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Why does the Gemara (גמרא) need to teach that showing someone a smile is better than giving them milk? Genuine smiling requires anivus - allowing another person's needs to penetrate and reshape your internal emotional state, which is far more invasive than giving external resources. This connects to malchus, where a true king absorbs others' needs so completely that they become his own needs.
The shiur examines the Gemara (גמרא)'s teaching that giving someone a smile (showing the whiteness of one's teeth) is better than giving them milk to drink. The speaker questions why Chazal would need to teach something seemingly obvious - that people appreciate a genuine smile. The answer lies in understanding what a true smile actually requires from the giver. The Gemara in Sanhedrin asks "Who is a ben Olam Haba?" and answers: one who is anav (modest), sheval berach (bends his knees), learns Torah (תורה) constantly, and doesn't take credit for accomplishments. The speaker explains that anav and sheval berach are not separate qualities - sheval berach defines what anivus means. It describes someone who, when their needs intersect with others' needs, cedes space and allows the other person's needs to take priority.
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Sanhedrin (eizu ben olam haba), Ketubot 111b (leben shinayim)
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