The time has finally arrived for Adina and Rabbi Ezra Wiener to make aliyah, and during the course of our long, communal farewell we took the time to fondly reminisce about what each of them has meant to us. It is difficult to quantify their impact on the communities they served; however, we can effortlessly attest to how much they will be missed. No goodbye message is capable of appropriately capturing their character, commitment or contributions. Nonetheless, even in the face of certain failure, we must try.
Adina and Rabbi Ezra, in their own way, modeled the values they supported and recommended to others. You might wonder how the Wieners were able to make us feel worthy of the noble goals, personal and spiritual, they encouraged. What was it that often made you feel better about yourself and/or inspired to help others after interacting with them? Steve Jobs is said to have created a “reality distortion field” when interacting with people so that perceived reality became actual reality, and books have been written to explain how he did it. What is the Wieners’ “secret sauce?”
Perhaps the ability to influence and inspire others is not solely a matter of talent and perseverance, but can also be attributed to something else Rabbi Ezra and Adina almost always have at their disposal: a heartfelt smile. Unless the occasion otherwise calls for solemnity, one of the defining features of both of them is an ever-present smile. That smile is an invitation to engage and be inspired and instills confidence that you will be welcomed, but not judged or dismissed. That smile has led a good many of us to serve the worthy causes of avodas Hashem, gemilas chesed and talmud Torah with that much more conviction and enthusiasm.
It has been said that “Smiles are a bridge between two hearts. When you smile at another, you recognize his humanity, you signal that she matters, you lift moods, you actually brighten the world.” It is these smiles and how they made us feel and what they inspired us to do that will be among the many things we will miss.
