Motke Chabad
Jewish Lithuanian joker
About Motke Chabad
Lived 1820 – 1880 (aged 59–60).
Motke Chabad (Mordechai Chabad) (c.1820-c.1880) was a Jewish Lithuanian (litvak) jester (badchen) from Vilnius known from many Jewish jokes.
Mordechai complained: "Had God willed it, I could have made a hundred golden rubles yesterday". People asked: "How could that be?" He replied: "A rich matron said she would give me one hundred golden rubles to look upon me." They told him: "Mordechai, you fool, why did you refuse?" He answered: "I did not refuse. It was just that she was blind in both eyes".
In many jokes he is an archetypal schlemiel, misfortunate in his endeavors:
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Motke Chabad's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Motke Chabad?
Jewish Lithuanian joker
When was Motke Chabad born?
Motke Chabad was born in 1820 in Vilnius.
When did Motke Chabad die?
Motke Chabad died in 1880 in Vilnius.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Motke Chabad. https://biography.guide/motke-chabad/
MLA: "Motke Chabad." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/motke-chabad/.
Chicago: "Motke Chabad." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/motke-chabad/.
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