This paper
appeared in Thalia: Studies in Literary Humor, Vol. 17, March 1998, 36-50.
©1998
For a full copy
of this paper including footnotes, please contact the author.
He Who Sits in Heaven Shall Laugh: Divine Humor
in Talmudic Literature
by
Hershey H. Friedman
Professor of Marketing and Economics
Brooklyn College, The City University of New York
E-mail: x.friedman@att.net
Jewish humor covers a wide spectrum of subjects including the schlemiel, the Wise Men of Chelm, the snide waiter, the sarcastic beggar, the anti-Semite, strange Yiddish curses, the shrew, the pompous fool, and many more. One topic covered is God Himself. In fact, Jewish humor is rather unique in the way God is portrayed. God is often blamed, criticized, and haggled with, and sometimes almost seems like a Lower East-Side haberdasher.
Does God have a sense of humor? The Psalmist states: "He who sits in Heaven shall laugh." Since we are supposed to emulate God in all his attributes (imitatio Dei), why not laugh along with Him?
Novak and Waldoks assert that "Jewish humor mocks everyone ¾ including God." "Mock" may be too strong a word. Jewish humor involving God often tries to make a point, such as the unfairness of life or the unjustness of the Diaspora. Since God is the One to blame for the plight of His people, He is fair game for this sort of humor. This humor is generally not meant to show disrespect or defiance towards God. On the contrary, it demonstrates a great love for God, even though God is blamed for the unhappy plight of His people. The affection of God for His people and that of the Jewish people for God are manifested in this humor. One important function of humor according to M. Conrad Hyers is to minimize the distance between the sacred and the profane. Jewish humor involving God may serve the function of making the Almighty seem closer to mankind.
A close Jewish friend of the author who has many problems often states his intention to run against God in the next election. He declares that he can easily beat God. When asked to state his platform, this friend responds: "Platform? Who needs a platform? I’ll run on His record!" In other words, wars, AIDS, the Holocaust, famine, Alzheimer’s disease, etc. In this friend’s words: "God hasn’t got a chance." This is typical Jewish humor and is not perceived as blasphemous. It is a very Jewish way of saying: When will God end mankind’s troubles and keep the promises made via numerous prophets regarding world peace and happiness?
The Talmud and Midrash, which have had a strong influence on the Jewish people, are filled with different types of humor, including humor involving God. Although neither written nor studied for their comedic content, these ancient works frequently make use of such hallmarks of humor as sarcasm, irony, exaggeration, humorous questions, etc. The Talmud and the Midrash are replete with stories involving God and many of these stories are quite humorous. It is this author’s opinion that these stories have influenced Jewish humor. It would be difficult to imagine a member of another religion being able to joke about God the way Jews can.
Treating God in such an informal and familiar manner is also common in Chassidic tales, which have also certainly been influenced by the Talmudic stories. In Chassidic stories, God is often chided, albeit in a warm manner, for the harshness of the Diaspora and for not helping his people.
For example, in one classic story, three Chassidic rabbis (Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, Rabbi Israel of Koznitz, and the seer of Lublin) acted as the Jewish court in a suit brought by an individual against God. Their verdict was that the plaintiff was right and God was wrong for allowing the emperor to issue an edict against the Jews. God, of course, had no choice and had to obey the final verdict of the court: The decree was annulled.
In another story, the famous Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev once declared to God that if He did not forgive the Jewish people their sins then he would tell the whole world that God’s phylacteries were invalid. According to the Talmud, God’s phylacteries contain the verse: "And Who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth." Rabbi Levi exclaimed that if God did not forgive Israel their sins then they were not a "unique nation on earth," thus making His phylacteries invalid! On another occasion he scolded God and said: The Jewish people are your phylacteries. When one of the phylacteries of a simple Jew falls on the ground he picks it up carefully and kisses it. Dear Lord! Your phylacteries have fallen to the ground.
In Jewish literature too, God is quite frequently portrayed in a warm, amicable, and almost disrespectful, manner. For example, Sholom Aleichem’s unforgettable character, Tevye the dairyman, had Job-like conversations with God: "O God, All-powerful and All-Merciful, great and good, kind and just, how does it happen that to some people you give everything and to others nothing?" Even in the middle of his prayer, Tevye would interject his own personal comments: "Thou sustainest the living with loving kindness -- and, sometimes, with a little food." Tevye could even be somewhat sarcastic at times: "With God’s help, I starved to death ¼ three times a day, not counting supper."
