The preoccupation of the first sections of Genesis with names – their origins, explanations and histories – indicates to us that a name implies more than a mere word of superficial identification. It goes deeper than that. For if it were only a matter of verbal tag, as it were, then a number would suffice. Instead of Abraham, Isaac or Jacob, numbers one, two, and three would do. More so – it would be more accurate, more scientific, and would involve less duplication.What then, does a name imply? It implies a singular and unique individuality, a definite and defined personality. A name is a word which brings to mind a man’s character, the totality of a person. This is true even for lifeless bodies. A star, for instance, may be characterized by mathematical coordinates, a definite velocity, a certain number of light-years from the earth and from the nearest star, and so on. Yet the professional astronomer soon begins to feel that these heavenly bodies have personalities and characters of their own. He develops an intimate friendship or kinship, so to speak, with the subject of his studies. And so, astronomers, violating the rules of their own discipline, begin to call their stars by unscientific names of all sorts. Our medieval philosophers speak of the stars as בעלי-נפש, soul-endowed. Soul indeed. Stars, by legend, myth, and their own character are as individuals. How does the Psalmist put it? מונה מספר לכוכבים, לכולם שמות יקרא, G-d numbers the stars, ‘tis true, but he also gives them names. And if it is so with a lifeless body, then certainly so with a human being.So then, a name indicates individuality, and all the forces that an individual can exert upon his environment. And this is what the naming of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the others means. This business of having a name, of expressing your own individuality and personality, is the very opposite of the abdication and yielding to the sinister mass forces which we face today. Owning a name is the symbol…

This coming Thursday, Americans of all faiths and opinions will join their countrymen in giving solemn thanks to G-d Almighty for having founded this great country on the bases of freedom and responsibility, and for having protected and favored her until this day as the world’s greatest democracy. It is altogether fitting for us, therefore, on this Sabbath preceding Thanksgiving Day, to think seriously and deeply on the entire matter of thanksgiving to G-d. For indeed, thanking G-d, offering to Him our gratefulness and gratitude, is one of the 613 commandments every Jew is bidden to observe. For while some may believe with the cynical French philosopher Diderot that "gratitude is a burden, and every burden is made to be shaken off," we Jews maintain with David that TOV LE’HODOT LA’SHEM, that it is not only necessary but good to give thanks to G-d. Even non-observant Jews seem to accept this Mitzvah. After the recent Israeli War of Independence, one modern, left-of-center Israeli was heard to remark, "I don't know if there is a G-d, but every day I thank Him for the miracles He performs." In our day, then, people have come to prefer David over Diderot, and the Psalms over the French Encyclopedia. HODU LA’SHEM KI TOV — Give thanks to G-d KI TOV, not only "because He is good," but also because "it is good" — it is good for man to give thanks.What does thanksgiving to G-d mean for the Jew? Let us establish for our very first premise, that in the Jewish sense Gratitude is more than mere courtesy or politeness. It is far deeper than that. For the Hebrew word HODA’AH means not "thankfulness" but "gratefulness" or "gratitude." And there is a very real difference between thankfulness and gratitude. Thankfulness is the courteous expression of recognition for a convenience rendered. Gratitude is a sentiment which strikes deep into the soul of he who is grateful. Thankfulness is superficial; gratitude — profound. Thankfulness is lip-service; gratitude — soul-service. Thankfuln…

The life of Isaac, inspiring and pathetic in its tragic beauty, stands out as History’s sermon to Americans, and especially American Jews, in this Thanksgiving season. Tragedy seems to have followed this Patriarch to the end. His early life was a glorious episode. As a young man, he accomplished the most glorious feat in Jewish history – his consent to be sacrificed for G-d when his father Abraham informed him that that was G-d’s will. Here was a young man of 30 willing to be cut off at such a young age because it was the Divine will that it be so. The fact that G-d intervened at the last moment and rescinded His command to Abraham makes no difference. The fact is that Abraham finally surrendered his most beloved son, the fact is that Isaac made his decision to give his life, and the fact is that his beloved mother Sarah died when she heard the news that Abraham was preparing to offer up her only son. This great episode – known as the Akedah – is the theme we constantly recall in our prayers when we want to advocate the cause of Israel before G-d and plead for Divine Mercy. The early part of his life was, therefore, gallant, glorious, and lofty.Our Rabbis, however, with their customary bent for just and unprejudiced appraisals of the heroes of our people, were severely critical of Isaac. And they expressed this criticism in the form of an imaginary debate between Isaac and Moses. And in this debate, the Midrash quotes Isaac as saying to Moses, ani gadol mimcha, I am greater than you, because I was willing to sacrifice my life by being bound on the altar, and thus ra’isi pnei shechinah, I saw the Divine Presence, that is, I attained great religious insight. And to this, Moses answers, ani nisaleisi mimcha, true, but I am still greater than you, because while you may have seen the shechinah, you became blind soon afterwards, as we read in today’s Sidra “vayehi ki zaken Yitzchak vatich’hena einav me’reos,” when Isaac became old, his eyes failed him, whereas I spoke to…

