{"id":247,"date":"2011-09-27T11:55:27","date_gmt":"2011-09-27T15:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/isittheendoftheworld\/?p=247"},"modified":"2011-09-27T11:55:27","modified_gmt":"2011-09-27T15:55:27","slug":"can-we-laugh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/isittheendoftheworld\/2011\/09\/can-we-laugh.html","title":{"rendered":"Can we laugh?"},"content":{"rendered":"

At an outdoor mall in Jerusalem this summer, I felt as if I were in a place of limbo. The mall begins just steps from the Old City’s Jaffa Gate, and extends northwestward, into the western part of the city.<\/p>\n

Let me explain.<\/p>\n

Officially, the Palestinians are asking for a state, with its capitol in eastern Jerusalem. I believe the Israelis have a couple times offered part or all of the Temple Mount, not terribly far from Jaffa Gate.<\/p>\n

That makes all this territory terribly volatile. No doubt such seemingly mundane places as outdoor malls would become disputed territory, or at least dangerous areas (the whole city was a battle-zone in 1948).<\/p>\n

Yet…as I strolled through this gorgeous gauntlet of high-end stores, I saw something that made me laugh. At various places along the mall, a local artist had placed his biblical-scene sculptures. They are quite beautiful and striking. <\/p>\n

Outside a lingerie store, however, I noticed one of these sculptures…Samson and Delilah. Now, most of us know at least the bare details of this story: beauty seduces man of strength and betrays him.<\/p>\n

I literally stood there and laughed. Surely the sculpture was placed there strategically. Perhaps it wasn’t. All I know is that it offered a much-needed laugh in a place that has seen too many tears for too long.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The lingerie worked<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At an outdoor mall in Jerusalem this summer, I felt as if I were in a place of limbo. The mall begins just steps from the Old City’s Jaffa Gate, and extends northwestward, into the western part of the city. Let me explain. 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