this joy

"Why did the Jewish person bring a ladder to the synagogue?
Because they heard the service was going to be uplifting! "

This really is my hope each week. To bring some joy and levity to this community. 
Especially these days, when the news is grim and stress is high. 

Over the years I have noticed that my favorite teachers are the ones who make me laugh, while imparting their wisdom. From them I have learned to bring humor to shabbat services. Shosh says I am most funny on the bima. I am accepting that as a challenge. I need to bring more silliness to the rest of my life. 

We learn in the Talmud that when the month of Adar arrives, (as is the case today!), joy increases. The coming of Adar heralds the holiday of Purim. It broadcasts that Spring is coming. The days are getting longer, the sap is beginning to run, the earth is preparing to bloom. 

It is a strange and wonderful thing to feel religious pressure to express joy. Every year I find the spirit of Adar and the practice of Purim unexpectedly cathartic. This year, as the moon of Shevat began to wane and I realized Adar was on the horizon, I felt called to investigate my relationship to joy. I realized that right now, more than joy, I am trying to levitate, to experience more levity. 

I am seeing becoming more lighthearted as a spiritual pursuit, probably always but especially now. Which is to say, the giggles are very welcome.

Many people want to know the secret to longevity. I am not a scientist or a doctor, but I have been spending a lot of time with Shosh’s grandmother, Harriet who is 102. Some decades ago she read that laughing can make you live longer. So she bought a book of jokes. At night, Harriet and her husband of 60 years, Al, would lie in bed, hold hands and read each other silly jokes. I am so endeared to this practice. From Harriet I have learned to lead with gratitude and encourage laughter.

It's helpful to remember that laughing is good for us. 
I notice it loosens me up. Softens my shoulders. Makes me more forgiving, more flexible, more receptive. 

This Rosh Hodesh Adar, I am leaning into Grandma Harriet’s wisdom. I am in the market for some new jokes so I can take myself less seriously and fill my days with more levity. If you see me, feel free to tell me a joke. I am collecting them!

What can you do to levitate?
This joy, the world won’t give it to us. But we can give it to each other!