Attitude of Gratitude "on one foot":
One of the big Jewish ideas is being grateful. This is tied into the Jewish value of "hakarat hatov", "appreciating the good", and it also appears throughout other aspects of Judaism.
Jews as "Thanks-givers"
(35) She [Leah] conceived again and bore a son, and declared, “This time I will thank the LORD.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Genesis, in the part where Leah and Jacob are having children. Up to this point, Leah is hoping that having children will make Jacob love her, but with the birth of Judah Leah just focuses on what's going well in her life. Rabbi Yochanan, citing Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, points out that this is the first time that anybody in the Bible gives thanks to G-d (Brachot 7b). The word “Jew” comes from “Judah” (nearly all Jews whose Jewish ancestry goes back to 500 BCE come from the tribe of Judah, as the Assyrians wiped out the 10 Northern tribes in 722 BCE).
Birkat HaMazon
(10) When you have eaten and are satisfied, give thanks to the LORD your God for the good land which God has given you.
Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Deuteronomy, where Moses is telling the Israelites that G-d will bring them into their own land where they can grow food for themselves. This verse is the origin of Birkat HaMazon, the Grace After Meals.
(א) בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַזָּן אֶת הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ בְּטוּבוֹ בְּחֵן בְּחֶסֶד וּבְרַחֲמִים, הוּא נֹתֵן לֶחֶם לְכָל־בָּשָׂר כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ וּבְטוּבוֹ הַגָּדוֹל תָּמִיד לֹא חָסַר לָנוּ וְאַל יֶחְסַר לָנוּ מָזוֹן (תָּמִיד) לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד בַּעֲבוּר שְׁמוֹ הַגָּדוֹל כִּי הוּא אֵל זָן וּמְפַרְנֵס לַכֹּל וּמֵטִיב לַכֹּל וּמֵכִין מָזוֹן לְכָל־בְּרִיּוֹתָיו אֲשֶׁר בָּרָא בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ הַזָּן אֶת הַכֹּל.
(1) Praised are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who feeds the whole world with Your goodness, with grace, with lovingkindness and tender mercy; You give food to all flesh, for Your lovingkindness endures forever. Through Your great goodness food has never failed us: O may it not fail us for ever and ever for your great name's sake, since You nourish and sustain all beings and do good unto all, and provide food for all Your creatures whom You have created. Praise are You, O Lord, who gives food to all.
Context: This is what the first full paragraph of Birkat HaMazon (the first paragraph done by everybody, everyday) looks like. By thanking G-d for our food (the next paragraph even starts with "Nodeh l'cha" "we give thanks to you"), we are supposed to remember to thank the people who helped us get it also — those who made it for us, bought it for us, or at least those who put the components on the shelf in the grocery store (even if we can’t thank the truck drivers, factory workers, and farmers who were involved further back in the process of each of our meals). When the Talmud talks about Birkat HaMazon (Brachot 48b:2), it explicitly says that it is about giving thanks.
Musical version in harmony:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u-ohWpTX8IXdMwZnQI28Ws1enO_4qYYP/view?usp=drivesdk
Modeh Ani
(א) מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶֽיךָ מֶֽלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם שֶׁהֶחֱזַֽרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶֽךָ:
(1) I give thanks to You living and everlasting Ruler for You have restored my soul with mercy. Great is Your faithfulness.
“Modeh Ani” is the first thing that one is supposed to say upon waking up. It thanks G-d for restoring our souls to us. The ancients believed that when you were asleep your soul went on adventures, and that was what you saw when you dreamed. If you were lucky, your soul came back to you and you woke up in the morning. Starting our day with an attitude of gratitude makes it more likely that we'll be in a good mood, and it is supposed to make us go through the day thinking about the others whom we ought to thank.
This prayer is a relatively late addition to Jewish life. It’s not mentioned in the Talmud or Shulchan Aruch and only first shows up in 1695 in Rabbi Moshe ben Machir’s siddur “Seder haYom.” Prior to that, Jews said the prayer “Elohai N’shama” (Brachot 60b:4), which is significantly longer. The phrase “rabba emunatecha” in “Modeh Ani” quotes from Lamentations 3:23, which talks about how G-d’s kindness and mercy is renewed every morning.
Context: This tune for “Modeh Ani” was written by the group “Kol B’Seder”, comprised of Cantor Jeff Klepper and Rabbi Danny Freelander. This is them performing at the URJ (Reform Movement) Biennial in 2017. The song was one of their early hits, dating to 1974 (http://kolbseder.com/history.html).
