BETH TORAH TIMES - HIGH HOLY DAYS EDITION 2019/5780
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THE POWER<br />
OF A SMILE<br />
A Message from Our Chief Operating Officer<br />
Wayne Keil<br />
What’s with a smile? What does it mean? Why<br />
do we do it? How is it so contagious? We long for<br />
a smile, don’t we? The first thing we get excited<br />
about as parents is when our child smiles for the<br />
first time. It’s always the first sign of happiness.<br />
When we get that first smile we always ask our<br />
spouse, “Are you sure it was a smile?” And then you<br />
know what happens? To decide if it was a smile, we<br />
do something to elicit the same reaction. We smile<br />
at our child.<br />
The smile is a simple, yet very powerful tool. In<br />
fact, the smile is even spoken of in Pirkei Avot.<br />
Shammai says, “Make your Torah study regular; say<br />
little and do much; and greet every person with a<br />
smile.” Ethics of the Fathers, 1:15<br />
The great 20th century Rabbi Avraham Karelitz, also<br />
known as the Chazon Ish, explained why: our inner<br />
feelings affect only us, but the countenance we<br />
show to the world affects the mood and happiness<br />
of those around us too. Rabbi Yisroel Salanter said<br />
that our faces – and our expressions – are like<br />
public property; they give us the power to help<br />
or harm everyone we meet. This means that we<br />
have the obligation to smile, even though we may<br />
feel pained on the inside. We live in a world of<br />
others and the very expression of our face can affect<br />
the mood of another human being. Happiness is<br />
contagious. You have an obligation to make others<br />
feel happy; and certainly not to make them feel sad.<br />
My job isn’t always easy and can be awfully hard at<br />
times. Sometimes, I am ashamed to admit, it can<br />
be hard to smile. Thankfully for me and the other<br />
professionals on staff, we are in a building filled with<br />
smiling kids, and we can just walk out our door and<br />
into a hallway and we can get smiles. One of the<br />
best parts of my day is when I have a meeting with<br />
a member who needs help. Being able to help that<br />
person and have them leave with a smile, well, it<br />
makes it all worth it.<br />
Life is short. Bad things happen. They happen when<br />
we least expect it and there is nothing we can do<br />
about it sometimes. But we can still smile. In fact,<br />
it would seem the sages are telling us it is our<br />
obligation to smile. Therefore, let’s all smile a little bit<br />
more and make those around us smile.<br />
I wish all of you a wonderful New<br />
Year filled with lots of smiles!<br />
Wayne Keil<br />
12 <strong>BETH</strong> <strong>TORAH</strong> <strong>TIMES</strong>
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