Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 6 days ago
Gertrude Berg, the woman widely credited with creating the first sit-com (The Goldbergs) appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1959 to talk about children wanting a Christmas tree for Hanukkah. This navigation of "The December Dilemma" has been a challenge for many American Jewish families, and as such has been plumbed for comedic effect throughout the history of television comedy.
Join YIVO for a very Jewish Christmas celebration featuring a talk by Jennifer Caplan on Jewish television characters managing (or not) to make it through the holidays. A kosher Chinese food dinner will follow the presentation.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
About the Speaker
Jennifer Caplan is a scholar of American religion and popular culture. She specializes in American Judaism and works extensively with film, television, internet media, humor, graphic novels, video games, board games, and other sites of pop culture engagement. Her book, Funny, You Don't Look Funny: Judaism and Humor from the Silent Generation to Millennials, was published by Wayne State University Press in 2023.
Gertrude Berg, the woman widely credited with creating the first sit-com (The Goldbergs) appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1959 to talk about children wanting a Christmas tree for Hanukkah. This navigation of "The December Dilemma" has been a challenge for many American Jewish families, and as such has been plumbed for comedic effect throughout the history of television comedy.
Join YIVO for a very Jewish Christmas celebration featuring a talk by Jennifer Caplan on Jewish television characters managing (or not) to make it through the holidays. A kosher Chinese food dinner will follow the presentation.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
About the Speaker
Jennifer Caplan is a scholar of American religion and popular culture. She specializes in American Judaism and works extensively with film, television, internet media, humor, graphic novels, video games, board games, and other sites of pop culture engagement. Her book, Funny, You Don't Look Funny: Judaism and Humor from the Silent Generation to Millennials, was published by Wayne State University Press in 2023.