Context: This tune for “Modeh Ani” was written (and here performed) by Harold Messinger in 2009.
Context: This is “Modeh Ani” to the tune of “You are My Sunshine”. Unclear who first put these together.
Context: This Nefesh Mountain’s version of “Modeh Ani” (start at 1:10) from 2015. Nefesh Mountain does Jewish bluegrass music.
Context: This is Joe Buchanan’s 2022 version of “Modeh Ani” (start at 1:14). Joe Buchanan does Jewish country music. Note that he replaces “Melech” with “ru’ach”.
Bentching Gomel
אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: אַרְבָּעָה צְרִיכִין לְהוֹדוֹת: יוֹרְדֵי הַיָּם, הוֹלְכֵי מִדְבָּרוֹת, וּמִי שֶׁהָיָה חוֹלֶה וְנִתְרַפֵּא, וּמִי שֶׁהָיָה חָבוּשׁ בְּבֵית הָאֲסוּרִים וְיָצָא. ...
מַאי מְבָרֵךְ? אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה: ״בָּרוּךְ גּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים טוֹבִים״. אַבָּיֵי אָמַר: וְצָרִיךְ לְאוֹדוֹיֵי קַמֵּי עַשְׂרָה, דִּכְתִיב: ״וִירוֹמְמוּהוּ בִּקְהַל עָם וְגוֹ׳״.
Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav:
Four people need to offer Thanksgiving: Those who travel across the sea, who cross the wilderness, who were sick and recovered, and who were imprisoned and released. ...
The Gemara asks: What blessing does he recite?
Rav Yehuda said: Blessed is…Who bestows acts of loving-kindness.
Abaye said: And he must offer thanks before ten people, as it is written in the same chapter: “Let them exalt God also in the congregation of the people and praise God in the assembly of the elders” (Psalms 107:32), and congregation indicates a group of at least ten.
Context: This is from the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Brachot, which is about blessings and prayers. This sugya (section) is commenting on a mishnah about the times one must express gratitude to G-d. The Pilgrims, while they probably didn’t know this text, fit into 3 categories, and thus Rav Yehudah and Rav would have presumably approved of their “Thanksgiving”. The text here is the origin of “Bentching gomel” (“bentch” is Yiddish for “Bless”, and “Gomel” is the first word of the blessing after the opening words).
(א) ברכת הגומל: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם. הַגּומֵל לְחַיָּבִים טובות. שֶׁגְּמָלַנִי כָּל טוב:
Praised are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who bestows goodness on us despite our imperfections, and who has treated me so favorably.
(ב) הקהל עונה אמן. ואומרים:
מִי שֶׁגְּמָלְךָ טוב. הוּא יִגְמָלְךָ כָּל טוב סֶלָה:
May the One who has shown such favor to you continue to bestow all that is good upon you forever.
Context: This is the text for Bentching gomel. Bentching gomel happens when somebody has an aliyah -- after the Torah blessings are done the person will say a line and the congregation responds with a similar line. Common experiences that would lead somebody to bentch gomel include: Childbirth, returning from visiting Israel, and surgery or other recuperation from a major illness / injury.
Blessings of Enjoyment
אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בַּר פָּפָּא: כׇּל הַנֶּהֱנֶה מִן הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה בְּלֹא בְּרָכָה כְּאִילּוּ גּוֹזֵל לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא
Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa said: Anyone who derives benefit from this world without a blessing, it is as if they stole from God
Context: This is from the Babylonian Talmud, Masechet (Tractate) Brachot, which is about blessings and prayers. Here it is discussing which blessings to say at various times and why to even say blessings.
(ז) בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ‑יָ אֱ‑לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, עוֹשֹה מַעֲשֹה בְּרֵאשִׁית:
Praised are You, Lord our G-d, Ruler of the universe, who makes the makings of Creation.
Context: This is the blessing to say upon seeing something large in nature, like mountains, the sunset, or one of the Great Lakes. It can be thought of as a “praising blessing” (“Good job, G-d!”) or a thanking blessing (“Thanks for making that, G-d!”).
(ה) על כל פרי העץ מברך:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ‑יָ אֱ‑לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָעֵץ:
Praised are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.
Context: This is the blessing for eating fruit. We are not actually blessing the fruit, but saying a blessing of thanks to the Creator of the fruit, as well as strengthening our “gratitude muscles” through daily exercise every time we eat.
