The Kabbalah of Laughter with Guest Blogger Chana Rachel Schusterman

The Power of Using Our G-d Given Talents (and Helping Our Children Recognize Theirs

There are twelve months in the Jewish calendar. The talent of LAUGHTER is the twelfth month, the month of ADAR (Feb-March).

Right from the beginning of the month of Adar, joy increases and continues to increase all the way through through the month.  The holiday of Purim is the month in which everything turns around for the good, and what is hidden (that G-d runs the world in every detail) becomes revealed. This affects the entire month.  Adar brings us to a kind of joy that is beyond anything we could imagine.

A person with this talent “gets it” and laughs.  This person is never mean and never laughs with black humor.  True laughter comes from relating to the goodness and profundity of life. When he sees goodness and profundity come together, he laughs even more.  A person with this talent is childlike and good natured, enjoying life, people, and situations with humor.  Knowing that G-d is behind it all, someone with this talent has peace of mind.  Then it is clear that life is a joy.

We can be role models of good humor by showing our joy.  When we recognize this talent in our children, we can encourage them by laughing with them. Let them be silly and playful. A person with this talent is original.  Don’t expect him to imitate. Enjoy his uniqueness and laugh at the realization that you are blessed to have such a child.

Tools for Developing Your Talent of Laughter:

1. Don’t get into low or black humor.
2. Lighten up.
3. Look for and find the good and the joy in any situation.

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The Kabalah of Adar:
The tribe of Adar is Naftali. 

Adar is the last of the months beginning with Nissan.  It is the completion of the cycle of all the months which begins with Nissan (getting ready for Pesach). We receive the Torah and continue to move toward the promised land, Israel.

The Purim story, takes place in Persia seventy years after the destruction of the First Temple. During this dangerous time, the Jews’ faith grew and they committed to G-d and  the Torah on an even deeper level.

The laughter of the month of Adar is really a taste of the joy of the future. Purim is a foretaste of the coming of the Moshiach when all evil will be swallowed up. When that time comes, we will realize the meaning of all that we experienced and we will laugh with a joy that is beyond what we could imagine.

Chana Rachel Schusterman is a Jewish spiritual counselor and coach. If you would like to contact her, please email me at Jewishmontessori18@gmail.com.