Another joke from the same source

[Theophylact]

Rabbi Saltzman was meeting with three of the older members of the congregation.

He said, "As you gentlemen are of goodly years, you may have given some thought to the words you would like to be said of you at your funeral, which (olav ha-sholem), may yet be many years away, but still... Mr. Shapiro?"

"Well, Rabbi, as you know, I’ve been a teacher and a scholar for many years, and I’d like it to be said of me that I added to the intellectual life of the community, and perhaps even of the world."

"Very thoughtful, Mr. Shapiro. Mr. Goldbaum?"

"Well, Rabbi, I’ve always believed that it was important to be a servant of G-d (baruch ha-shem), and so I’d like my service as President of the Synagogue and as a major contributor to the Building Fund to be mentioned."

"Ah, of course, Mr. Goldbaum. And you, Mr. Samuels?"

"'Look! That man is moving!'"

[M_Six]

Rich.

[Uncle Bob]

I understood the joke, but to be honest the humor eludes me.

[John Prophet]

well,with a little imagination and picturing the scene..it is pretty funny.

JP

[John Prophet]

then again...what did the hebrew have to do with it, I dont get that part

olav ha-sholem
baruch ha-shem

JP

[Gait_Keeper]

I pictured it , a beter visual joke perhaps?

[Theophylact]

then again...what did the hebrew have to do with it, I dont get that part

The first means something like "may he rest in peace", spoken after mentioning the name of a dead person (and therefore misused by me, but I'm out of practice); the second means "blessed be His name", said after speaking of G-d.

As Pooh-Bah said, "Merely corroborative detail to lend artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative."

As someone else said, it really does make a joke funnier if you analyze it to death.