Shehechiyanu
(ג) בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְמַן הַזֶּה:
(3) Praised are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has kept us alive and sustained us and brought us to this time.
Context: This blessing is said in a few different categories of circumstances. The first is really big moments where you are grateful to have been alive for this moment, like the birth of your child (some would also put “getting your first vaccine during a pandemic” in this category). The second is for smaller moments that are the first time you do something, like the first time you drive. The third is the first time you do something in a year, like lighting the candles on the first night of Chanukah.
There are at least two different aspects of gratitude going on here. The first is a basic “Thank you G-d for keeping me alive to reach this point in time”. That’s particularly true of the third category — plenty of people who were alive last Chanukah are not alive this Chanukah, for instance. Thus, it would be appropriate to say Shehechiyanu on your birthday. A second aspect, particularly true of the second category, is a recognition that you did not reach the milestone on your own. Just like Oscar Award winners thank those who helped them, you reached your achievement minimally because of the skills and traits that G-d gave you, and most likely because other people also helped you along the way. Saying the Shehechiyanu is supposed to remind us that just like we thank G-d for getting us to a given point, we should thank people who help us too.
Context: This is the “Shehechiyanu” tune written by Tzvika Pik in 1974 (https://www.discogs.com/release/12548890-צביקה-פיק-Zvika-Pick-מה-עכשיו-What-Now). It is being performed by the performers and staff at the 2008 CAJE conference, a Jewish education conference held that year at the University of Vermont.
Context: This is from the Jewish-American rock group Safam, from their 1995 album “After All of These Years”.
Modim in the Amidah
(ב) מוֹדִים אֲנַֽחְנוּ לָךְ שָׁאַתָּה הוּא יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד צוּר חַיֵּֽינוּ מָגֵן יִשְׁעֵֽנוּ אַתָּה הוּא לְדוֹר וָדוֹר נֽוֹדֶה לְּךָ וּנְסַפֵּר תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ עַל־חַיֵּֽינוּ הַמְּ֒סוּרִים בְּיָדֶֽךָ וְעַל נִשְׁמוֹתֵֽינוּ הַפְּ֒קוּדוֹת לָךְ וְעַל נִסֶּֽיךָ שֶׁבְּכָל יוֹם עִמָּֽנוּ וְעַל נִפְלְ֒אוֹתֶֽיךָ וְטוֹבוֹתֶֽיךָ שֶׁבְּ֒כָל עֵת עֶֽרֶב וָבֹֽקֶר וְצָהֳרָֽיִם הַטּוֹב כִּי לֹא כָלוּ רַחֲמֶֽיךָ וְהַמְ֒רַחֵם כִּי לֹא תַֽמּוּ חֲסָדֶֽיךָ מֵעוֹלָם קִוִּֽינוּ לָךְ:
(ט) וְעַל־כֻּלָּם יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִתְרוֹמַם שִׁמְךָ מַלְכֵּֽנוּ תָּמִיד לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד:
(יב) וְכֹל הַחַיִּים יוֹדֽוּךָ סֶּֽלָה וִיהַלְ֒לוּ אֶת־שִׁמְךָ בֶּאֱמֶת הָאֵל יְשׁוּעָתֵֽנוּ וְעֶזְרָתֵֽנוּ סֶֽלָה: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה הַטּוֹב שִׁמְךָ וּלְךָ נָאֶה לְהוֹדוֹת:
(2) We are thankful to You that You Adonai are our God and the God of our ancestors forever; Rock of our lives, You are the Shield of our deliverance in every generation. We will give thanks to You and recount Your praise, for our lives which are committed into Your hand, and for our souls which are entrusted to You, and for Your miracles that are with us every day, and for Your wonders and benefactions at all times— evening, morning and noon. (You are) The Beneficent One— for Your compassion is never withheld; And (You are) the Merciful One— for Your kindliness never ceases; we have always placed our hope in You.
(9) And for all the foregoing may Your Name, our Sovereign, constantly be blessed and extolled, forever and ever.
(12) And all the living shall thank You forever and praise Your Name with sincerity — the Almighty, Who is our deliverance and our help forever. Blessed are You, Adonai; Your Name is The Beneficent and You it is fitting to praise.
Context: This is in the Amidah, said three times a day in our prayers. Although the Amidah changes based on whether it is weekday, Shabbat morning / afternoon / evening, a Festival, or on the High Holidays, this is one of the few paragraphs that remains in place regardless of when the Amidah is said. Gratitude is that important.
