Shalom, good morning

KikarHashabat reported in Hebrew about the passing of Rabbi Avichai Rontzki and quoted what Education Minister Naftali Bennett had to say about him. The minister said that he visited the the rabbi last Thursday and all he asked in a whisper was to start a custom in Israel that everyone should greet each other,'Shalom, good morning' with a smile. http://www.kikar.co.il/272773.html

When I read the above, I was reminded of a time when a woman who had moved to a new country after her marriage told me that her husband prayed at a synagogue very early Saturday morning and she was left to find a place of worship where she would feel comfortable praying a little later than her husband's minyan. She went from shul to shul in search of the one where she would feel most at home. She told me which one she had chosen and the decision came about because of two special womne who came over to the stranger in town and greeted her with a smile and welcomed her with open arms. It was a small gesture much appreciated by a woman who knew no one.