I’m somewhat of a collector of stories of astounding second chapters that no one could have possibly anticipated
Throughout the entire month of Adar, not just on Purim itself, we have a mitzvah to increase our simchah, and the entire month is considered a fortunate one. What is the nature of that simchah, which peaks on Purim, but exists for all of Adar?
The simchah of Adar is a prelude to the Geulah of Nissan. And the essence of that simchah lies in the quality of laughter. Sefer Yetzirah describes 12 powers that every person possesses. Each is associated with a particular tribe and particular month. The last of those 12 kochos is tzechok (laughter), and it is associated with Adar, the last of the months.
Laughter came into the world with the birth of Yitzchak: “And Sarah said, ‘Hashem has made laughter for me; all who hear [of Yitzchak’s birth] will laugh for me’ ” (Bereishis 21:6). And his very name means “he will laugh” — a reference to that future time when “our mouths will be filled with laughter.” Rav Moshe Shapira (upon whom I am drawing heavily) explained that laughter is the reaction to something totally unexpected, a sudden reversal, whether it be the pratfalls of slapstick comedy or witty verbal turnabout.
Yitzchak’s very existence was an impossibility. Under the system of the mazalos, there was no possibility of Avraham fathering children, and Sarah, Chazal teach, did not have a rechem with which to carry the child. At the Akeidah, Yitzchak’s soul flew up from his body, and he had to be revivified, after which he made a blessing of techiyas hameisim.
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