Context: This is Debbie Friedman’s version of “Modim”, written in 1993 and released on the album “The World of Your Dreams” (https://www.discogs.com/release/6873472-Debbie-Friedman-The-World-Of-Your-Dreams).
Context: This tune was written by Cantor Meir Finkelstein (20th century). It is being sung by Cantor Azi Schwartz of Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City and Cantor Rachel Brook, now of Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago.
Asher Yatzar
(א) בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת־הָאָדָם בְּחָכְמָה וּבָֽרָא בוֹ נְקָבִים נְקָבִים חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים גָּלוּי וְיָדֽוּעַ לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶֽךָ שֶׁאִם יִפָּתֵֽחַ אֶחָד מֵהֶם אוֹ יִסָּתֵם אֶחָד מֵהֶם אִי אֶפְשַׁר לְהִתְקַיֵּם וְלַעֲמֹד לְפָנֶֽיךָ אֲפִילוּ שָׁעָה אֶחָת. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה רוֹפֵא כָל־בָּשָׂר וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת:
(1) Praised are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who formed the human body with wisdom and created within it openings and hollows. It is obvious and known in the presence of Your glorious throne that if one of them were ruptured, or if one of them were blocked, it would be impossible to exist and stand in Your Presence even for a short while. Praised are You, Adonai, Who heals all flesh and performs wonders.
Context: This is the blessing for going to the bathroom, said after exiting the lavatory. It is easy to take for granted that our body will work without pain until all of a sudden it doesn’t, and then we appreciate what we had only after we no longer have it. By saying this blessing, Jewish tradition wants us to recognize and be grateful for our bodily health while we still have it.
Context: This is Debbie Friedman’s version of “Asher Yatzar”, combined with her version of “Elohai N’shama” (the next prayer in the siddur, thanking G-d for our souls). Both of them were released in 1995 on the album “Renewal of Spirit” (https://www.discogs.com/master/2092963-Debbie-Friedman-Renewal-Of-Spirit-)
Context: This is Dan Nichol’s setting of the last line of “Asher Yatzar” from 2015.
Context: This is Rabbi Josh Warshawsky’s version of the entire prayer from 2020.
Saying 100 Blessings
Context: This is from the Babylonian Talmud, Masechet (Tractate) Menachot, which is about flour, oil, and wine-based offerings in the Temple, as well as mezuzah, tefillin, and tzitzit. Rabbi Meir had a teaching in a bariata (teaching from the time of the Mishnah that didn’t make it into the Mishnah) about tzitzit, and this leads to several other teachings that Rabbi Meir had baraitas about. In this teaching, Rabbi Meir is making a “close-sound” pun, seeing as how it’s not a matter of simply switching out the vowels.
A Jewish Grim Reaper Story
- Once there was an arrogant 20-year old new police officer.
- He tried to force an old man to leave an alley because he was “loitering”, and when the old man wouldn’t leave he killed him.
- With his dying breath, the old man said “I curse you with the Curse of Blessings” - on the first day you don’t say a blessing you will die.
- That night, the police officer started to feel a chill creep into his body, so he thanked G-d for his ears and the chill vanished.
- The next night, when he started to feel the chill, he thanked G-d for his eyelashes, and the chill vanished.
- The next morning, he thanked G-d for his elbows, and the chill never came.
- Each day he thanked G-d for a body part, then for things in his house, and then for people in his life.
- As he developed an attitude of gratitude, people started to like to be around him.
- Every day, for 100 years, he said a blessing.
- On his 120th birthday, he decided to not say a blessing and instead went over all the blessings in his life.
- As the sun went down, he started to feel the chill come into his body.
- As the chill advanced in his body, he saw the old man from 100 years before and asked who he was.
- The old man said, “I am the Angel of Death. One hundred years ago, I was sent to take your soul, but you had no soul. Now you have a beautiful soul and it is time for it to take its rightful place in the world to come.”
- And with that, the police officer’s soul went with the Angel of Death.
- The end.
Context: This story was related at Camp Ramah Darom by Justin Sackett. It gets at the idea of constantly finding things to thank G-d for, and how this can turn around a person’s life.
Sukkot
Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Leviticus, talking about the holiday of Sukkot and why we build sukkahs. There are 2 reasons behind building sukkahs, and other layers of meaning, all of which relate to gratitude.
The first reason, per the Bible, is that we build sukkahs when we left Egypt so we had housing that was easy to put up and take down as we traveled. Thus, the reason to put up sukkahs is to remind us to be grateful for how G-d cared for us when we were vulnerable.
