Shabbat Gathering: Chodesh Tov: Adar.

Dear Chevra, as is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p ct to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:

Zoom
Meeting ID: 963 5113 1550
Password: 1989
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

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Special guest star tonight!

From Shamayim Happenings: Jay Gold, long-time member of Shaarei Shamayim, will speak around 6:15 p.m. and we will go until a little after 6:45 p.m. Jay retired in 2020. Some months later, he became a full-time student in the online program of the Graduate Institute of St. John's College. He received a master's degree in eastern classics in August 2021, and another master's degree - this one in liberal arts - in December 2022. In this talk, Jay will discuss why he chose to devote his retirement to the pursuit of those degrees, what he studied and what it was like, what lifelong learning means to him, and ways that others might be lifelong learners in retirement - or earlier. He also will reflect on the central role of learning in Jewish life.

To accommodate Gold's presentation, we'll need to abbreviate our service.

Here we go.

This coming Tuesday, we’ll wish each other Chodesh Tov and celebrate the new month, Adar. Every Jewish month has a certain character to it and Adar is known for joy and laughter. The Talmud (Ta’anit 29) says, “When Adar enters, increase in joy.” Purim fits right into that vibe. I’ve spent some time thinking about laughter in Torah and this is what I’ve come up with.

Laughing in the Torah.

In Torah, laughter resonates in a few places. First and foremost might be when Abraham and Sarah laugh. Abraham is the first to laugh when Hashem tells him he and Sarah will bear a child. Both Abraham and Sarah are LONG past their childbearing years and so, Abraham laughs at what Hashem has to say. Later, when the three angels come to pay Abraham and Sarah a visit, Sarah has the same reaction when she overhears one of the angels tell Abraham that the elderly couple will bear a child. Later, Sarah will name their miraculous child Isaac which in Hebrew means “he will laugh.” When naming their new baby boy, Sarah says, “God has made laughter for me, all who hear will laugh with me.”

I’m all for laughter. Every morning during the week, I wake up and one of the first things I do is check the NYTimes for a column it runs about the monologues from the previous night’s late night talk shows. Most every day, the column links me to to videos of Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers, my favorites. I get caught up on the news with some laughter before I dive into the rest of the newspaper.

As we know, Torah isn’t all fun and games. There’s a lot more punching than punch lines. So, in the spirit of Adar, I’ll focus this month on the joy, the levity, and the laughter instead.

And may it be for all of us a blessing.

See you tonight!
Gut Shabbes!

All my love,
brian.

PS

Last week’s PS was from a Hindu perspective. I’ll stay with that culture this week and link to a video about a guru there who believes laughter truly is the best medicine.

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