Tzipi Dagan’s Journey: How Laughter Became Her Life’s Calling

Tzipi Dagan, director of the Jewish Laughter School, begins our conversation with a question: “How many times do you laugh each day?”

There’s no exact number, she says, but studies show that young children laugh between 300 and 400 times a day, while adults laugh just 10 to 15 times on average. It’s no mystery why laughter fades with age. Our busy schedules and constant pressure often leave no room for joy.

“And that’s such a shame,” says Tzipi. “Laughter isn’t just fun, it’s healing. It helps with breathing issues like bronchitis and asthma, boosts self-confidence, and supports our emotional well-being.”

The good news? You don’t need jokes or the perfect mood to laugh. “Laughter is something we can do on purpose. We just have to learn how,” she explains.

From Programming to Purpose

Surprisingly, Tzipi didn’t start in the laughter world. She was a high-tech programmer until nearly age 40.

“That was my profession until I realized I wanted something deeper,” she shares. “Now, I work with many women in tech who feel they need a break from their screens and something to lift their spirits.”

She decided to pursue a university degree and first chose engineering, but soon discovered it wasn’t the right path. She switched to psychology and began working for an organization that ran empowerment retreats for parents of large families, of children with special needs, and of victims of terror.

During one of these retreats, she stumbled across an article about laughter yoga and felt instantly drawn to it. “The more I read, the more I realized that laughter could truly change people’s lives. And it changed mine, too,” she laughs. “I left my job, studied the method, and began leading my own workshops.”

Jewish Laughter with Meaning

Tzipi didn’t invent laughter yoga, that credit goes to Dr. Madan Kataria, a family doctor in Mumbai. He grew up in a remote village without schools or doctors. When he finally studied medicine in the city, he noticed something strange. People in his village, though lacking in resources, were happy. People in the city, though surrounded by doctors and medicine, were constantly ill and weighed down by stress.

Dr. Kataria read about the health benefits of laughter. Studies showed that laughing every fifteen or twenty minutes could lower anxiety and help people recover from illness. So he developed a method to help people activate the “laughter engine” that Hashem placed within every human being.

Tzipi took this method and added a spiritual dimension. Her workshops are rooted in Torah values, combining laughter with Jewish teachings and holidays. She calls it “Jewish Emotion-Laughter.”

Workshops That Heal

Tzipi’s workshops include more than just playful laughter, they’re infused with Jewish wisdom. “I always remind participants that laughter is a gift from Hashem,” she says. “When we become aware of this gift, it changes how we feel.”

Each exercise is rooted in a life value. One example is called “We Don’t Have No,” based on a teaching from Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin in Nefesh HaChaim. He taught that we should avoid starting sentences with the word “no,” which creates a sense of lack. The only ‘no’ we’re allowed to say is “There is none besides Him.”

So instead of saying “I have no strength,” Tzipi encourages women to say, “Give me strength.” To reinforce this, she teaches a dance called the “Give Me Strength” dance punctuated by joyful laughter. “Ha-ha-ha!” Women later tell her they dance it at home with their children, too.

Another powerful tool she shares is the “argument laughter” exercise. Women pair up and wag their fingers while saying “No, no, no”, then dissolve into laughter. One woman told her that this exercise helped her reconcile with her husband after a long separation.

“I used to go into my room, close the door, and perform the exercise in front of the mirror, as if I was talking to my husband,” the woman shared. “Eventually, I would just burst out laughing. That simple act broke down the anger and this week, we got back together.”

Spreading the Joy

After more than a decade of leading workshops and laughter clubs, Tzipi fulfilled her dream: she opened a school to train new laughter instructors. These women now run their own groups around the country.

“For me, it’s a huge step,” Tzipi says proudly. “My dream is to spread this method everywhere to help people heal themselves through laughter. It works for everyone: my daughter uses it with her first-grade class, and my mother, who’s in her 80s, uses it too.”

How does she feel about the path she’s taken?

She pauses thoughtfully before answering. “There’s a saying: ‘People may not always remember what you said, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.’ I believe that if I can bring calm, connection, and joy into people’s lives, that’s the most meaningful thing I can do.”