Parshat Vay’chi

In this week’s parashah, Vay’chi, Yaakov gives his final blessing to each of his children before his death.  As part of his blessing to Yehudah, Yaakov compliments him on his appearance: “His eyes are darker than wine, his teeth are whiter than milk.”
 
Based loosely on the wording of that blessing, Rabbi Yohanan taught in the Babylonian Talmud:  “It is better to show another person the whiteness of your teeth (i.e.  to give a big smile)  than to give that person milk to drink.”  In other words, the gift of a smile, though fleeting and intangible, can be more nourishing than any material gift that we might give.  The support and validation — the deep acknowledgment of the other person’s humanness — that comes with a simple smile can be the most generous blessing of all.
 
May we give (and receive) many such blessings each day.