I’ve laughed a lot this week. 

The Annual Virginia Peninsula Jewish Film Festival kicked off their opening weekend with     an Israeli romantic comedy that had the audience laughing out loud throughout. And Friday at the UJCVP, we launched our new Café Chai with a stand-up comedy workshop and show that ended with participants getting up on stage and cracking their own jokes.          

Laughter just might be the most contagious of all emotional experiences. Researchers have found that human beings laugh much more often when we are with other people than when we are alone. The Talmud  tells that the great sage Rabbah would begin each lecture with     a joke to make his students laugh before beginning the sacred study. Sharing a moment of joy became part of engaging collectively with that which is deep and profound.

This week’s Torah reading tells the story of a different kind of laugh. An angel disguised as a wandering traveler comes to Abraham and Sarah to inform them that they'll finally have their first child together. This was a big surprise, given that Abraham was 99 years old, and     Sarah was 90! In response to this startling news, Sarah laughed in disbelief. In the next passage God appears, challenging Sarah’s disbelief. 

It’s easy for us to understand Sarah’s reaction. What is surprising is that God called her out and demanded an explanation for her laughter. By challenging her disbelief, God is striving to open her heart to that which she yearned for the most. God wanted her to believe in her dream again. 

We all have a piece of Sarah in us. We question whether our dreams and vision can be achieved. We doubt our potential. As a community we know that when we stand united and work together, we can overcome hurdles and accomplish amazing things. Sarah’s laughter is the sound of resilience in the face of the obstacles that confront us. It is the loud sign of relief and the realization that nothing is impossible. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Eric Maurer
Executive Director
emaurer@ujcvp.org ​​​​​​​