Even back in Talmudic times, Jews saw God in a very different way than did other peoples. God could be treated like a member of the family ¾ criticized, argued with, negotiated with ¾ and He would not mind. Sometimes, He argued back. Sometimes, he even won.
The Talmud is the compilation of Jewish oral law and consists of the mishna and the gemara. The mishna was compiled and redacted by Rebbi (Rabbi Yehuda the Nasi ¾ The President of the Sanhedrin) about the year 189 C.E. The gemara consists mainly of commentaries and discussions of the mishna and was put into written form about 1500 years ago. The scholars of the mishna are called Tannaim and the scholars of the gemara are called Amoraim. The Amoraim analyzed, explained, and elaborated on the mishna.
The Midrash is essentially devoted to the exposition of Biblical verses. There are two types of Midrash: Halachic Midrash which is mainly concerned with Jewish law and Aggadic Midrash which is homiletic and mainly concerned with morality. The sages quoted and discussed in the Midrash are generally the same sages as in the Talmud.
Z. H. Chajes states that the aim of the homiletic portion of the Talmud (aggadah) was to inspire people to serve the Lord. Also, if the lecturer noticed that the audience was not paying attention or was dozing off, he might tell stories which "sounded strange or terrifying or which went beyond the limits of the natural and so won the attention of his audience for his message."
Maimonides (1135 - 1204) describes individuals who take the homiletics of the Talmud literally as simple-minded fools, since there are hidden inner meanings in the stories, riddles, parables, etc. used in aggadah. Thus, we see that the stories told in the Talmud and Midrash, many of which are cited here, were not necessarily meant to be taken literally. Literal or not, the stories depict God in a certain way which has, in this author’s opinion, greatly influenced Jewish humor.
Before examining some of the Talmudic and Midrashic stories involving God, it might be instructive to examine the Bible. After all, the Talmud’s major purpose was to elucidate the Bible. From Genesis to Job, it is clear that humor has a place in the Divine scheme of things.
In the Bible, we see that even though God is perfect, He seems to accept and even welcome criticism. Thus, Abraham had the temerity to say to God: "Shall the Judge of the whole world not act justly?" This may be where Tevye learned to criticize God. God’s sense of irony is manifested by his telling Abraham to name his soon-to-be-born son Isaac because Abraham laughed when he heard that he, a one-hundred-year-old man, and Sarah, his 90-year-old wife, would have a child. The Hebrew name Yitzchak (Isaac in English) means ‘he laughed,’ a strange name for an individual.
God appeared to Moses at the burning bush and was told to return to Egypt and free his people. Moses refused his mission five times using five different arguments. Moses’ fifth objection, "Oh Lord, send, I pray Thee, by the hand of whom Thou will send," made it clear that Moses was not interested in going [possibly because of his great humility] and then God got angry at him.
Jonah, the unwilling prophet, refused God’s bidding to announce to the residents of Nineveh (capital of Assyria) its imminent destruction. He tried to "flee" from God by taking a ship from Jaffa to Tarshish. God finally forced Jonah to prophesy to the residents of Nineveh and Jonah is wildly successful ¾ more successful than any other prophet. Jonah’s entire prophecy was but five Hebrew words. Not only did the citizens of Nineveh proclaim a fast in their repentance, but even the cattle and sheep were made to fast (the cattle are also covered with sackcloth). The reluctant Jonah accomplished in a mere five words what numerous prophets (including the eloquent Isaiah) could not achieve with thousands of words, and all without even trying.
Job demanded to confront God and know the reason for all his suffering. Job angrily railed against the injustice that he perceived when he said, "He destroys the innocent and the wicked." His wish was granted and God answered him, with magnificent sarcasm: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? ¼ Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, or told the dawn its place?"
In Talmudic stories, God is very close to mankind and even laughs when they "best" Him. He has a great deal of warmth for His creations and sometimes seeks mortal blessing. Even the Almighty, Omnipotent and Omniscient One needs to be noticed. One can easily see why Tevye feels entitled to talk constantly to Him.
