Laughingat the Absurd

The first recorded laugh in Jewish history belongs not to a comedian but to a matriarch. In the Book of Genesis, Sarah, well past childbearing age, overhears a divine visitor's promise that she will bear a son within the year. This promise prompts her to laugh, and thus the child born from that promise is named Isaac, from the Hebrew 'Yitzhak,' meaning 'he will laugh.'

The tradition that follows, from the Talmud's embrace of wit to modern stand-up comedy, traces its line back to that involuntary cackle in the tent, showing that humour was built into Judaism from the very beginning.

This exhibition invites you to join in the laughter as you engage with humour drawn from the Jewish experience.