Barukh Hashem (1973)
This is a great and historic day in the life of our nation and of our entire civilization. Tonight at 7 P.M., the longest, angriest, most divisive, most sickening war of American history will officially come to an end. There is little exultation and no element of triumph in our national reaction to this event – just a sense of deep, inner relief for the end of this war in which there emerged no winners, and all were losers. How shall we, as Jews, react to these good tidings from Indochina? There are only two words adequate to express our Jewish reaction: Barukh Hashem, “thank God.” Indeed, whenever we announce or hear good news, whether it be of international scope or personal interest, the reaction of the Jew is: Barukh Hashem, “praised be the Lord,” or “thank God.” What is the source of this very Jewish expression? The answer is: a goy! The first one to utter these words was a Midianite. Thus we read today ברוך ה' אשר הציל אתכם מיד מצרים ומיד פרעה Jethro said to Moses, his son-in-law: “praised be the Lord who saved you this day from the hand of Egypt and the hand of Pharaoh.” The Talmud comments on this remark by Jethro:גנאי הוא למשה ולשישים ריבוא מישראל שלא אמרו ברוך השם עד שבא יתרוit is a shame, a disgrace, for Moses and six hundred thousand Israelites that not one of them thought of saying the words barukh hashem until Jethro taught them to do so.Now that is a strange remark indeed. Do the Rabbis really have the right to fault Moses and the Israelites in such harsh language – ”shame, disgrace” – for not having originated the expression barukh hashem? After all, the concept behind the words is that of gratitude, and הכרת טובה (thankfulness) is a basic principle of Judaism. The word “Jew,” as I have often pointed out, essentially means “thank God,” because Yehudah (Judah, Judea) derives from Leah’s remark upon the birth of Judah, הפעם אודה את ה’ך, “this time I shall thank the Lord.” The first thing the Jew says upon arising is מודה אני, I thank God. And Saadia, …