In one case, God asked for a blessing of Rabbi Yishmael b. Elisha, a High Priest, who came up with an appropriate response:
Rabbi Yishmael b. Elisha said: I once entered the innermost part of the Temple to offer incense and I saw that God, the Lord of Hosts, was seated on a high and lofty throne. He said to me: Yishmael, My son, bless me. I said to Him: May it be Your will that Your compassion should suppress Your anger and that Your compassion prevail over all Your other attributes so that You should treat Your children with the attribute of mercy and You should stop short of the strict letter of the law for them. And God nodded to me with His head.
This poignant story not only depicts God as asking a mere mortal for a blessing, but this mortal then turns the tables on God because the blessing he gives is one that will benefit the Jewish people, and God is happy with this.
As this next passage from the Talmud demonstrates, God can be sarcastic and expects to be greeted just as any mortal would. God was said to be insulted when Moses, who went up to heaven for forty days, ignored Him and did not wish Him well on His handiwork.
Rabbi Yehoshua b. Levi said: At the time that Moses ascended to Heaven, he found the Holy One tying crowns on the letters of the Torah. God said to him: Moses, in your town people do not give greetings? Moses replied: Is it then proper for a servant to extend greetings to his master? God said to him: You should have wished me success. Moses then said to Him: ‘And now let the power of the Lord be great, as You once declared.’
Moses’s response was close to the traditional Jewish way of congratulating someone on a job well done by blessing him with strength to continue. Moses’ dilemma of what to wish God is reminiscent of the joke: What do you say when God sneezes?
God appears to enjoy negotiating with mortals. The most famous example is that of Abraham "haggling" with God to save Sodom and Gomorra from destruction:
Abraham: 'What if there are 50 innocent people in the city? Will you still destroy it?'
God: 'If I find 50 innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the entire area.'
Abraham: 'Suppose there are 45 ¼ ?'
God: 'I will not destroy it if I find 45 ¼ '
Abraham: 'What if there are 40?'
God: 'I will not act if there are forty ¼ '
As this conversation continues, Abraham proposes and God agrees to allow for 30, 20, 10 in succession, until Abraham finally gives up presumably because 10 innocents could be found in those evil towns.
In the following story involving Rabbi Elazar b. Pedath we see God admitting that the world is sometimes unjust and that he would have to remake it to change the sad plight of some unfortunates. He tells Rabbi Elazar that He will make it up to him in the next world and describes the reward, but Rabbi Elazar is not that thrilled with his future reward.
Rabbi Elazar b. Pedath was in dire poverty. Once, after bloodletting, he had nothing to eat so he took some garlic peel and placed into his mouth. He grew faint and fell asleep. The rabbis came to ask him something and noticed that he was crying and laughing and that a spark of fire came out of his forehead. When he awoke, they asked him: Why did you cry and laugh? He said to them: Because I saw that God was sitting with me and I asked Him, How long will I continue to suffer in this world? He said to me: Elazar, my son, would it please you if I turned the world back to its very beginnings? Perhaps then you might be born at a more auspicious time for achieving sustenance. I said: All this and only ‘perhaps’? I then asked: Which is longer, the time I have already lived, or the time I am still to live? God said: The time you have already lived is longer. [That is why he cried.] I then said to God: If so, then I do not require that you remake the world. God then said to me: As a reward for saying that you do not require it, I will provide for you in the next world thirteen rivers of pure balsam oil, which you will be able to enjoy. [That is why he laughed.] I said to Him: Only that and nothing more? He said to me: Then what will be left for Me to give to your colleagues? I said to God: Am I asking from someone who has nothing? He then flicked me on my forehead with his finger [Thus, the sparks.] and said: Elazar, My son, I shot My arrow at you.
Rabbi Solomon Ben Isaac ¾ usually referred to as Rashi ¾ (1040 - 1105), the major commentator on the Bible and Talmud, explained this last statement as an expression of love. God was telling Elazar that He loved him. Apparently, God enjoyed Rabbi Elazar’s retort that He could "afford" to give him a better reward.
