There are eight ways to practice the attribute of humility and each corresponds to a place on the body. (Moshe Cordovoro, Tamar Devorah)
The seventh practice is with one’s Face, as Cordovoro writes:
“A person’s face should shine and he should receive all people with a cheerful countenance. All who look at such a face will find joy.”
“I can see it in your face,” she said as she looked with concern at her young daughter. This could be the beginning of a short story, or these words may trigger a childhood memory, or it may be something that you heard just the other day. Our face tells tales of trouble, of sadness, of fear, of joy, of love, of gladness. Our face reflects our spiritual statement, our mental attitude, our physical well being. We say so much even without uttering a word.
In one of our most precious blessings known as the priestly benediction, we say three short lines. These lines are said when we hold the baby in our arms to give him a name during the naming ceremony, we say this blessing at the B’nai Mitzvah ceremony and at a wedding ceremony and many times in between.
May God bless you and keep you. May God’s countenance shine upon you and be gracious unto you. And may God grant you peace.
God’s countenance is a metaphor for a yearning to be in the presence of Divine Light. And we can. Humility and joy are cast upon the world like the countenance of God, shining with the light of a soul that experiences joy and beauty, that gives to others joy and beauty just by shining as we greet one another. When speaking of our face shining with humility and joy it is so much more than the features we were born with. We speak of our holy obligation to spread the light of the spirit, by making the features of our face shine like we would imagine the countenance God. Think no less than that, next time you greet someone. This I need to practice….