We continue our series on family life through the lens of Mishlei and the wisdom of Shlomo HaMelech, alav hashalom (peace be upon him). Today we will discuss a Pasuk (verse) in Perek (chapter) Tet Vav (fifteen), Pasuk Yud Gimel (thirteen). Shlomo HaMelech says, “Lev sameach yeitiv panim, u've'atzvat lev ruach neke'ah.” Which means, Lev sameach, a glad and cheerful heart; yeitiv panim, cheers up the face, brings a smile on a person's face. U've'atzvat lev ruach neke'ah, but a despondent heart, a heart that is sad, a heart that is depressed; ruach neke'ah, causes a broken spirit.
Shlomo HaMelech here is teaching us that happiness in a person's heart will be apparent and clear in his radiant and cheerful face. If you see a person whose face does not seem to be so happy, that is a mirror image, a mirror reflection of what is taking place in the depth of his heart. The heart will express itself on a person's face. If a person's heart is happy and joyful, if there is a cheerful heart, then that will play itself out, and you will see a joyful and cheerful face as well. However, when the heart is not happy, when the heart is sad and the heart is broken, that as well will be apparent on a person's face. His face will not be cheerful, and his face will not express any happiness. As Shlomo HaMelech is teaching us here, a person's face is a direct image and reflection of what is taking place in the person's heart.
But the question is, what is Shlomo HaMelech teaching us in this Pasuk? Is he just teaching us a fact—that a person's face expresses the emotions of his heart? Or is he teaching us a deeper lesson as well? Says Rav Hirsch, Shlomo HaMelech indeed is teaching us a very deep lesson over here. Just as a person's heart impacts the look of his face, that is an indication that a person's heart impacts his physical being. He says that a person who has a happy heart preserves a person's health. It promotes a life that has peace of mind. It helps a person cope with challenges, with difficulties. It is all in the hand of a person's heart. The power, the energy, the courage come from a person's heart. And just as that is visible on a person's face, the emotion of a person's heart expresses itself on the outside of a person's face.
So too, says Rav Hirsch, that is an indication that a person's heart has an impact on the life of a person's heart, on his physical body. But he says a person who has a dissatisfied heart, a person whose heart is broken, has that paralyzing effect on a person's physical activity. He will not produce the same. He will not function the same. Because it is the heart that affects a person's complete physical production. And the heart is the heart. And that, says Rav Hirsch, is the lesson that Shlomo HaMelech is teaching us in this Pasuk.
It is all in the power of a person's heart. If a person's heart and mind are in a state of happiness, they are cheerful and they are glad, says Shlomo HaMelech, that will impact a person's physical being. Just as the heart expresses itself on a person's face, so too the heart expresses itself in a person's activity and production. His physical being, his physical actions, are all a byproduct of how the emotions of his heart are at the moment. If that day a person is in a good mood, he's in a happy mood, he's in a happy state, then his actions, activity, and production will be positive. It will be good and happy. But if a person's heart, if a person's mind is sad, is broken, then that will reflect itself on a person's face and his physical action and activity.
Therefore, says Rav Hirsch, Shlomo HaMelech here is teaching us an invaluable lesson. An invaluable treasure. And that is that a cheerful disposition will bring about a healthy and physical position in a person's life. Have a wonderful day.