According to the Talmud, King David made a bet with God that he could withstand any spiritual test; he lost the bet. David, however, was a bit of a sore loser:
Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rav: A person should never bring himself to be tested [spiritually] because David, King of Israel, asked to be tested and failed. David asked God: Creator of the Universe, why do we say in the [amidah] prayer, ‘The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ and do not say the God of David? God replied: They were tested and you were not. David said: Examine and test me, as it is written, ‘Examine me, God, and test me.’ He answered: I will test you and do something special for you. For they were not informed beforehand as to the nature of the test, but I will tell you beforehand that the test will involve sexual immorality ¼
Apparently, David thought he would free himself from sexual desire by having intercourse with his wives during the daytime, but as the Talmud points out: "There is a small organ in a person [the sex organ]. When it is hungry, it is satisfied; when it is satisfied, it is hungry." David failed the test and ended up cohabiting with Bath-Sheba, a married woman. He lost his wager with God, but not gracefully:
David said to God: You know very well that had I wished to overcome my desire I could have done so, but I did not want people to say the slave defeated his Master [i.e., that David was right and God was wrong].
David knew that if he had not sinned with Bath Sheba then he would have been right in his assertion that he deserved to be included in the aforementioned prayer. And that is why he "let" God win the bet.
God is open to suggestions from mortals and is even willing to change His mind when proven "wrong," a state that ought to be impossible for God, who is perfect:
Rabbah b. Shila once encountered Elijah the Prophet [who reveals himself to great people]. He asked him: What is the Holy One doing? Elijah answered: He is quoting legal decisions in the names of all the Rabbis, but not in the name of Rabbi Meir. Rabbah asked: Why? Elijah answered: Because Rabbi Meir studied laws from the mouth of acher [literally, the other, a name given to Rabbi Elisha b. Avuyah who became a heretic]. Rabbah explained: Rabbi Meir found a pomegranate, he ate the fruit on the inside and discarded the peel. Elijah answered: Now God is saying, ‘Meir, my son, says ¼ ’
This story portrays a God who studies the law and quotes mortals. This, despite the fact that God gave the law to the Israelites. Who ought to know better what the law entails, the giver or the receiver? Who ought to know best what is in the heart of man, God or Rabbah? Yet, when Rabbah explains that Rabbi Meir only culled the good in learning from Acher and discarded the bad, God accepts this and starts quoting Rabbi Meir along with everyone else.
Rabbi Eliezer b. Hyrkanos, who was of the Shammai school, refused to go along with the majority in a dispute regarding an oven of Aknai, and whether it could become ritually unclean. To prove his point, Rabbi Eliezer performed various miracles which were all ignored. Finally:
Rabbi Eliezer said: If the law is as I say, let it be proven from Heaven. A Heavenly voice then rang out and exclaimed: What do you want with Rabbi Eliezer, since the law is in agreement with him in all areas. Rabbi Yehoshua then got up on his feet and declared: ‘It [the Torah] is not in Heaven.’ What does ‘It is not in Heaven’ mean? Rabbi Yirmiyah said: Since the Torah was already given at Sinai, we therefore pay no attention to Heavenly voices. After all, it is written in the Torah itself: ‘After the majority one must follow.’ Rabbi Nathan met Elijah the Prophet and asked him: What was God doing at that time [when His Heavenly voice was disregarded]? Elijah answered: He laughed and said: My children have triumphed over me. My children have triumphed over me.
God laughs when He realizes that mortals refuse to accept Him as the final authority on religious matters since "The Torah is no longer in heaven." This story also shows God as being interested in law and ineffectively trying to influence the outcome of a legal debate.
The Talmud describes how Rabbah b. Nachmeni died. The government did not like the fact that Rabbah’s lectures resulted in thousands of Jewish people not being in their homes during the two months preceding the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Passover, and thereby making it difficult for the tax collectors to collect the monthly tax. The government sent agents to capture him. He had a difficult time eluding the King’s men and finally was captured. He managed to escape and was hiding in a swamp, totally exhausted and sitting on the stump of a tree and studying Torah. Meanwhile:
There was a dispute in the Heavenly Academy regarding laws of leprosy: If the bright spot on the skin precedes the white hair, the person is impure [i.e., it is leprosy]; if the white hair precedes the bright spot, the person is ritually pure. If there is a doubt as to which one came first: God said ‘pure’ and the entire Heavenly Academy said ‘impure.’ They decided to ask Rabbah b. Nachmeni to resolve this dispute, since he once said, ‘I am unique in my knowledge of leprosy and tents’ [both tractates deal with ritual impurity and are quite difficult]. They sent a messenger to get him, but the Angel of Death could not approach him, since Rabbah did not cease his Torah studies [one cannot die while studying Torah]. Meanwhile, a wind began to blow which made the reeds rustle. Rabbah thought it was a company of soldiers that were coming to get him. He said: It is better that I die than be delivered into the hands of the government. While he was dying he exclaimed, [in response to the Heavenly question]: Pure! Pure! A Heavenly voice declared: Happy are you Rabbah b. Nachmeni, your body is pure and your soul departed in purity.
