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Shira Osdoba
Margolin Hebrew Academy
Memphis, TN

                                      My Father

     My father, Matty Osdoba (of blessed memory) lived his life by the message in Pirkei Avos:
“Receive everyone with a cheerful face.” When he was younger all people were drawn to
him like a magnet because he was a source of joy to everyone around him. Everybody loved
visiting him. He made everyone feel like they were the most important part of his day. From
what I remember from my early childhood memories, my father was always very cheerful,
always wanting to play with me and always had a big smile on his face. I always thought that
this was just part of a father raising his children. However I was mistaken. My father’s
cheerfulness came from within. This was proven over the four years of my father’s losing
battle with cancer. Every single day that he walked into the cancer clinic he greeted every
person that he saw with a hug, a hello or a cheerful smile. When he went to his first doctor
and was told that his prognosis was not good, he smiled and said,” You are not G-d, I will be
fine.”

     Everyone was very concerned about my father. The phone and doorbell were constantly
ringing with people asking how my father was feeling. His response was, “I am doing fine.”
As years went by and his cancer worsened, he still wanted everyone to come over so he
could make sure they were happy. My father always wanted to be around people. Through
all the pain and throughout his sickness he was always happy with a smile on his face.
(Except for the time when I was three and I threw a mayonnaise jar across the room that
cracked open and got all over the walls.) In the last week of his life, the present rabbi of our
synagogue came to my father’s hospital room. He said that he had been appointed to be the
new rabbi of the synagogue. All my father could do was smile. He smiled and said, “The
synagogue and the whole city are so fortunate to have you.” It could be very easy for
anyone to be resentful or angry with God when someone’s life could be taken from him at
any second. Where is the joy in being sick? My father had a powerful answer. He firmly
believed that by smiling at anyone and being cheerful that he was representing God on this
earth.

     What is a smile? A smile can lighten up any hardship, a smile can give peacefulness, a
smile can send a positive message to the world, and most importantly a smile can make a
person’s day. My father strongly believed that a simple smile could ignite somebody’s
happiness and make their day .He always had a smile on his face throughout his time of
sickness. Whenever I am mad or frustrated, I imagine my father sitting in his black chair, in
the dining room, with a smile on his face. Then I know that whatever I go through in life, I
know that my father is watching over me with a smile.