Who Laughs Last? Laughter and its Divinely Artistic Representation

How do Jewish and Greco-Roman influenced works of art represent divine laughter? What do these variant artistic representations indicate regarding changing Jewish attitudes towards laughter and its place in the socio-religious canon?

From man`s first laugh to its first human embodiment, Isaac, to widely oscillating rabbinic traditions on the place of this quasi-verbal vocalization, laughter has experienced a neglectful love in the Jewish tradition, if not often a fearsome one. Despite the ubiquity of laughter’s appearance, its early rabbinical characterization as absurd, hysterical or even malignant casts aspersions on its aptness as a divine vehicle of articulation.

Reflecting on laughter’s role in several key narratives, including Classical, Biblical, Talmudic and post-Talmudic, we will examine how representations from the world of visual and poetic art give different weight to the performative and expressive ‘speech act’ of laughing. What effect do these variant representations have on the kaleidoscope view of the divine provided to us? With a fresh perspective on this trans-human attribute, we will consider the importance given to laughter as it relates to divinity and man’s mimetic duty.