¼ Sometimes God wins the argument. How did God win this argument? He needed the help of a mortal who was "unique in his knowledge of the laws of leprosy¼ " Did Rabbah know more than God? Apparently, this story illustrates that when it comes to a legal dispute, even one between God and the angels in heaven, a well-trained expert must be brought in to resolve the dispute.
Interestingly, Maimonides, who wrote the encyclopedic compilation of Talmudic law, concluded that when there is uncertainty as to which came first, the white hair or the bright spot, the law is that the person is impure. Thus, Maimonides disagreed with God.
The Talmud describes a situation in which God admitted that He made a "mistake." The Talmud explains the meaning of God’s reply [as to His name] to Moses in Exodus, "I Will Be What I Will Be." God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites that, I shall be with them in this servitude just as I will be with them in other servitudes. Moses told God: They have enough troubles now; You do not have to tell them about future troubles. God agreed with Moses and instructed Moses to tell the Israelites: "I Will Be has sent me".
In the next selection from the Talmud, God is seen as arguing with the sages as to whether Solomon deserved to be listed as a king with no share in Paradise. God wins the argument, but barely. Of course, God has an advantage: He controls Paradise and Hell and thus decides who enters which place.
Rabbi Yehuda stated in the name of Rav that they wished to add one more king ¾ Solomon ¾ to the list of kings that have no share in the world to come [Paradise]. A vision resembling Solomon’s father, King David, appeared before the sages and prostrated itself in supplication, but they ignored it. A fire from Heaven came and singed their benches, but they ignored it. A Heavenly voice proclaimed to them: ‘Do you see a man diligent in His work? He will stand before kings, but he shall not stand before the lowly.’ King Solomon built My home [the Temple] before his own, and furthermore, he built My home in seven years and his own palace in three years. He should stand before kings [in Paradise], and should not stand before the lowly [in Hell]. They ignored this Heavenly voice. The Heavenly voice then proclaimed: ‘Shall his compensation be as you wish it?...Should you choose and not I?’.
Apparently, God won and Solomon was not added to the list. God, it seems, sometimes has to tell the sages on earth to mind their own business. He decides who will go to Paradise and no one else. The story is even more humorous when one considers that the Heavenly voice quoted Proverbs which was written by King Solomon.
In the next selections we see Moses using some ludicrous arguments with God to get Him to change His mind about destroying the Israelites after they made the golden calf in the wilderness. Moses even played "gotcha" with God in one of the selections.
When the Israelites made the golden calf, Moses tried to convince God to forgive them. God said: Moses, I have already sworn that, 'he that sacrifices unto the deities other than God alone shall be utterly destroyed,' and I cannot take back an oath which emanates from My mouth. Moses replied: Creator of the Universe, did you not grant me the power of annulling oaths ¼ ? [A scholar may absolve one’s oath under certain situations.] Any elder that passes judgment, who desires that his pronouncement should be accepted, should be the first to accept the pronouncement. [Moses is referring to God, here, and is telling God to practice what He preaches.] You, who commanded me regarding annulling oaths, it is only right that I should be able to annul your oath the way you commanded me to annul the oaths of others. Immediately, Moses wrapped himself in his prayer shawl and sat as an elder [of the court], and God stood as one asking about his oath ¼
This story is even more humorous when one realizes that the way an oath is usually annulled by a court is by ascertaining that the individual making the oath did not have perfect knowledge and made the oath without considering every ramification. How do you annul the oath of God, who is omniscient? How do you tell God to practice what He preaches?
According to the Midrash, Moses tried several good arguments on God to convince Him not to punish the Jewish people. For example,
Moses said to God: Why are you angry with the Israelites? Is it not because they made an idol [the golden calf]? You never told them not to do this. God replied to Moses: Did I not say in the second commandment, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me?' Moses replied: You did not command them, you commanded me, since You did not say, "You [plural] shalt not have ¼ " It was thus only me that You commanded. Hence, if I have made an idol, 'Blot me, please, out of Your book.'
