There's a teaching in Rabbinical Literature meant to show the importance of cheerfulness and pleasantry between people. In Jewishspeak it is called "sever panim yafot." The story goes that one of our ancient sages would not walk more than a few steps in the market place without greeting somebody with a smile. It always seemed hard to believe. I've been in the shuk and other Middle Eastern market places. There's lots to smile at (the food, colors, culture, hustle & bustle), but it isn't always the nicety of other people.
Here at the URJ Biennial (my first, by the way), I've seen how the rabbis and everyone else here come to life. All of us here in Toronto are energized and engaged. It's an electrified atmosphere. But it is also a place where that Talmudic story comes to life. I can not walk five steps without seeing an old classmate, an old neighbor (and one of my first friends in the world) who made aliyah and now organizes group trips, a colleague, a mentor, a friend, a vendor (i.e. Avi Zuckerman, etched glass artist), etc. It's hard to get to the sessions because you have to run a friendly gauntlet of smiling faces to get to your room. But, as our ancient sages knew from their own market place, some of the best exchanges and most important business happens in the passage ways and not the offices or stalls. So maybe I can't get to every session I expected, sever panim yafot is alive and well and producing lots of good learning in Toronto!
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