Shavuah Tov!!!! Wishing everyone a blessed and great week!!!
GRATITUDE is the most noble and humble of all our virtues. The sages teach that it is very important to have “Hakaras Hatov” (gratitude) in our lives. When we pray the Amidah and we do the repetition, the hazan (person who leads the prayers) can say every blessing for us and we answer AMEN, but when we come to “Modim Anajnu La Sheataj Hu A-nai” (We thankfully acknowledge that You are the Lord our G-d…..) everyone says it aloud by themselves.
Why? Because no one can say thank you for us, this is something we have to do ourselves.
The Halacha (Jewish law) even teaches us to treat our possessions with respect and gratitude to their service to us, for example, we should not throw our clothes on the floor, we should put them on a chair because doing otherwise shows a lack of Hakaras Hatov to H”S the one who dresses us.
With animals too. When the Jews left Egypt, the night of the plague of darkness, the dogs didn’t bark so the Jews wouldn’t be caught. Because of this H”S made that dogs don’t suffer of hunger, even though they look hungry all the time, dogs are always satisfied and can go days without eating and not suffer.
If this is so with inanimate objects and animals how much more we should express gratitude towards others, never forgetting what they do for us and not taking for granted their kindness.
And let’s not forget our gratitude to H”S who gives us life and sustains it, for His miracles which are with us daily, and for His continual wonders and beneficences and for us being able to place our hope in Him.
Hakaras Hatov is the key to all our blessings
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