I suppose you can adapt this to any ethnic or religious group, however, I heard it as a Jewish joke. It helps to know that Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year followed in one week by Yom Kippur (another Jewish holiday) ... So here goes:

Meyer, a lonely widower, is walking home along Delancy Street one day wishing something wonderful would happen in his life when he passes a pet store and hears a squawking voice shouting out in Yiddish:

"Quawwwwk, vus macht du (how ya doing?) ... yeah, you, standing outside like a schmuck, how goes it?"

Meyer rubs his eyes and ears. He can't believe it. The proprietor springs out of the door and grabs Meyer by the sleeve. "Come in here, fella, and check out this parrot"

Meyer stands in front of an African Grey parrot that cocks his little head and says: "Vus? Kenst reddin Yiddish? (So? Can you speak Yiddish?)"

Meyer turns excitedly to the store owner. "He speaks Yiddish?"

"What do you expect? Chinese maybe?"

In a matter of moments, Meyer places five hundred dollars down on the counter and carries the parrot in his cage away with him. All night he talks with the parrot in Yiddish. He tells the parrot about his father's adventures coming to America, about how beautiful his mother was when she was a young bride, about his family, about his years of working in the garment center, about Florida.

The parrot listens and comments appropriately, understanding and speaking Yiddish like its his first language. They share some walnuts and the parrot tells him of living in the pet store, how he hated the weekends. After this talk, they both gp to sleep.

Next morning, Meyer begins saying his prayers. The parrot demands to know what Meyer is doing and when Meyer explains, the parrot wants to pray too. So Meyer eventually has a friend hand-make a miniature yarmulke (skullcap) for the parrot.

The parrot wants to learn to read Hebrew so Meyer spends weeks and months, sitting and teaching the parrot, teaching him Torah. In time, Meyer comes to love and count on the parrot as a friend and a Jew. He'll be lonely no more.

One morning, on Rosh Hashanah, Meyer gets up, gets dressed, and is about to leave when the parrot demands to go with him. Meyer explains that a synagogue is not place for a bird but the parrot makes a terrific argument and eventually is carried to the synagogue on Meyer's shoulder. Needless to say, they make quite a spectacle, and Meyer is questioned by everyone, including the rabbi.

At first, the rabbi refuses to allow a bird into the building on the High Holy Days but Meyer convinces him to let him in this one time, swearing that this parrot knows how to pray. Wagers are made with Meyer. Thousands of dollars are bet (even odds) that the parrot does NOT know how to pray, and of course, cannot speak Yiddish or Hebrew, etc.

All eyes are on the African Grey during services. The parrot is perched on Meyer's shoulder as the prayers continue, and Meyer doesn't hear a peep from the bird. Meyer is becoming annoyed and slaps at his shoulder mumbling under his breath, "Pray already."

The parrot says nothing.

"Pray, what's the matter with you? You can pray, so pray; come on, everybody's looking at you."

The parrot says nothing.

After the Rosh Hashanah services are concluded, Meyer finds that he owes his synagogue buddies and the Rabbi over four thousand dollars. He marches home, pissed off, saying nothing. Finally several blocks from the temple the bird begins to sing an old Yiddish song and is happy as a lark. Meyer stops and looks at him.

"You miserable bird, you cost me over four thousand dollars. Why? After I taught you the morning prayers, and taught you to read Hebrew and the Torah. And after you begged me to bring you to a synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, why? Why did you do this to me?"

"Don't be a schmuck," the parrot replys. "Think of the odds you're going to get on Yom Kippur (that's the next holiday)."