November/December 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Caption:
“Really, you should have taken my heart valve.” – Pete Grossman, Westchester, NY

Finalists:
“My people would like to thank your people.” – Lynne Jacobson Arons, Buffalo Grove, IL
“The little bits in the Chinese fried rice really do count, you know.” – Brian Landberg, Tsukuba, Japan

 

September/October 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Caption:
“And in keeping with my commitment to smaller government, I promise to reduce the 10 Commandments to 7 by 2015.” – Mark Jordan, Philadelphia, PA

Finalists:
“As a matter of fact, I do think I’m God!” – Abe Adler, New York, NY
“And the 11th Commandment is vote for me.” – Barbara Bibel, Berkeley, CA

 

July/August 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Caption:
“I guess I was not in the placebo group.” – Mark Winton, Orlando, FL

Finalists:
“Why, yes, I do have a different profile picture on LinkedIn.” – Bruce Krasnow, Santa Fe, NM
“So tell me, doc, ya think I’m a candidate for Lasik?” – Hana bashe, Baltimore, MD

 

May/June 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Caption:
“Marketing nixed #7.” – Don Forest, Bryn Mawr, PA

Finalists:
“Don’t worry about it too much. Every writer gets chisler’s block.” – Kenneth J. Friedman, Studio City, CA
“Why don’t you start off by introducing yourself?” – Mitchell Frank, Forest Hills, NY

 

March/April 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Caption:
“I don’t know him yet but he’s on staff.” – Sheldon Lacher, Orange, CA

Finalists:
“He came straight from work.” – Jay Rubin, Glen Rock, NJ
“He’s a shepherd now, but he says he is starting medical school in the fall.” – Justin Levy, Potomac, MD

 

January/February 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Caption:
“I have guilt, therefore I am.” – Lynne Jacobson Arons, Buffalo Grove, IL

Finalists:
“I knew all that matzah would make me constipated!” – Marlene Kuntz, Baltimore, MD
“I should have bought that building 20 years ago.” – Cary Antebi, Brooklyn, NY

 

November/December 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Caption:
“I told you not to remove the ‘do not remove’ tags from the new pillows.” – Shirley Dolack, La Grange Park, IL

Finalists:
“My client pleads the first, fifth, sixth and seventh.” – Mark Winton, Orlando, FL
“My client is willing to plead guilty if you lessen the charges, ‘fire and brimstone’ to just ‘brimstone.'” – Cary Antebi, Brooklyn, NY

 

September/October 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Caption:
“I’m still not over Anthony Weiner.” – Dale Stout, Colorado Springs, CO

Finalists:
“Well, in the beginning…” – Dannah Rubinstein, Vero Beach, FL
“All mom ever bragged about was you. ‘My son, the psychiatrist.'” – Cary Antebi, Brooklyn, NY

 

July/August 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Caption:
“Can I interest you in trying on a pair of tefillin?” – Cary Antebi, Brooklyn, NY

Finalists:
“Don’t worry, my synagogue will find me when they don’t hear my pledge.” – Cary Antebi, Brooklyn, NY
“I didn’t expect rising sea levels to affect Florida so soon.” – Lewis Shilhane, Joplin, MO

 

May/June 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Caption:
“I guess it’s okay, as long as she stays on the balcony.” – Lewis Shilane, Joplin, MO

Finalists:
“Looks like Tzipporah got EVERYTHING in the divorce!” – ABe Adler, Woodmere, NY
“It hasn’t been a week and already they’re making knock-offs.” – Cary Antebi, Brooklyn, NY

 

March/April 2011

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Caption:
“To tell you the truth, I just felt safe in the Orthodox community.” – Michael Rosenberg, Skokie, IL

Finalists:
“I will now be known as AbraHAM.” – Frank Mutnick, Marietta, GA
“I know I’ll never be more than kosher style.” – Mordechai Antebi, Brooklyn, NY
“Don’t worry–it’s just for my profile picture on JDate.” – Abe Adler, Woodmere, NY
“I’ve tried a lot of other hats, but this one’s a kippah.” – Lawrence Paskowitz, New York, NY
“If they start letting shellfish into our temple, I’m quitting.” – Lewis Shilane, Joplin, MO

 

January/February 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Caption:
“It’s paradise, but they’re still better in New York” – J. Cohen, Champaign, IL

Finalists:
“Pesach is coming up. Would you mind trading halos for one week?” – Gabriel Howdee, Margate, NJ
“Why, yes, I’m Jewish. How did you know?” – Neal Gendler, Minneapolis, MN

 

Moment‘s Cartoon Caption Contest, which began in 2010, is run by New Yorker cartoon editor Robert Mankoff. Born and raised in New York City, Mankoff graduated from Syracuse University before “fleeing” a Ph.D. program in experimental psychology in 1977. That same year he sold his first cartoon to The New Yorker, and he has published hundreds of cartoons since. He became cartoon editor in 1997, along the way founding The Cartoon Bank, which now functions as the digital archive of New Yorker cartoons and cover art. He lectures and speaks widely on the topic of humor in American culture, and has advised a University of Michigan study of people’s reactions to cartoons. “The essence of humor is incongruity,” he has said. “It’s a type of cheerful pessimism. When things go wrong, they can be funny. Humor is a kind of courage.” To read Moment editor and publisher Nadine Epstein’s interview with Mankoff about Jewish humor, click here.