The Blogs: Laugh, dammit

Headline on Times of Israel: IDF says it probed 300 terror suspects and that other Gazans offering intel willingly

My friend was hit by an RPG.

The other night, I enjoyed a comedian that was brought in to entertain our Netanya troops who are defending our city. This guy, Guy Hochman (@guy_niceguy on IG), since day 1, has been going around and helping our troops laugh, “as therapy.”

When he started, he was asked, many times, if people were up for laughter at a time like this. After each show, he found that laughter was literally the best medicine — he could see the difference in people after they released their tension during a show. In fact, the IDF Spokesperson spoke to him after one of his shows and informed him that he is the new “Katzin Chiyuch Rashi” (Head Smile Officer) for the Israeli army.

In Masechet Ta’anit of the Talmud, Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet) tells Rabbi Broka that people who tell jokes and get people to laugh and stop fighting get a piece of the next world.

I’m having a hard time with this one, but I am going to keep trying.

The Mayo Clinic vouches for this therapy/medicine, whatever you want to call it, for both short- and long-term health. It stimulates organs (the heart, lungs, and muscles — not what you’re thinking, though it probably does that, too), relieves your stress response, soothes tension, improves your immune system and mood, relieves pain and more.

I’m pretty sure all of Klal Yisrael is feeling the above: stress, pain, tension, and more. It’s probably why we have gallows humor all. the. freaking. time.

My friend, the one who was hit by an RPG, survived. He has a ringing in his ears and hearing loss, but he’s alive to come home and see his wife and kids.

I looked up RPG jokes without thinking:
Q. What do you call the last RPG you play before you die?
A. Final Fantasy.
Not exactly what I was looking for.

Image by TweSwe from Pixabay

In a few days, my friend will return to the front in Gaza.

Too soon?

* * *

In the interest of laughter (or at least some groaning):

A large group of Hamas fighters in Gaza are moving down a road when they hear a voice call from behind a crumbled building:

“One IDF soldier is better than 10 Hamas fighters!” The Hamas commander quickly orders ten of his best men around the building where a gun battle breaks out and continues for a few minutes, then silence. The voice once again calls out: “One IDF soldier is better than 100 Hamas ‘SOBs. ‘”Furious, the Hamas commander sends his next best hundred troops around the building and, instantly, a huge gunfight commences. After 10 minutes of battle, again silence rings out.

The voice calls out again, “One IDF soldier is better than 1,000 Hamas fighters.” The enraged Hamas commander musters 1,000 fighters and sends them around the building. Rifle fire, machine guns, grenades, rockets, and cannon fire ring out as the terrible fight is fought … then silence.

Eventually, one badly wounded Hamas fighter crawls back, and with his dying words tells his commander, “Don’t send any more men … it’s a trap. There’s two of them.”