From: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!ARPAVAX:CAD:ESVAX:hy
Newsgroups: net.jokes
Title: The Chelm story
Article-I.D.: ucbopt.1043
Posted: Fri Jun 11 12:27:36 1982
Received: Sun Jun 13 01:54:52 1982

My father was born in chelm and he tells me that my grand father
was at one time the "Chelemer Rebbi" (one of the authentic Wise Men
of Chelm!).  Anyway my pa claims that the origin of all the jokes
is the following: 

The town was a real center of talmudictalmudic  scholarly activity in Poland and
some of the most learned people in the area came to Chelm to study.
But alas they were snobs, and made fun of everyone else.

So yes there is justice in the world. One day Sholom Alechem came to town
and becoming so disgusted with the the snobishness of the community, he 
started to write the now famous tales of the Wise Men of Chelm.

Or so claims my father, a true "chelem'er"