The second reason is an agricultural one. When we were farmers in the Land of Israel, we built sukkahs by the fields during harvest time so we didn’t lose valuable harvest time schlepping between the fields and our houses. Thus, the reason to put up sukkahs is to remind us to be grateful for having enough food to eat.
A third reason that we put up sukkahs is because by living in temporary structures, it reminds us that not everybody has permanent and/or stable housing. Thus, the reason to put up sukkahs is to remind us to be grateful for having permanent housing that we can go back to if the weather isn’t pleasant, and to encourage us to use our financial blessings to help those who don’t have the blessing of permanent and/or stable housing.
Context: This is a parody of the Disney “Frozen” song “Do You Want to Build a Snowman”. The parody was written by Rabbi Raysh Weiss.
Dayenu
כַּמָה מַעֲלוֹת טוֹבוֹת לַמָּקוֹם עָלֵינוּ!
אִלּוּ הוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִצְרַיִם וְלֹא עָשָׂה בָהֶם שְׁפָטִים, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ עָשָׂה בָהֶם שְׁפָטִים, וְלֹא עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, וְלֹא הָרַג אֶת־בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ הָרַג אֶת־בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם וְלֹא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־מָמוֹנָם, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־מָמוֹנָם וְלֹא קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת־הַיָּם, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת־הַיָּם וְלֹא הֶעֱבִירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ הֶעֱבִירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה וְלֹא שִׁקַּע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ שִׁקַּע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ וְלֹא סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בַּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בְּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה וְלֹא הֶאֱכִילָנוּ אֶת־הַמָּן דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ הֶאֱכִילָנוּ אֶת־הַמָּן וְלֹא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַשַׁבָּת, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַשַׁבָּת, וְלֹא קֵרְבָנוּ לִפְנֵי הַר סִינַי, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ קֵרְבָנוּ לִפְנֵי הַר סִינַי, וְלא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה. דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה וְלֹא הִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ הִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא בָנָה לָנוּ אֶת־בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה דַּיֵּנוּ.
עַל אַחַת, כַּמָה וְכַּמָה, טוֹבָה כְפוּלָה וּמְכֻפֶּלֶת לַמָּקוֹם עָלֵינוּ: שֶׁהוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם, וְעָשָׂה בָהֶם שְׁפָטִים, וְעָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, וְהָרַג אֶת־בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם, וְנָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־מָמוֹנָם, וְקָרַע לָנוּ אֶת־הַיָּם, וְהֶעֱבִירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה, וְשִׁקַּע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ, וְסִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בַּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה, וְהֶאֱכִילָנוּ אֶת־הַמָּן, וְנָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת, וְקֵרְבָנוּ לִפְנֵי הַר סִינַי, וְנָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה, וְהִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, וּבָנָה לָנוּ אֶת־בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה לְכַפֵּר עַל־כָּל־עֲוֹנוֹתֵינוּ.
How many degrees of good did the Place [of all bestow] upon us!
If God had taken us out of Egypt and not made judgements on them; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had made judgments on them and had not made [them] on their gods; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had made [them] on their gods and had not killed their firstborn; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had killed their firstborn and had not given us their money; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had given us their money and had not split the Sea for us; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had split the Sea for us and had not taken us through it on dry land; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had taken us through it on dry land and had not pushed down our enemies in [the Sea]; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had pushed down our enemies in [the Sea] and had not supplied our needs in the wilderness for forty years; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had supplied our needs in the wilderness for forty years and had not fed us the manna; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had fed us the manna and had not given us the Shabbat; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had given us the Shabbat and had not brought us close to Mount Sinai; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had brought us close to Mount Sinai and had not given us the Torah; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had given us the Torah and had not brought us into the land of Israel; [it would have been] enough for us.
If God had brought us into the land of Israel and had not built us the 'Chosen House' [the Temple; it would have been] enough for us.
How much more so is the good that is doubled and quadrupled that the Place [of all bestowed] upon us [enough for us]; since God took us out of Egypt, and made judgments with them, and made [them] with their gods, and killed their firstborn, and gave us their money, and split the Sea for us, and brought us through it on dry land, and pushed down our enemies in [the Sea], and supplied our needs in the wilderness for forty years, and fed us the manna, and gave us the Shabbat, and brought us close to Mount Sinai, and gave us the Torah, and brought us into the land of Israel and built us the 'Chosen House' [the Temple] to atone upon all of our sins.
