Let There Be Laughter

Let There Be (Some More) Light

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Shabbat Shalom,

As we gradually gain over an hour of sun in the month of February, weve been watching that dreary 4:35pm darkness suddenly lift and feeling the pleasure of waking up to actual sunlight in the morning. Its one of those bright moments in the middle of winter.

This unlikely bit of optimism in February made me think of a great book I re-read last year: The Jewish Joke by Devorah Baum. In the chapter How do you tell the difference between a blessing and curse? she says that Jews can spot the cheerier side of bad news and the gloomier side of good news (cue any Yiddish joke). Its no accident that the standard response to anything positive is Mazel Tov! which is commonly translated as congratulations, but literally means good luck.

But often, positive thinking (especially in winter) is not really our thing. A group of Jews are discussing the state of the world:

The economy is crashing and you know who theyll blame for it, dont you?

Have you seen the things theyve been saying about us on social media?

Everyone is an antisemite. Trust nobody.

They always claim its our fault

Or Israels fault.

Whats wrong with you people? Why cant you be a bit more positive? Me, Im an optimist!

You look pretty anxious for an optimist.

You think its easy being an optimist?

Baum says, What Jewish history and Jewish jokes reveal is not dissimilar: theres always another way to see things, always another place to lay the emphasis, and always another future to look towards.

Its an apt sentiment for this moment in time. While many things are terrible right now, by the end of this month well have another whole hour of daylight to fill with our kvetchingand our anxious optimism.

You can buy the book here. Funny, clever, and a bit heartbreaking. Its very Jewish.

Via Maris

Celebrate brighter days

Drink to joy (you may find more joy this way)

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