The second commandment states: Lo yihyeh lecha not Lo yihyeh lachem. Lachem (to you) is plural and lecha (to you) is singular. Moses’ argument was the kind that a clever lawyer might make when looking for a loophole in a legal document.
Moses said to God: This [golden] calf that the Israelites made can now be of assistance to You. It will send down the rain and You will produce the dew. The Holy One said to him: Is there any substance to it? Moses then retorted: If there is no substance to it, then why are you angry with the Israelites?
Moses to God: Gotcha!.
The following episode portrays God trying to sell his "wares" to the nations of the world. This Midrash depicts God as a door-to-door salesman trying to peddle His Torah to each of the nations successively. In the end, God only finds one customer for His Torah.
When God revealed Himself to give the Torah to Israel, He did not only reveal Himself to Israel but also to all the nations. First, He went to the descendants of Esau and asked them: Do you wish to receive the Torah? They said to Him: What is written in it? He said to them: Thou shalt not murder. They said to Him: Creator of the Universe, The very essence of our forefather was murder, as it says: 'The hands are the hands of Esau.' And regarding this, his father Isaac assured him: 'And by the sword shalt thou live.'
God then went to the children of Ammon and Moab, and said to them: Do you wish to receive the Torah? They said to Him: What is written in it? He said to them: Thou shalt not commit adultery. They said to Him: Creator of the Universe, The very essence of our forefathers was incest, as it says: 'And both daughters of Lot were made pregnant by their father.'
God went and found the children of Ishmael, and said to them: Do you wish to receive the Torah? They said to Him: What is written in it? He said to them: Thou shalt not steal. They said to Him: Creator of the Universe, The very essence of our forefather is robbery, as it says: 'And he shall be a wild ass of a man.'
There was no nation among the nations that God did not go to, speak to, and knock at their door.
The above Midrash is cited in numerous places and demonstrates that God had no success with any nation other than Israel in getting them to accept the Torah. The next Midrash shows how the Jewish people later used this in an argument to justify praying to God after the Temple’s destruction.
The Holy One said to Israel: You are acting impudently [by praying to me after I have driven you out of Israel]. They replied: Creator of the Universe, it is appropriate and proper that we do so, for no other nation accepted your Torah except for us. God replied: I was the One who disqualified all the nations for your sake. The Jewish people said to God: If so, why did you take your Torah around to every nation and they did not accept it?
This sounds almost like an old married couple having an argument as to who had been pursuing whom in the marriage. In fact, the Midrash even used the parable of the king who throws out his queen and, then, seeing her later clinging to the pillar of the palace, says to her: You are acting impudently. She tells the king: I am acting appropriately since no other woman would accept you except for me. The king says to her: I was the one who disqualified all women for you. She replies to the king: If so, why did you enter that street, that yard, and that place? Were you not rejected by all the women there?
In the following selection, Moses not only tries to exculpate the Israelites for the sin of the golden calf that they made, he also blames God Himself for it. Apparently, God even gets blamed for the sins of mortals.
The verse states: 'Moses began to plead before God his Lord, and said, Lord, why unleash your wrath against Your people, that You brought out of Egypt ¼ ' Why did Moses decide to mention here the exodus from Egypt? Moses said: Creator of the Universe, from where did You bring them out? From Egypt, where everyone worships lambs. [Therefore, do not be upset that the Jewish people worshipped the golden calf.] Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: This can be compared to a wise person who opened a perfume store for his son in a street of prostitutes. The street did its part, the business did its part [prostitutes are major customers for perfume], and the young man did his part and fell into bad ways. His father came and caught him with prostitutes. He started yelling, saying: I will kill you! A friend was there who said to the father: You caused the boy’s ruination, yet you are screaming at him. You ignored all occupations and taught him perfumery, you ignored all streets and could only open the store in the street of prostitutes. So too did Moses say: Creator of the Universe, You forsook the whole world and caused your children to be enslaved only in Egypt, where lambs are worshipped. That is from whom your children learned and made the golden calf. This is the reason Moses said: '¼ that you brought out of Egypt.'
A clever way of blaming God for the sin of the golden calf. The implication is that the idol worship was all God’s fault since it was He who made sure the Israelites would live in Egypt, where they learned to worship idols.
God sometimes blames too, but, according to the Midrash, Moses does not let Him get away with it, as the following shows.