Context: This is the full version of the song “Dayenu” from the Magid section of the Passover Seder. While on the other hand it might not have been enough for G-d to take us out of Egypt but not to split the Sea of Reeds, but on the other hand even that would have given us a taste of freedom. By singing “Dayenu”, we are reminded that even small things should be appreciated.
Context: This is the Maccabeats’ (originally a Jewish a cappella group at Yeshiva University) version of “Dayenu” set to different musical styles.
Psalm for Shabbat
(1) A psalm. A song; for the sabbath day. (2) It is good to thank the LORD,
to sing hymns to Your name, O Most High, (3) To proclaim Your steadfast love at daybreak,
Your faithfulness each night
Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Psalms, Psalm 92. According to the Mishnah (Tamid 7:4), this is the Psalm of the Day that the Levites sang in the Temple on Shabbat. It has become part of the Kabbalat Shabbat service. While the 6 workdays are days of “doing”, Shabbat is a day of “being” and thus it is appropriate to take time to thank G-d for the way the world is rather than focusing on what isn’t.
Context: This is Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach’s version of “Tov L’Hodot”. It was written in 1979 for the album “Days Are Coming” (https://www.discogs.com/master/1326061-Shlomo-Carlebach-Days-Are-Coming). It is being sung by the Boston a cappella group “Shir Soul”. Here’s another version by the Mizrahi Fuchs high school girls’ a cappella group “Mayhen” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwTvPStNaeg. And, here’s a recording Carlebach himself singing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naVSSKH6oGM
Context: This is Kol B’Seder’s 1974 version (https://www.discogs.com/release/8812835-The-National-Federation-Of-Temple-Youth-Songs-NFTY-Sings-III-Ten-Shabbat-Vten-Shalom-Give-Us-Sabbath). It’s not very widespread today.
Hallel
(1) Thank the LORD, for God is good,
God’s steadfast love is eternal. (2) Let Israel declare,
“God’s steadfast love is eternal.” (3) Let the house of Aaron declare,
“God’s steadfast love is eternal.” (4) Let those who fear the LORD declare,
“God’s steadfast love is eternal.”
Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Psalms, Psalm 118, which is part of the Hallel section of holiday services. G-d’s grace to us is worth appreciating — no matter how rotten we’ve been, the sun still shines on us.
Context: This is a version written by Debbie Friedman in 1981 for the album “Sing Unto God” (https://www.discogs.com/release/13947056-Debbie-Friedman-And-The-Youth-Shall-See-Visions), and performed by the Platt Brothers. Ben Platt was the star of the Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hanson”, but all three of them grew up performing at Camp Ramah Ojai. You can read more about them here: https://www.heyalma.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-brothers-platt/
Eilu D’varim
(א) אֵלּוּ דְבָרִים שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם שִׁעוּר. הַפֵּאָה, וְהַבִּכּוּרִים, וְהָרֵאָיוֹן, וּגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים, וְתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה. אֵלּוּ דְבָרִים שֶׁאָדָם אוֹכֵל פֵּרוֹתֵיהֶן בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְהַקֶּרֶן קַיֶּמֶת לוֹ לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. כִּבּוּד אָב וָאֵם, וּגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים, וַהֲבָאַת שָׁלוֹם בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ, וְתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה כְּנֶגֶד כֻּלָּם:
(1) These are the things that have no definite quantity: The corners [of the field]. First-fruits; [The offerings brought] on appearing [at the Temple on the three pilgrimage festivals]. The performance of righteous deeds; And the study of the torah. The following are the things for which a person enjoys the fruits in this world while the principal remains for them in the world to come: Honoring one’s father and mother; The performance of righteous deeds; And the making of peace between a person and their friend; And the study of the Torah is equal to them all.
Context: This is from the Mishnah, Masechet (tractate) Pe’ah, which is about leaving the corners of your field for the poor to harvest in dignity. It is said at the beginning of the weekday morning service. When it mentions “Bikkurim”, bringing the first fruits, it is referring to the Biblical requirement to do this (Ex. 23:19, Deut. 26:1-11) as a way of expressing thankfulness to G-d for having a harvest and enough to eat (and as a way of ensuring the priests got fruit since they didn’t have their own land to grow their own food).
Context: This was written by Kol B’Seder in the late 1970s or early 1980s. It’s on their third album, “Sparks of Torah”.
