Divine Representation

The Torah in this week's portion, Ekev, says: "For if you shall diligently keep all the commandments that I command you…to love Hashem your G-d, to walk in all His ways…" (Deuteronomy 11:22).

If you love someone, you smile. And if you act like Hashem, your smile is even wider.

If someone is sporting a beard, tzitzit, head covering, even wearing tefillin or a black suit–it's a good indication he is Jewish. But there is only one tell-tale sign that a man is a bona fide member of the Holy Faith.

You guessed it–he is smiling.

The secular world does an effective job of making the religious world look bad. They lead with stories of ISIS, Hamas, and the settlers in East Israel. They tell how in Syria one religious group mauled another to bits, or how a religious group buys and sells children at the local market.

It gives us observant Jews a bad name. Even worse, it gives G-d a bad name, Hashem forgive us. 

When we see men of faith on TV or in any widespread media, too many of us have the same thing in common:

We are angry.

Everybody is angry.

We make G-d look angry. Who wants to worship an angry G-d?

If you are living your life right, or at least you are somewhere on the strenuous journey towards this goal, you have every right to smile. A runner two-thirds into the New York City marathon may feel weak and struggling, but inside he is pumped with adrenaline because he is pursuing a superhuman goal that makes him a true champion. 

That's what it means to run the marathon of life, to put G-d before us at all times. To heed His word, follow His instructions, restrain our instincts for quick fixes in life and follow His path.  If you are getting it right, it will make you happy. 

This is the only way to represent Hashem in this world to others. It is to share our happiness with the rest of the world. Everybody is so angry. They are either outwardly upset or covering up their anger with pretty pictures on their Facebook page. We are engulfed in an age of emotional darkness. This gives us the greatest opportunity!

We can inspire others to come close to Hashem, not so they will change political parties, or even change anything about themselves they take pride in, but rather to discover how much happiness there is to be had in this world.

The best way to present our head coverings, black suits and beards is to spice them up with the best representation of Hashem, a smile. 

It is up to us to put on our best face before the non-religious, to distinguish us from the Reform and Conservative people who talk about social justice and political change but don't talk about G-d. If you don't include G-d, you cannot be happy. You can't smile for real, either. That’s why they are as angry as everyone else.

Let’s share with the world the sweetness of what it means to be a Jew. Let’s share with mankind the great gift of serving G-d.

Happy people don't want to kill. They don't want to wage war. They don't want to be angry, sad, tired, or depressed. Happy people don't want to hate.

That's the key to it all. We, the religious, have a Divine Duty to wear our smile wherever we go and make sure that, no matter what everyone else thinks of "the religious", they will always relate Torah Judaism to being happy. 

This is our greatest gift to our brothers and sisters.

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The greatest joy I get in writing is the chance to share my happiness with you so you can feel it too. My name is David Ben Horin and this is my treasure trove.