Jewish value they can also learn from. And so once I saw there weren’t books like that already, I set out to write my own.”
Since its release, “Only Kidding!” has become the number one new release of children’s Jewish books on Amazon. In addition to the jokes, the book features its own glossary at the beginning, so children who may not be familiar with certain words will have a reference they can use to understand them.
“I like to say that humor is no laughing matter,” Kopitnikoff continued. “I’ve done a lot of research for the book, and came up with the jokes through a lot of trial and error with these. Kids can be tough critics, so I wanted to make sure the jokes I used were winners.”
All the jokes in “Only Kidding!” are educational and kid approved. Nowadays Kopitnikoff does events where she talks about her books, she does workshops to help kids and adults have a more meaningful davening experience and she creates team-building, escape-the-room-like games for children, teens, and adults.
“The best thing about humor is that it supports positive development,” Kopitnikoff continued. “It’s a fundamental technique that lasts a lifetime. A kid that can laugh and joke will often be a happy one, and the fact that I get to share my humor through my books just means the world to me. The real message I hope to spread is that it’s never too early to encourage kids to laugh.”
“Only Kidding!” is geared towards kids aged 7-12, though Kopitnikoff says younger kids can enjoy it with adult guidance. It is available for purchase on Amazon. If you would like to learn more about Kopitnikoff, you can check out her website, thatjewishmoment.com. You can also follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, @thatjewishmoment.
Adam Samuel is a journalist from Teaneck. He blogs at www.adamssoapbox.com.