At first, the Holy One said to Moses: 'Now go, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and take my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.' After they made the golden calf, what does it say there: 'Go down, because your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have become corrupt.' Moses exclaimed before the Holy One: Creator of the Universe, when they are sinners, they are mine, and when they are righteous, they are Yours? Whether they are sinners or righteous they are Yours, since it is written: 'They are Your people and Your heritage.'
In this Midrash, God seems like a parent, who, when disappointed in the actions of a child, tells his spouse, "Look what your child has done."
In many of the Talmudic tales, we have seen human beings argue, negotiate, even best God. Here is one in which God finally pokes fun at mankind.
In the future, the Holy One will take a Torah onto his lap and say: Anyone who has occupied himself with it should come and take his reward. Immediately, all the nations will gather together and arrive in disorder, as it says: ‘All the nations will gather together.’ The Holy One will say to them: Do not enter in disorder, but allow each nation with its sages to enter separately ¼ Immediately, Rome will enter first. The Holy One will say: With what have you occupied yourself? They will say: Creator of the Universe, many marketplaces have we established, many bathhouses have we constructed, and much silver and gold have we accumulated. All this we have done only for Israel in order that they should be able to occupy themselves with the study of Torah. The Holy One will say: Fools of the World, everything that you have done, you have done for yourselves. You established marketplaces in order to place prostitutes there. You constructed bathhouses for your own enjoyment, and the silver and gold is mine ¼
The Romans will depart with a disheartened spirit and the Persians will enter. The Holy One will say: With what have you occupied yourself? They will say: Creator of the Universe, many bridges have we erected, many cities have we conquered, and many wars have we waged. The Holy One will say: Everything that you have done, you have done for yourselves. You erected bridges in order to collect tolls. You conquered cities in order to use them for forced labor; as for wars, I wage them, as it is written: ‘The Lord is a Master of war.’ ¼ They too will depart with a disheartened spirit ¼ The same will happen with every nation.
The nations will then say: Creator of the Universe, give the Torah to us now and we will observe it. The Holy One will say to them: Fools of the World, one who works hard on the eve of the Sabbath will have something to eat on Sabbath, but one who has not worked hard on the eve of Sabbath, from where will he eat on Sabbath? However, I have one easy commandment by the name of sukkah [the booth covered with twigs that Jews dine in during the holiday of Tabernacles], go and perform this precept ¼ Immediately, each one will go and make himself a small sukkah on his roof. The Holy One will make the sun blaze and penetrate as it does during the summer solstice. Each one of them will kick contemptuously at his sukkah and go away ¼
The Holy One will sit and laugh at them, as it is written: ‘He who sits in Heaven shall laugh.’
In this story, God has the last laugh on all the nations by proving that He made the right choice in giving His Torah to the Jewish people because they are the only ones who follow the commandments regardless of their personal comfort.
In the next selection we see that God is diplomatic and is careful not to cause friction between husband and wife.
The School of Rabbi Yishmael taught: Great is peace, for even the Holy One altered what was said for peace. It is written: 'Sarah laughed to herself saying ¼ My husband is old.' God, however, said to Abraham: 'Why did Sarah laugh and say ¼ I am too old.'
Sarah was eighty-nine years old and laughed after hearing that she would have her first child because she felt Abraham was too old ¾ He was ninety-nine. Apparently, even at her advanced age she was reluctant to admit to herself that she was old. God did not want to cause trouble between man and wife so he told Abraham a white lie. This story also demonstrates that truth is not always the best route in human relationships. If God can tell a white lie, sometimes we should too.
A matron once asked one of the Talmudic sages what God has been doing since He created this world. The response was that God matches up people, i.e., God is a matchmaker. Apparently, matchmaking is so difficult that only God Himself can do it properly. If God is a matchmaker, we know that he has to tell white lies.
In summary, we have seen that God is portrayed in Rabbinic literature in a very respectful yet unique manner, with warmth, wit, and affection. He is an omnipotent God but still wants to be blessed; He is an omniscient God but laughs when bested by His children. This warm attitude vis-à-vis God has had a profound effect on Jewish humor and Jewish literature, even to this day. Alfred North Whitehead claimed that the ancient Jews had no sense of humor and that the God of the Bible doesn’t laugh. On the contrary, there is a large body of Talmudic and Midrashic literature that proves him wrong. "He who sits in Heaven shall laugh." And so shall we.