Being a mother is a sacred role that many don’t fully appreciate. Of course, every mother cooks, bakes, and keeps a clean home. Every mother makes the best food. Every mother has the best taste. And everyone thinks their mother is the best mother in the world.
But what is the true role of a mother?
The Talmud teaches: “If there is a mother, there must be children.” There must be a bond — a role a mother transmits to her children. The children become the continuation, the reflection of the mother.
As King David says in Tehillim: “Em habanim s’meichah” — “The mother of children is joyous.” A mother brings joy and a smile into the home.
Yes, there are challenges. Life isn’t always what we want, and we don’t always achieve what we envisioned. Yet there is that special joy a mother carries — and she gives it to her children. She teaches them that even through hardship, we can still smile. That is the role of a mother.
And I think that’s what Mother’s Day is about.
We see children smiling in the street, and we know: their mothers gave them that joy. And when we see the opposite — children upset, people acting cruel or rude — so often it’s because that smile was missing.
Our job is to give our children smiles, so they can carry them forward into the world.
Happy Mother’s Day.