Temple Beth Sholom of the South Shore
  • Schedule
  • RSVP
    • Shabbat Dinners
    • Trivia Night
    • Adult Ed: Tu B'Shevat Seder
  • Make a Contribution
    • Send A Card
    • Honor Roll
    • Tree of Life
    • High Holiday Appeal
  • About Us
    • Covid-19 Policy
    • D'Var Torah
    • Worship Information
    • Mi Shebeirach
    • Membership
    • History
    • Contact Us
    • Photos

Parshat VaYera

11/18/2016

Comments

 

           Beans, beans, good for the heart. The more you eat, the more you....laugh!  This joke was the litmus test for my sense of humor growing up.  My father told me that as soon as I thought this was funnier than the version that I was used to as a young boy (and be honest, the version that many of you immediately thought of!), then I had developed a good sense of humor.  Why was that so important?  Why must one recognize what is laugh-worthy?
            Sarah our Mother, peace be upon her/שרה אמינו עליה השלום, laughs when she hears the news that God tells Abraham that she will have a child. “And Sarah laughed within herself, saying: 'After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?'/ וַתִּצְחַק שָׂרָה בְּקִרְבָּהּ לֵאמֹר:  אַחֲרֵי בְלֹתִי הָיְתָה-לִּי עֶדְנָה, וַאדֹנִי זָקֵן.”  Then God asks, “Why did she laugh?!?”  And Sarah denies, claiming that she did not laugh.  God responds and says, “No, you did laugh.” Classically this has been seen as a lack of faith by Sarah.  How could she laugh and mock the powers of God?
          Yafit Klaimer reads this very differently. She teaches that the constant dialogue around laughter in our text (12 times there is laughter surrounding the birth of Isaac/יצחק--which shares the Hebrew root for laughter) hints to us that Sarah in fact did a great thing for us by laughing.  And the covenant we have with God becomes a covenant of laughter because of her. Why does Sarah laugh? She laughs because of the absurdity of it all.  It makes no intelligent sense to be able to bear a child at such an age!  Klaimer points out that this laughter is not lack of faith, and in fact, God welcomes it!  The laugh is an authentic response to the amazing news that Sarah received.  Sarah was reacting to the wonders of the world. And God’s response, “No, you did laugh”, is God saying that that is indeed an acceptable response. As Klaimer puts it, it is as if God is saying “Don’t give up on your laughter.”  Sarah is teaching us how to actually have complete faith in this ironic world where the mysterious and nonsensical accompany our daily lives.
          The reason that my father’s joke is (still) funny, is that it misleads you to an end that you think should not be there, and yet it is.  This week we can thank Sarah our Mother for giving us a different model of what Rabbi Heschel calls “radical amazement.”  Often, when we think of radical amazement, we tend to think of solemn and intense moments, like we may imagine happening at Sinai.  True amazement is the acceptance of a world that we cannot explain.  There is no greater faith in our Creator than accepting that reality. And sometimes, that can be funny, so keep laughing, it is good for the heart.  

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Ezra

Comments

    Author

    Rabbi Ezra Balser has been the rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom since July 1, 2016.  He received his “smicha” (ordination) in June 2017 from Hebrew College while also earning a Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies.  He has also received the iCenter's Certification in Israel Education. 

    Archives

    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016

    RSS Feed

We HOPE TO SEE YOU Soon!


OFFICE Hours

M-Th: 10am - 2pm

Telephone

(781) 925-0091

Mailing ADDRESS

Email

600 Nantasket Avenue, Hull, MA 02045
TempleBethHull@gmail.com
  • Schedule
  • RSVP
    • Shabbat Dinners
    • Trivia Night
    • Adult Ed: Tu B'Shevat Seder
  • Make a Contribution
    • Send A Card
    • Honor Roll
    • Tree of Life
    • High Holiday Appeal
  • About Us
    • Covid-19 Policy
    • D'Var Torah
    • Worship Information
    • Mi Shebeirach
    • Membership
    • History
    • Contact Us
    • Photos