In 1936, Morris Rabinowitz, a dentist, fled his native Germany. He sold his assets and made five sets of solid gold teeth with his cash, well above the limit he could bring into the U.S.
When he arrived in New York, the customs official was perplexed as to why anybody would have five sets of gold teeth. So Morris explained. "Jews who keep kosher have two separate sets of dishes for meat products and dairy products , but I am so religious I also have separate sets of teeth."
The customs official shook his head and said, "Well, that accounts for two sets of teeth. What about the other three?" Morris replied, "Very religious Jews use separate dishes for Passover, but I am so Orthodox that I have separate teeth for Passover meat and Passover dairy food."
The customs official shook his head and said, "You must be a man of very strong faith to have separate teeth for meat and dairy products and likewise for Passover. That accounts for four sets of teeth. What about the fifth set?"
Morris looked around and spoke softly. "To tell you the truth," he said, "once in a while I like a ham sandwich."
