(Submitted by a reader)
I just started working last week as a coordinator in a Holocaust survivors program. I’m very happy with this job b”H for many reasons but the main reason is because of the daily life mussar that pop as result of my involvement with these older people. One lesson in particular that I’ve been thinking a lot about in the past few days is the value of a small gesture. Some clients call in when they’re happy, some when they’re sad. But when I answer the phone…the small nuances in my voice make the biggest difference on how the client walks away from the phone call.
Even just speaking in a sweeter, more pleasant tone makes the elderly person on the other line feel like a million bucks. And today, we had a pre-yom tov party for our clients and I went around taking pictures of everyone. I could have done this with a nonchalant demeanor but I did it with a smile and cheerful dialect. It made the worlds difference to these people. And by these people I mean people who have gone through horrors- the Holocaust, losing everything they ever lived for, losing loved ones, losing friends, losing their children, losing themselves (hearing, sanity, sight etc.) they deserve for me to do everything possible to make them happier- the last days/years of their lives more pleasant. The small gestures matter to these Holocaust survivors.
But what I’ve been thinking about and what is so applicable for this time right before the yimei hadin is…the small gestures matter to EVERYONE. No one knows what’s going on in the lives of others. Everyone has a different story, a different background, different struggles. There’s just no way to know who needs what care and what attention. But what is known is: it doesn’t hurt to smile a little more and it doesn’t hurt to speak in a more pleasant demeanor. Not only doesn’t it hurt, but it helps. It helps EVERYONE! So please do everyone a favor and crack out those gorgeous white teeth (or the ones that used to be white) and share the love!
If you got this far, thanks for reading and have gut gabenchta yar!
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