Gratitude is something that most of us feel and not always express. I know that although I have been grateful for things, I have failed sometimes to properly express my gratitude, either because I took too long to actually write that thank you note, or because life somehow got in the way of doing the right thing. I also have felt gratitude coming from people, although they did not articulate their feelings. It is interesting to me that in our tradition we do not have a commandment to be grateful. I wonder if it is because the idea of gratitude is what the Talmud calls a Pshitah—something so obviously necessary that we just do not need to be reminded to do. There are many instances in our prayers when we express gratitude to God for the world we live in and for all that we have in our personal lives. Gratitude, according to our tradition, is an integral part of our daily living. There is a text in the Midrash Rabbah to the book of Leviticus (Chapter 9:7) that highlights the importance of gratitude:
“Rabbi Phinehas, Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Menahem of Gallia: In the Time to Come all sacrifices will be cancelled, but that of thanksgiving will not be cancelled, and all prayers will be cancelled, but the prayer of thanksgiving will not be cancelled. We learn that from what is written in the book of Jeremiah (33:2): When the world is at peace, we will hear ‘The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that say: Give thanks to the Eternal’ —from that we infer that in the Time to Come we will continue to express Thanksgiving.”
I do not believe in a return to the sacrificial system, yet I share this text because I love the message of the rabbis: even when we get to live in a redeemed world, the expression of gratitude will always be necessary. Even at a time when the world will be in perfect harmony all other prayers will end, but our tradition will keep the prayers of gratitude because we will always need to be thankful for the gifts we have in our lives.
The Hebrew root for gratitude is Hay, Vav, dalet. This root also means acknowledgement. Acknowledging, when I think of it, goes hand in hand with what it means to be grateful. We have to acknowledge what was done to us in order to be grateful. In fact, in many places in the TaNaKh and the Tefilah, the two meanings are either interchangeable, or coexist. One of the examples is our daily prayer. The second to last paragraph in the Amidah, the central prayer of our tradition, reads:
Modim anachnu lach, she’ata hu Adonai Eloheinu ve’Elohei Avoteinu le’olam va’ed.
The Hebrew word modim implies both gratitude and acknowledgement. The best translation for this word is “we gratefully acknowledge.” This opening of the prayer translates as: “We gratefully acknowledge that You are our God and the God of our ancestors forever.” In Hebrew, when we thank someone, we are acknowledging what that person has done for us. After we say the words Modim anachnu lach, we acknowledge and thank God for, according to the prayer, “your miracles that are with us day to day.” Every day we are reminded that being alive in this world is a gift, and we acknowledge all aspects of that gift with gratitude.
In the American calendar, this coming Thursday is the holiday of Thanksgiving. This year we will not have the opportunity for the kinds of gatherings we have had in the past. It will be different. This year we will keep our eyes open for opportunities to gratefully acknowledge the miracles that are with us day to day. I know many people who have a gratitude journal, yet I suggest that we develop this year a gratitude practice. Every night, reflect back in your mind about the good things that happened in the day. Every little thing that gave you pleasure, or made you feel good, can be incorporated in this reflection. Then say thank you for that thing received, for the kind word, for the helpful suggestion. I suggest you follow up by sending an e-mail of gratitude. Or making a phone call, showing gratitude for whatever was received. Also take a few seconds and thank God for the daily miracles that were received. Let’s take the time, starting in this secular holiday, to say thank you for what we have, to acknowledge God’s and other people’s gifts. And while I have a strong suspicion, but cannot promise, that you will have a better life, I can guarantee that you’ll be helping the world inch closer to that redeemed state for which we long.