Parshas Naso
By Rabbi Dovid Zauderer
The great Chassidic sage and thinker, Rabbi Tzaddok HaKohein of Lublin ZTâ€L (1823-1900), writes in his classic work Tzidkas HaTzadik (#260) that there are two kinds of sechok (laughter) in this world - each one having a good and bad side to it.
One kind of sechok - which is strictly forbidden - is when we laugh at others and try to make a mockery of them. This kind of sechok is called leitzanus (lit,†mockery†or “ridiculeâ€) in Hebrew, and is the hallmark of our sworn enemy, the evil nation of Amalek.
The “good†side of leitzanus is when we laugh at idolatry and ridicule all the falsehood and craziness in this world.
As the Talmud teaches in Megillah 25b: Rav Nacḥman said: All mockery and ridicule are forbidden except for mockery of idol worship and falsehood, which is permitted. Rav Huna bar Manoacḥ said in the name of Rav Acḥa, son of Rav Ika: It is permitted for a Jew to say to an idol worshipper: “Take your idol and put it up your shin tuv (backside)!â€
[For a brilliant essay – written by Rabbi Noah Weinberg ZTâ€L - on the different kinds of laughter and how to use them, click here: https://www.aish.com/sp/48w/
The other, less pernicious, kind of sechok – explains Rav Tzadok – is what we would call in Hebrew holelus, or “joking aroundâ€. The bad side of “joking around†is when we joke around too much and don’t take the precious gift of life seriously – which would be a terrible tragedy.
The “good†side of holelus is when it is used for a mitzvah or other such constructive purpose - like we find in the Talmud in Shabbos 30b that before the great Rabbi and Talmudic scholar Rabbah would start his class, he would share with the students some mili d’bedichusa, i.e. light humor and “jokesâ€, to open their hearts so that they would be more receptive to the Torah that they were about to learn.
Also included on the good side of holelus is making jokes to cheer up those who are sad or depressed - or to make a bride and groom happy at their wedding by making them laugh, etc.
The Talmud in Taanis 22a relates a story about the righteousness of common people: who make others laugh:
Rav Beroka Choza’a was often found in the market of Bei Lefet, and Elijah the Prophet would often appear to him. Once Rav Beroka said to Elijah: Of all the people who come here, is there anyone in this market worthy of the World-to-Come? … Meanwhile, two brothers came to the marketplace. Elijah said to Ravi Beroka: These two also have a share in the World-to-Come. Rav Beroka went over to the men and asked them: What are your occupations? They said to him: We are comedians, and when see people who are sad or depressed, we make them laugh and we cheer them up. Additionally, when we see two people who are having a quarrel between them, we strive to make peace between them by making them laugh.
So we see that cheering people up and getting them to laugh when they are sad is actually a huge mitzvah, worthy of a portion in the World to Come!
Now I know that there are many people out there who are sad or alone or sick or unemployed etc. – largely caused by the dreadful Covid-19 virus – so I am hoping that the “corona†jokes quoted below (not my original jokes) will cheer us up and make us all laugh again. Enjoy!
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I hope they give us two weeks’ notice before sending us back out into the real world. I think we'll all need the time to become ourselves again. And by "ourselves" I mean lose 10 pounds, cut our hair and get used to not drinking at 9:00 a.m.
Breaking News: Wearing a mask inside your home is now highly recommended. Not so much to stop COVID-19, but to stop eating.
When this quarantine is over, let's not tell some people.
I stepped on my scale this morning. It said: "Please practice social distancing. Only one person at a time on scale."
Not to brag, but I haven't been late to anything in over 6 weeks.
They can open things up next month, I'm staying in until July to see what happens to all of you first.
Appropriate analogy: "The curve is flattening so we can start lifting restrictions now" = "The parachute has slowed our rate of descent, so we can take it off now".
Never in a million years could I have imagined I would go up to a bank teller wearing a mask and ask for money.
Home school Day 1: I'm trying to figure out how I can get this kid transferred out of my class.
Okay, the schools are closed. So do we drop the kids off at the teacher's house or what?
Coronavirus has turned us all into dogs. We wander around the house looking for food We get told "No" if we get too close to strangers and we get really excited about going for walks and car rides.
I was in a long line at 7:45 am today at the grocery store that opened at 8:00 for seniors only. A young man came from the parking lot and tried to cut in at the front of the line, but an old lady beat him back into the parking lot with her cane. He returned and tried to cut in again but an old man punched him in the gut, then kicked him to the ground and rolled him away. As he approached the line for the 3rd time he said, "If you don't let me unlock the door, you'll never get in there."
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=617