The pope and the rabbi silent debate

Long ago, the Pope decreed that all Jews had to convert to Catholicism or leave Rome. There was a huge outcry from the Jewish community, so the Pope offered a deal: He would have a religious debate with a leader from the Jewish community. If the Jewish leader won the debate, the Jews would be permitted to stay. If the Pope won, the Jews would have to convert or leave. The Jewish community picked Rabbi Moishe to represent them in the debate. The Rabbi, however, could not speak Latin; and the Pope could not speak Yiddish. So it was decided that this would be a "silent" debate. On the day of the great debate, the Pope and the Rabbi sat opposite each other for a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers. Rabbi Moishe looked back and raised one finger. Next, the Pope waved one finger around his head. Rabbi Moishe pointed to the ground where he sat. The Pope then brought out a communion wafer and chalice of wine. Rabbi Moishe pulled out an apple. With that, the Pope stood up and said, "I concede the debate. This man has bested me. The Jews can stay." Later, the Cardinals gathered around the Pope, asking him what had happened. The Pope said, "First I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there was still one God common to both our faiths. Then I waved my finger around me to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground to show that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and the wafer to show that God absolves us of our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of original sin. He bested me at every move and I could not continue." Meanwhile, the Jewish community gathered to ask Rabbi Moishe how he'd won. Rabbi Moishe said: "I haven't a clue. First, he told me that we had three days to get out of Italy, so I gave him the finger. Then he tells me that Rome would be cleared of Jews and I told him that we were staying right here." "And then?" asked a woman. "Who knows?" said Rabbi Moishe. "He took out his lunch, so I took out mine."

In some versions, the rabbi is not named. In others, the Jews are not given the alternative to convert, or Rome is switched for the whole of Italy, or the lead-in is "Some centuries ago", or the punch line is "We broke for lunch". They are little clues about the teller's sensibilities, but most telling is the joke originator's irreverent interpretation of the debate from the rabbi's POV. It's in the same vein as the Spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch joke or the joke about rabbi brokering the argument between the priest and the vicar about which one looks more like Jesus. And to conclude my dull deconstruction, here is another abrahamic joke: A burglar broke into a house. While feeling around a dimly lit room, a voice comes from the corner of the room, "Jesus is watching you". He looks around and notices a parrot in a cage. The parrot repeated again, "Jesus is watching you." The burglar said, "Oh, is he? What's your name?" The parrot replied, "My name is Moses." The burglar laughed, "What kind of a stupid person would give a parrot such a silly name as Moses." The parrot replied, "The same stupid person who named that Rottweiler behind you Jesus."