With appreciation (fittingly) to: Sefaria Education, Marc Fein, Sylvia Cohen, Ari Saks, Rabbi Jill Zimmerman,
Appendix A: An Excerpt in Paragraph Form
“Attitude of Gratitude: A Big Jewish Idea”
If you eat without saying a blessing, it is like stealing from G-d ~ Brachot 35b:2
Is Thanksgiving a Jewish holiday? Yes and no. Thanksgiving is not a “Jewish holiday”, but it is a “holiday that is Jewish”. The word “Jew” comes from the name “Judah”. In the Book of Genesis, Leah gives her son the name “Judah” because she wants to “give thanks to the Lord” (Gen. 29:35). To be a Jew is to be a “thanks-giver”.
The idea of having an attitude of gratitude plays out in a lot of ways in our tradition. We will examine three of them. According to the Talmud, we’re supposed to thank G-d before and after every time that we eat (Brachot 35a). This reminds us of at least two things. The first is that not everybody has enough food to eat, and if we are lucky to have food we should share our blessing with others. The second thing is that we did not get this food solely through our own exertions. As we have learned from Covid / supply chain disruptions, there are many other people involved with getting us anything that we eat. The farmers grow and produce the raw ingredients that go into our food. Transportation workers make sure the ingredients are shipped, train-ed, and/or trucked to factories. There, factory workers turn the raw ingredients into finished products. Truck drivers get the food to the supermarkets, where more workers unload the trucks and shelve the food. If you didn’t check out at the grocery store or cook the food yourself, that’s more people whom you personally ought to thank. Saying thank you to G-d for our food is supposed to remind us to thank all the people who make our daily actions possible.
Even before we get to breakfast, though, Jewish tradition wants us to start the day with gratitude. The prayer Modeh/ah Ani is supposed to be the first thing we say when we wake up, and it thanks G-d for giving us another day. Long ago when the Rabbis wrote this prayer, it was believed that your soul had adventures at night (i.e. your dreams), and if you were lucky your soul returned to you in the morning and you woke up. Starting the day by being grateful for having another day with your loved ones can be transformative.
A third example of having an attitude of gratitude is the blessing Asher Yatzar. Asher Yatzar is said after going to the bathroom, and it thanks G-d that our bodies work properly. In this blessing we acknowledge that if anything was open that was supposed to be closed, or anything was closed that was supposed to be open, we would have problems. Too often we take for granted that our bodies work properly, without pain, until all of a sudden they don’t, and Asher Yatzar reminds us to appreciate our bodies while things are going well.
In the Talmud Rabbi Meir teaches that we should strive to say one hundred blessings each day (Menachot 43b). That’s one hundred things going well, all of which we should express gratitude for. If you don’t know the Hebrew blessing, saying “Thanks for X, G-d!” will do the trick. It is easy to focus on the things that are not going well in our lives. Yet, research has shown that by identifying even three things a day that are going well, it is possible to raise our happiness level. As we head into the Thanksgiving season, I hope that you are able to find some opportunities to express gratitude to others. Wishing you and yours a meaningful, and Jewish, Thanksgiving!
Appendix B: Thoughts on Gratitude
From Everyday Spirituality by Rabbi David Teutsch
Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is crucial for Americans, who are conditioned to believe that we never have enough, no matter how much we have. Choosing to acknowledge just one blessing each morning is a good way to begin to train the heart and spirit to notice personal blessings and to move from a perspective of a glass half-empty to a glass half-full.
The Power of Gratitude
In the early 1990s one of the great medical research exercises of modern times took place. It became known as the Nun Study. Some 700 American nuns, all members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in the United States, agreed to allow their records to be accessed by a research team investigating the process of ageing and Alzheimer’s Disease. At the start of the study the participants were aged between 75 and 102.
What gave this study its unusual longitudinal scope is that in 1930 the nuns, then in their twenties, had been asked by the Mother Superior to write a brief autobiographical account of their life and their reasons for entering the convent. These documents were now analysed by the researchers using a specially devised coding system to register, among other things, positive and negative emotions. By annually assessing the nuns’ current state of health, the researchers were able to test whether their emotional state in 1930 had an effect on their health some sixty years later. Because they had all lived a very similar lifestyle during these six decades, they formed an ideal group for testing hypotheses about the relationship between emotional attitudes and health.
The results, published in 2001, were startling.[2] The more positive emotions – contentment, gratitude, happiness, love and hope – the nuns expressed in their autobiographical notes, the more likely they were to be alive and well sixty years later. The difference was as much as seven years in life expectancy. So remarkable was this finding that it has led, since then, to a new field of gratitude research, as well as a deepening understanding of the impact of emotions on physical health.
