This is a bit of a "confesional" post if you could classify it as such, but it is an issue that I have been pondering for quite some time. The truth of the matter is that I like to laugh. Growing up as a kid, I was friends with a guy from a fairly religious christian family, lets call him "John". I must of been anywhere between 7 – 10 years old at the time, I dont remember the exact context, but the event I remember vividly. We were in the car with his family, and he says "Do you want to hear a dirty joke". With eager anticipation, I hold my breath waiting for the punchline. He smiles, and calls out "Mud". This response was met with much smiles, satisfaction and bit of a giggle from his mother driving the car. He and his sister thought the joke was fantastic. I sat there giving a fake smile, thinking "man, this is a lame joke".
Now I wish I had John’s sense of humour, being able to laugh at such innocent little jokes. Some people have that kind of simple, pure sense of humour even as adults. I am sure you know such kinds of people yourselves. However unfortunately for me, I have a rather "coarse", "rude" sense of humour. What can I do.. thats what makes me laugh. Always has, probably always will.Over the years I have laughed myself silly to the likes of Eddie Murphy (Raw and Delirious), Richard Pryor, Russel Peters and any other standups on the Comedy Channel.
However, and this is where the problem comes in, how does one handle this kind of sense of humour with Judaism? Is G-d offended by the sense of humour of Richard Pryor? What is the specific issur? Is such viewing allowed in moderation or never?
These are the kind of questions I have been thinking about and for me its quite a dilemna. I know this may sound somewhat trivial, but laughter is the best medicine and I feel like my doctor has to be given the boot. Any thoughts?, similiar experiences?, advice? – let us know.
Update: I sent this post to R’ Lazer Brody and this was his response:
B"HDear Rael,Hashem loves the innocent, pure, and simple humor that is devoid of any harm to others and also devoid of lewdness and ridicule. For that reason, I think that Richard Pryor’s type of laughter has no place in kedusha. The more one deepen’s one’s personal identification with Torah and Yiddishkeit, the more one shies away from the lewd "Leytzanut" that has become popular. With blessings and best wishes, LB