Remember to Laugh

In this week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha, there’s a lot of action. Not only do Sarah and Abraham leave their home leave their homeland Mesopotamia, they fight a war, rescue their nephew Lot from an enemy king, enter a covenant to spread the faith, are promised a land of their own, travel to Egypt where Sarah is taken into Pharoah’s harem, face infertility so Abraham has a child with a concubine Hagar and change their names. At the end of it all, they even find time to entertain guests. So, how does the Torah portion end? Sarah laughs.

I have a confession. Occasionally, I struggle a bit to think of a newsworthy topic for my weekly email to the congregation. This is not one of those weeks. We have the elections this coming Tuesday and all of the anxiety about their possible outcome. Anti-Semitic incidents are increasingly commonplace. Credible threats basically put the Jewish community in New Jersey on lockdown. Israel finally has a new Prime Minister – but he’s the old, problematic Prime Minister just with some ultra-conservative new allies.

So, what’s my advice for this week? Laugh. Seriously, of course, everybody needs to vote and be hyper-vigilant about anti-Semitism and hate of all types. But it happens to be a moment when a lot is happening in the world, quite a bit of it not so positive and much of it pretty stressful. Along with all the heavy things happening, we also need to remember to take care of ourselves. We need to remember to laugh. Talk that long walk in the beautiful autumn weather. Find time for a movie or a coffee with friends. Be silly with your kids or grandchildren. Go on a walking tour with your congregation (hint, hint). In the Talmud, there is a famous story about funeral procession going in one direction and a wedding procession going in the other direction. The rabbis advise joining the wedding procession. I’ve always taken this to mean: take life seriously and search for the joy.

“Lech Lecha” means “go forth.” One way or another, our country is “going forth” in the coming week. Whatever direction we take, let’s just make sure that there is also laughter.