We all want to eventually get into Heaven. We spend much time studying Torah and doing mitzvot so as to pave the way to Gan Eden. Yet, what is it that is most valued and appreciated in guaranteeing our admission there? You might smile when you read the answer.
The Gemara in Taanit (22a) recounts the story of how R’ Brokah approached Elijah the Prophet while he was making one of his legendary visits. He asked Elijah to point out which of the people they were about to pass on the street would be assured a portion in Olam Haba, the World to Come. Among the people he pointed out were comedians who told jokes and made people laugh.
Now, normally we might think that Elijah would have pointed to a scholarly type of person or a person who gave great charity as someone who was guaranteed a share in Heaven. Why did he point out individuals who tried to always make others laugh? Perhaps the Talmud was teaching us a lesson by recounting this story. Perhaps the lesson to be learned was that it was not necessarily a person’s scholarship that earned them a place in Heaven. Perhaps, more importantly, what was highly valued was being compassionate with others and getting them to smile.
The mishnah in Pirkei Avot (1:15) instructs us to greet everybody with a cheerful face. The Gemara in Ketubot (111b) tells us to smile broadly at others so that they see the white of our teeth. In the Avot D’R’ Nosson (13) it was written that if one gives his fellow human being all of the gifts in the world but does so with a downcast face it is considered as if he gave him nothing at all. However, if one welcomes his fellow human being with a warm and cheerful face, even though he is unable to give him anything, it is considered as if he gave him all of the most valuable gifts in the world.
R’ Mordechai Weiss in his weekly column remembered how as a yeshiva principal he created a “smile zone” at the school entrance. No child was allowed to enter until they smiled and were wished “a good day.”
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch once wrote: “A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor that he can’t be made rich by it. A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in business, and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and is nature’s best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as no one needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.”
As we get ready for Rosh Hashanah we need to take these lessons to heart. It is not necessarily the individual who shakes fervently back and forth at shul but turns up his nose and ignores his neighbor that is valued. Perhaps the person who is considerate and compassionate, the one who greets his shul-mates with a warm smile and a handshake who gets on the fast track and is more meritorious in the eyes of Hashem.
May we all be blessed with a ktivah vachatima tova.
By Rabbi Dr. Avi Kuperberg
Rabbi Dr. Avi Kuperberg is a forensic, clinical psychologist in private practice. He is president of the Chai Riders Motorcycle Club of NY/NJ. He leads the Summit Avenue Shabbos Gemara shiur and minyan in Fair Lawn, NJ. He can be contacted at [email protected].
