Rabbi's Corner

David got into a cab in downtown Manhattan and began talking with the driver.  Unfortunately, after being on the road all day the driver was not in the mood to be conversant with any passenger.  However, being the buoyant, cheerful person that he is, David quickly transformed the driver's mood into one of pleasantness.  When the cab driver came home, his wife was surprised to see him in such a good mood.  Apparently this had never happened before.  The result is that the two spent a pleasant evening at home together.  The next morning the cab driver's wife went to work in good spirits.  She did not fight with her co-workers, and nothing seemed to bother her.  Tony, her boss, went home that night without the usual migraine headache he suffered from listening to his employees argue with each other.  After arriving home, he decided to reunite with his son Jim whom he had not spoken with for months mainly due to his hectic work schedule.

After meeting up with each other and going on a walk together in Central Park, Tony noticed that his son was being very reserved and quiet and that tears were streaming down his son's face.  Becoming very alarmed, Tony asked his son what was wrong and if he was okay.  His son slowly took out a piece of crumpled paper from his coat pocket and handed it to his father.  Tony opened the crumpled piece of paper and read the following: "To whom this may concern: I committed suicide because no one in the world cares about me.  Jim"  Now Tony was the one who was crying, and he put his arm around his son.  Choking on his own tears, Jim explained why he wrote the note: "For the past few months, I was lonely and depressed.  Because I felt that no one cared about me, I made up my mind to commit suicide.  Just three minutes before I planned to jump to my death, I got your phone call saying that you wanted to spend time with me...!"

In this week's parashah, Parashat Vayigash, we read the following: "And Pharaoh said to Ya'akov: 'How many are the days of the years of your life?'"  In other words, Pharaoh was asking Ya'akov how old he was.  Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz explains this verse by saying that Ya'akov was being punished by HaShem with a shorter lifespan simply because he looked older than his years.  HaShem was telling Ya'akov that that there was no reason for him to age from the ordeals he suffered due to Yoseyf, Dina, and Eysav.  Ya'akov should have had emunah (faith) in HaShem that everything would work out all right.  Ya'akov could have been in a constant state of happiness.  He could have had a continuous smile on his face.  Then he would have looked younger; he would have looked his age.

There is no doubt that joy is contagious.  When you walk around with a smile on your face, you enrich the lives of those who see you, maybe just for a moment or maybe for a lifetime.  A smile is like sunshine: it nurtures; it sustains; it heals.  It is needed by everyone: rich and poor, famous and unknown, both at home and at work.  And what's more, it can be produced on demand.  A smile "costs" little but creates a lot.  After all, medical science tells us that it takes only 13 muscles to create a smile while it takes 112 muscles to create a frown.  I ask you; why work so hard?