Moishe and Sammy are having a dispute. They can’t come to an agreement, so they go to the rabbi. Moishe lays out his side of the argument. The rabbi listens, nods, says, “You’re right.” Sammy says, “Wait, you haven’t heard my side.” So he lays out his side of the argument and the rabbi listens, strokes his beard, and says, “You’re right, too.” The rabbi’s wife, who’s been there the whole time, says to her husband, “What do you mean? They can’t both be right.” The rabbi looks at her for a long moment. “Nu,” he says, “You also are right.”
“Why doesn’t the rabbi’s wife have a name?” is what Annamae wanted to know the first time she heard this joke.
“Oh,” said her mother. “I guess she doesn’t really need one for the sake of the joke.”
“Neither do Moishe and Sammy. You could just say two guys.”
“That’s true,” said her mother. “But it wouldn’t be as funny.”