R' Teichman Shiur
10-28-07

I would like to thank Azi Rosenblum for being on call this week!

Laughter, good thing or bad thing?

Many references to laughter in the Parsha, some turn out good results others bad, even g-d laughs (tehilim), whats the deal?

Answer: Laughter is mans response to something absurd, unexpected and unusual. It’s mans natural reaction, as an intelligent being, to something that is the opposite of normal. That said, when one laughs, there could be many different sources. You can laugh out of arrogance, feeling of supremacy, haughtiness, or other types of putting people down in order to elevate yourself, or, in a more pure form you can laugh in astonishment at having realizing how great hashem is and how powerless you are. Avraham laughed at the news of a son to be born not because he thought is was impossible, but because he realized in a moment that it was foolish of him to think that hashem’s reach would be limited by age, time, or other physical limitations. He laughed in amazement of how absurd the laws of nature are in comparison to hashem’s power. Lots son-in-laws on the other hand, laughed at his warnings out of mockery, that laughter, is no good and rooted in the bad in people.