Laughter

Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as he said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, and can Sarah bear a child at ninety?”

(1) בקרבה [SARAH LAUGHED] WITHIN HERSELF — She reflected on her physical condition, saying, “Is it possible that this womb shall bear a child, that these dried-up breasts shall give forth milk” (Midrash Tanchuma, Shoftim 18).

יצחק לי means will rejoice on my account. The Midrashic statement is (Genesis Rabbah 53:8): Many barren women were remembered together with her, many sick were healed in that day, many prayers were answered with hers and there was great rejoicing in the world.

צחוק עשה לי אלקים, even though my son has to endure the pain of the circumcision at such as tender age, nonetheless my heart is full of joy. Therefore, everyone who hears about this event will rejoice on my behalf ignoring the aspect of the circumcision.

Genesis ‎21,6. “G’d has made laughter for me.” Sarah realized that if ‎G’d had granted her children in her old age instead of during her ‎child-bearing years, God had multiplied the joy she experienced by ‎this birth. Had she given birth in her younger years the ‎pregnancy and subsequent birth would have been periods of ‎discomfort and pain for her. Now, that she had not become ‎pregnant until she was close to 90 years old, every day of that ‎pregnancy had been filled with joyful expectation, and even the ‎birth itself was not felt by her as an excruciatingly painful ‎experience. Instead of thanking G’d in God's capacity as ‎‎Hashem, as we might have expected, she thanked God in God's capacity as ‎אלוקים‎, the attribute of Justice, realizing that ‎during all the years she had felt deprived of the joys of ‎motherhood, the attribute of Justice seemingly being applied to ‎her, had enabled her to exult in joy at this time.‎
This feeling of Sarah is reflected in psalms 118,21:‎אודך כי עניתני ‏ותהי לי לישועה‎, “I wish to thank You, for You have afflicted ‎me/answered me. For through my affliction my salvation has ‎come.” The same thought is repeated in a different nuance, when ‎David continues (verse 22) ‎אבן מאסו הבונים היתה לראש פנה‎, “the ‎stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” ‎David adds, that it has become clear to him that all of this had ‎been planned by G’d in advance, i.e. (verse 23) ‎מאת ה' היתה זאת היא ‏נפלאת בעינינו‎, “this is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our ‎eyes.” David too, is aware that it is far more rewarding to ‎experience these blessings from G’d in one’s mature years than in ‎one’s early youth. When a youth experiences all these blessings, ‎they do not even recognize them as blessing bestowed by G’d, but ‎credits them to chance or other circumstances. Having ‎experienced G’d’s salvation at a relatively late stage in one’s life ‎makes one doubly grateful to Hashem, i.e. ‎זה היום עשה ה' ‏נגילה ונשמחה בו‎, “this is the day that the Lord has made, let us ‎exult and rejoice on it.”‎
When examining the manner in which G’d shares out God's ‎largesse, we must distinguish between two categories of ‎recipients. One category enjoys the material benefits provided by ‎‎Hashem for what they are worth, i.e. they consider the ‎material part as the essential part, not considering them as a ‎means to an end. The second category of recipients are the sages ‎and the pious people who perceive these “gifts” as proof of the ‎caring supervision exercised by G’d over all of God's creatures, and ‎they see in it an encouragement to never forget that there is a ‎benevolent King who rules over us. This is what David referred to ‎when he said in the above-quoted hymn:‎זה היום עשה ה' נגילה ‏ונשמחה בו‎, “this is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice ‎and be happy in God.” They see in the word ‎בו‎ at the end of this ‎verse a reference to G’d, not to the day.‎

Then our mouths will be filled with laughter and our tongues with song. Then it shall be said among the nations: "It is the Lord [(and not chance)] that has wrought greatly with these."

R. Akiva says: Laughter and light-headedness predispose to licentiousness...

That explanation is like that practice of Rabba’s. Before he began teaching halakha to the Sages, he would say some humorous comment, and the Sages would be cheered. Ultimately, he sat in trepidation and began teaching the halakha.

Similarly, a person should neither take leave of another from an atmosphere of conversation, nor from an atmosphere of laughter, nor from an atmosphere of frivolity, nor from an atmosphere of purposeless matters. Rather, one should take leave of another from involvement in a matter of halakha. As we found in the books of the Bible dealing with the early prophets, that they would conclude their talks with words of praise and consolation.

