One of my favorite pesukim in this week's parsha is חכלילי עינים מיין ולבן שינים מחלב. Chazal expound on the words ולבן שינים מחלב as follows: טובה המלבין שינים לחבירו מהמשקהו חלב. The simple translation sounds almost like its speaking to a dentist “better is the one who whitens his friend's teeth than one who gives him milk." However, as Rashi explains, Chazal are talking about someone who gives another person a smile when you show your white teeth (this is a good plug for dentist to push using whiteners for people with yellow teeth) means showing a smile can have a greater positive effect than giving someone a glass of milk.
There is a famous saying: a smile is a small curve that sets a lot of things straight. It’s amazing how many times (and I remind myself of this many times throughout the day) when one is walking into shul or work, or whatever the place is, they should remind themselves to push their cheeks up and make that smile. How much effect that smile can have on other people! I once said that to smile in Loshon Hakodesh is לחייך; the word has the same letters as חייך – your life. When you go out of your way to smile at someone, you can be giving a person life.
There is an amazing midrash quoted by Rabeinu Tam in Sefer Hayashar that when the brothers were returning from Yosef in Mitzrayim and they were trying to figure out how to present the astounding good news to their father Yaakov Avinu in a safe way, their conclusion was to have Serach the daughter of Asher do it gently, using music and song, and this is what she did. Yaakov Avinu in return told her that since she gave him life, she will merit to live for a very long time. There are stories up until 450 years ago in Persia of Serach bat Asher acting on behalf of the Jews to save them from evil kings and leaders who tried to make harsh decrees against the Jews.
We too have this opportunity of giving life countless times a day by simply smiling and giving a positive greeting. Chazal say that Rabbi Yochanan never had a non-Jew greet him before he had already greeted him. This world is a world of opportunity; let's take advantage of the seemingly small but actually large opportunities presented to us, and smile.
by Rabbi Daniel Coren
