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 Dear friend,
Every year, Oxford Dictionaries chooses a Word of the Year- a word or expression that has attracted a great deal of interest over the past year. Since 2009, selections have included "selfie," and "unfriend." For 2015 the winner (from a short list of 9, including "on fleek") was not a word, but a pictograph, the "Face with Tears of Joy" emoji. (An emoji is the smileys
used in electronic messages.)
Well, here’s a Kabbalistic thought about the irony of using a digital face in communication.
Understanding the Face
The face can easily be mistaken as an external feature. In fact, it is often used to denote superficiality. Consider, for example, the commonly-used saying: "Don't take it at face value."
But the true meaning of the face is encapsulated by its Hebrew name, panim, which, Kabbalah explains, comes from the word penimius, innerness. The face is a window to a person's inner being.
When the Talmud describes R' Abohu's joy at finding a new insight in Torah, it says, "His face shined." This external glow emanated from a deep place of joy. A common example today would be "The bride's face was glowing."
And someone truly in touch with another is able to read his or her and detect their feelings without their saying a word. For example, Josef’s promotion to viceroy of Egypt and his role in saving the world from famine, all came about as a result of his noticing the downcast faces of the Egyptian ministers in prison and inquiring after their wellbeing.
Parents see so much when looking into the “panim” of their children. The same applies for couples sitting together enjoying an intimate dinner, or a someone at the office noticing a deep worry on a co-workers friends.
Panim has other contexts as well. Kabbalah is called penimius hatorah, the inner face/dimension of Torah. Its teachings open us up to inwardness -- To make us aware of a deeper reality, to compel us to probe deeper into ourselves, our fellow, the world around us, the Torah, and even G-d’s presence. By studying its teachings we train ourselves not to get distracted by superficiality, but to see right through to the faces of reality.
But the emoji face is anything but “Panim, innerness.” Facebook trains us to connect with people superficially. And behind the guise of emojis, we can avoid showing our true emotions. When we allow social media to control us, the glow on our face is not one emanating from our inside, but from the LED backlight of our smartphone. These tools have tremendous
benefits of course, but only when we're in control of them and not vice versa and they enhance, not replace, real relationships.
L’chaim to a year of true PANIM, connecting to the inner dimension of ourselves, others, life, and the Torah!
(Thank you to Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier for sharing this idea with me)
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This Shabbos Davening at 909 Reedy Creek Rd. begins at 9:30 am with Torah Reading and discussion at 10:30 am and a kiddush at around 12:30 pm. The Kiddush is sponsored Eliyhau Ponthieux in memory of his parents.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Yisroel and Rebbetzin Chana
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Chabad of Cary Jewish Center 
will also be streamed online at 
Meditation – 
Most weeks available after Next Shabbos!