In the meantime, two brothers came to the marketplace. Elijah said to Rabbi Beroka: These two also have a share in the World-to-Come. Rabbi Beroka went over to the men and said to them: What is your occupation? They said to him: We are jesters, and we cheer up the depressed. Alternatively, when we see two people who have a quarrel between them, we strive to make peace.

Apropos tribulations of exile and hope for redemption, the Gemara relates: And it once was that Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi Akiva were walking along the road in the Roman Empire, and they heard the sound of the multitudes of Rome from Puteoli at a distance of one hundred and twenty mil. The city was so large that they were able to hear its tumult from a great distance. And the other Sages began weeping and Rabbi Akiva was laughing. They said to him: For what reason are you laughing? Rabbi Akiva said to them: And you, for what reason are you weeping? They said to him: These gentiles, who bow to false gods and burn incense to idols, dwell securely and tranquilly in this colossal city, and for us, the House of the footstool of our God, the Temple, is burnt by fire, and shall we not weep? Rabbi Akiva said to them: That is why I am laughing. If for those who violate God's will, the wicked, it is so and they are rewarded for the few good deeds they performed, for those who perform God's will, all the more so will they be rewarded.

And the Holy One, Blessed be God, sits and makes sport, i.e., laughs or rejoices, as it is stated: “The One that sits in heaven makes sport, the Lord has them in derision” (Psalms 2:4). Rabbi Yitzḥak says: There is no making sport for the Holy One, Blessed be God, but on that day alone. The Gemara asks: Is that so? Is there is no other making sport for the Holy One, Blessed be God? But doesn’t Rav Yehuda say that Rav says: There are twelve hours in the day. During the first three, the Holy One, Blessed be God, sits and engages in Torah study...During the fourth three hours, God sits and makes sport with the leviathan, as it is stated: “There is leviathan, whom You have formed to sport with” (Psalms 104:26). Evidently, God makes sport every day, not only on that one day. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak says in explanation: God makes sport with God's creations, just as God sports with the leviathan; God does not make sport of God's creations but on that day alone.

The Gemara relates a story: When Rabbi Ḥanina’s daughter died, he did not cry over her. His wife said to him: Have you merely let a chicken out of your house, that you do not show any signs of sorrow? He said to her: If I cry, I will suffer twice, from bereavement and from blindness. The Gemara explains: He held in accordance with the statement that Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Ketzarta: There are six types of tears, three of which are good for the eyes and three of which are bad. Tears that come from smoke, and from crying out of sorrow, and from pain in the bathroom are bad for the eyes. Tears that come from medicinal drugs, and from laughter, and from sharp produce are good for the eyes.

Rabbi Elai said: In three matters a person’s true character is ascertained; in one's cup, i.e., one's behavior when they drink; in one's pocket, i.e., one's conduct in their financial dealings with other people; and in one's anger. And some say: A person also reveals their real nature in their laughter.

And a person should not rejoice to the point of hilarity for now all joy should be mixed with sobriety, for when our "Holy Rabbi" (Rabbi Judah the Prince) used to laugh thus, troubles came to the world (Berakoth 31a). And similarly "Rabbi Jeremiah would bring Rabbi Zera to the point of laughter, but Rabbi Zera did not laugh" (Niddah 23a).

Consider the severity of levity and its destructive power. For just like a shield smeared with oil deflects and drops arrows, causing them to fall to the ground, preventing them from reaching the body of the person, so too is levity before rebuke and reprimand. For with one act of levity or a little laughter, a person casts from themselves a great many rousings and impressions that the heart was made to feel due to stimulation in seeing or hearing matters that awakened them to an accounting and examination of their deeds.

You must neither be a jestor or a fool,¹⁸The Gemara, Berachos 31a states, “A person is forbidden to fill their mouth with laughter.” This applies to raucous hilarity. (She’arim Metzuyanim Behalachah) neither should you be glum and melancholy, rather you should be happy. Thus said [our Rabbis,] of blessed memory, "Jesting and frivolity lead a person to immorality."¹⁹Mishnah Avos 3:17. You should also avoid greediness, eagerly rushing after wealth. Be not depressed, nor idle from work, but be benevolent in your outlook. Hold your business affairs to a minimum and be occupied with the study of Torah. Rejoice with your small share [of worldly goods]. Thus said [our Sages] of blessed memory,²⁰Mishnah Avos 4:28. "Envy, lust and desire for glory remove a person from the world." So it is necessary that you stay away from these [bad traits].