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A study from the Maryland School of Medicine reports that humor can be an essential part of a healthy lifestyle by suggesting that laughter may in fact go as far as helping to prevent heart disease.  This study, done under the guidance of Dr. Michael Miller, found that mental stress “is associated with impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels.”  Conversely, as a reliever of stress, humor can help prevent the impairment of the endothelium.  Thus, we learn: to laugh more by finding the humor in life may indeed help to prolong our lives.  Maybe not as much as passing up on the chicken fried steak, but at least we will have something to smile about.

Of course, this study from the Maryland School of Medicine really teaches us nothing too terribly new.  As a people who have endured more than our fair share of tragedies, for the past two thousand years, we Jews have come up with what was sometimes our only defense mechanism, a sense of humor.  For as the old Yiddish proverb says, “Laughter is indeed the best medicine.”

This point is illustrated quite well by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin in his book Jewish Humor.  In his book, Rabbi Telushkin argues that much can be learned about ourselves by examining our jokes. He states that our jokes sometimes belie a fear of the present, but that our jokes can also demonstrate a vision of hope as well.  More on that in a moment.

As many of you know, we have jokes about just every topic under the sun.  But in particular, we often joke about our parents.  For example:
Goldstein has been in analysis for ten years, seeing his doctor four times a week.  Finally, the analyst tells him that they’ve achieved all their goals, he doesn’t have to come back anymore.  Needless to say, the man is terrified.

“Doctor,” he says, “I’ve grown very dependent on these meetings.  I just can’t stop.”
The doctor gives Goldstein his home phone number.  “If you ever need to,” he says, “call me at any time.”
Two weeks later, Sunday morning, six a.m., the phone rings in the doctor’s house.  It’s Goldstein.
“Doctor,” he says, “I just had a terrible nightmare.  I dreamed you were my mother, and I woke up in a terrible sweat.”
“So what did you do?”
“I analyzed the dream the way you taught me in analysis.”
“Yes?”
“Well, I couldn’t fall back to sleep.  So I went downstairs to have some breakfast.”
“What did you have?”
“Just a cup of coffee.”
“You call that a breakfast?”

We also have jokes about our children: “Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter, Dr. Joan Goldberg.”

Our Torah portion for this week is Parashat D’Varim.  D’Varim marks the beginning of the final book of Torah, the book of Deuteronomy.  According to tradition, Deuteronomy is made up of Moses’ final sermons to the Israelites right before they are to enter and conquer the land of Canaan.  But before they can do this, Moses reminds the Israelites of all that they have been through to get to this point.  In Parashat D’Varim, he talks about their journeys from Egypt to Horeb, and from Horeb to the Negev, and all the stops in between.

During this retelling, Moses gives the Israelites God’s command, “See, I place the land at your disposal. Go, take possession of the land that the Eternal swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to assign to them and to their heirs after them.”  He then later tells them, “Go up, take possession, as the Eternal, the God of your ancestors, promised you.  Fear not and be not dismayed.”

Al tira, v’al teichat. Fear not and be not dismayed. What an unusual phrase.  The Israelites are about to battle with the Canaanites for the possession of the land. Many will die and victory, though promised, is not assured. Yet the Israelites are not to fear.  They instead are to trust in the vision of God, and in the promise of a better day.

What is one of the best ways to conquer fear, if not through laughter? As writer Dr. Gina Barecca in Psychology Today wrote, “So what can we do? We can use humor to put our fears into perspective. Humor addresses the same issues as fear, not to dismiss them, but to strengthen our ability to confront them and then laugh them away from the door. 

Humor is, of course, the one thing that fear cannot abide: Laughter banishes anxiety and can help replace fear. Laughter is a testament to courage or at least a manifestation of the wish for it, and courage is stronger than fear. We need a strong and healthy dose of focused humor in our lives every day.”

On this Shabbat, may we be reminded to take time each day, if we are able, to find time to find the humor, the joy, the laughter, and the love. Times may be challenging, and it is up to us, not to make light of it, but instead to find the strength and fortitude to take on those challenges. And may we find our humor to be a source of strength and inspiration to quell the anxieties and the fears. For as we have learned, when we laugh, what we are really fulfilling the mitzvah of Al tira, v’al teichat. Fear not and be not dismayed. 

Shabbat Shalom.

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Watch the entirety of Friday’s service here. 

Temple Talk is a recap of sermons given from the Bimah for those who missed a Sermon or who wanted to revisit the words spoken at a previous sermon.