What medicine now knows about individuals, Moses knew about nations. Gratitude – hakarat ha-tov – is at the heart of what he has to say about the Israelites and their future in the Promised Land.
Gratitude had not been their strong point in the desert. They complained about lack of food and water, about the manna and the lack of meat and vegetables, about the dangers they faced from the Egyptians as they were leaving and about the inhabitants of the land they were about to enter.
They lacked thankfulness during the difficult times. A greater danger still, said Moses, would be a lack of gratitude during the good times. This is what he warned:
When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery … Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.’ (Deut. 8:11-17)
The worst thing that could happen to them, warned Moses, would be that they forgot how they came to the land, how God had promised it to their ancestors, and had taken them from slavery to freedom, sustaining them during the forty years in the wilderness.
This was a revolutionary idea: that the nation’s history be engraved on people’s souls, that it was to be re-enacted in the annual cycle of festivals, and that the nation, as a nation, should never attribute its achievements to itself – “my power and the might of my own hand” – but should always ascribe its victories, indeed its very existence, to something higher than itself: to God. This is a dominant theme of Deuteronomy, and it echoes throughout the book time and again.
Since the publication of the Nun Study and the flurry of further research it inspired, we now know of the multiple effects of developing an attitude of gratitude. It improves physical health and immunity against disease. Grateful people are more likely to take regular exercise and go for regular medical check-ups. Thankfulness reduces toxic emotions such as resentment, frustration and regret and makes depression less likely. It helps people avoid over-reacting to negative experiences by seeking revenge. It even tends to make people sleep better. It enhances self-respect, making it less likely that you will envy others for their achievements or success. Grateful people tend to have better relationships. Saying “thank you” enhances friendships and elicits better performance from employees. It is also a major factor in strengthening resilience. One study of Vietnam War Veterans found that those with higher levels of gratitude suffered lower incidence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Remembering the many things we have to be thankful for helps us survive painful experiences, from losing a job to bereavement.[3]
Jewish prayer is an ongoing seminar in gratitude. Birkot ha-Shachar (The Morning Blessings), ‘the Dawn Blessings’ said at the start of morning prayers each day, form a litany of thanksgiving for life itself: for the human body, the physical world, land to stand on and eyes to see with.
The first words we say each morning – Modeh/Modah ani, “I thank you” – mean that we begin each day by giving thanks.
Gratitude also lies behind a fascinating feature of the Amidah. When the leader of prayer repeats the Amidah aloud, we are silent other than for the responses ofKedushah, and saying Amen after each blessing, with one exception. When the leader says the words Modim anachnu lakh, “We give thanks to You,” the congregation says the a parallel passage known as Modim de-Rabbanan. For every other blessing of the Amidah, it is sufficient to assent to the words of the leader by saying Amen. The one exception is Modim , “We give thanks.” Rabbi Elijah Spira (1660–1712) in his work Eliyahu Rabbah[4] explains that when it comes to saying thank you, we cannot delegate this away to someone else to do it on our behalf. Thanks has to come directly from us.
Part of the essence of gratitude is that it recognizes that we are not the sole authors of what is good in our lives. The egoist, says Andre Comte-Sponville, “is ungrateful because he doesn’t like to acknowledge his debt to others and gratitude is this acknowledgement.”[5] La Rochefoucald put it more bluntly: “Pride refuses to owe, self-love to pay.” Thankfulness has an inner connection with humility. It recognizes that what we are and what we have is due to others, and above all to God. Comte-Sponville adds: “Those who are incapable of gratitude live in vain; they can never be satisfied, fulfilled or happy: they do not live, they get ready to live, as Seneca puts it.”
Though you don’t have to be religious to be grateful, there is something about belief in God as creator of the universe, shaper of history and author of the laws of life that directs and facilitates our gratitude. It is hard to feel grateful to a universe that came into existence for no reason and is blind to us and our fate. It is precisely our faith in a personal God that gives force and focus to our thanks.
[1] See Robert Emmons, Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
[2] Danner, Deborah D., David A. Snowdon, and Wallace V. Friesen. “Positive Emotions in Early Life and Longevity: Findings from the Nun Study.”
[3] Much of the material in this paragraph is to be found in articles published in Greater Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life @ http://greatergood.berkeley.edu.
[4] Eliyahu Rabbah, Orach Chayyim 127: 1.
[5] André Comte-Sponville, A Short Treatise on the Great Virtues: The Uses of Philosophy in Everyday Life. London: Heinemann, 2002.