1. Those of us who attend services regularly know that amongst the many other aspects of Prayer, one of the important features is: Posture. And the various forms of posture we assume have their significance. Standing, as we do by the Amidah, is a sign of respect for and honoring of G-d. Sitting, as we do when drinking the Kiddush or eating the Motzi, serves as a sign of relaxation while participating in the happy occasion of Se’udas Mitzvah. We lie down when reciting the closing prayer of the day, the Shma, in bed. We kneel and bow in the Aleinu or at Modim in the Amidah to serve as a token of our humility and our submission to the Divine Creator. 2. One particular position, however, is never required by the Law, and that is: leaning. As a matter of fact, it is clearly forbidden. Thus, the Law insists that during the praying of the Shmoneh Esrei one must stand straight and beware of leaning against anything. And yet, it seems to me that the characteristic pose, the typical religious posture of American Jews is – leaning. Please forgive me and not regard it as frivolous if I ask you to join me in an analysis of this tragi-comedy of American Jewry’s religious posture. It sounds humorous but, as is often the case, conceals a terribly serious situation. 3. “Leaning” is a position which manifests itself in two ways: forward-backward, and left-right. We Amer. Jews, it seems, indulge in both – and simultaneously! 4. First, we lean over backwards. We put ourselves into ridiculous, vulnerable, self-effacing and obnoxious positions in order to placate our non-Jewish friends and neighbors who either do not care one whit or who laugh at us, and properly so, for our foolishness. Let me give you some unfortunate examples of this tendency to lean backwards. A recent issue of an Anglo-Jewish weekly has brought to light an interesting event in American-Jewish history. About one hundred years ago, the governor of South Carolina issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation which was unusual in…

A thousand years ago, the great Rabbi Saadia Gaon taught that our Torah is reasonable and that the human intellect, by itself, can discover the great truths taught in Scripture. Given enough time and brilliance, the human mind can, unaided, arrive at the precepts and concepts revealed by G-d at Sinai. As an example of how reason can provide us with these principles, he gives: gratitude. The very first thing our reason tells us is that one ought to be grateful. Hence, from the principle of gratitude, we learn that a man ought to pray. It is reasonable that we pray to G-d out of gratitude to Him.Certainly, therefore, intelligent people should not be ingrates. That is why Jews recite the Modeh Ani immediately upon arising, why they say the Modim as part of their prayer, why they recite the Birkat ha-Mazon after eating. That is why, too, Americans celebrate every year, as we shall this week, Thanksgiving Day. It is the first dictate of human reason.It is all the more amazing, therefore, to learn of the remarkable statement of our Rabbis in their comment on this week’s Sidra. We read today of how Leah gave birth to her fourth son, and called him Yehudah (Judah) because ha-paam odeh et ha-Shem – “this time I shall thank the Lord.” Our Sages say, “From the day G-d created the world, no one had thanked G-d until Leah came and thanked Him upon giving birth to Judah, as it is said, ‘this time I shall thank the Lord’” (Berakhot 7). Noah, Shem, Eber – all these were prophets who discoursed with the Lord. Did they never thank Him? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob – the founders of the true religion – were they so callous and indifferent that they never acknowledged G-d’s gifts to them? Were they, then, unfeeling, ungrateful brutes?The answer, I believe, lies in a deeper understanding of gratitude or thanksgiving itself. For there are two kinds or levels of gratitude. Thanksgiving can be understood as courtesy – or as conscience; as a social gesture – or as a sacred grace; as a way of talk…

I am pleased to occupy a pulpit celebrated both because of its historic past and its present distinguished spiritual leadership in a congregation rightfully famous in our city, I am doubly happy because Shearith Israel is not only an illustrious synagogue, but also a good neighbor of my congregation, The Jewish Center, In this context, I prefer to translate the word she’arit of “Shearith Israel” not in its primary signification of “remnant,” but rather in its secondary meaning as in the biblical words she’er basar or sha’arah – “relative,” or “close friend.” For indeed, both our congregations are part of the larger family of Orthodox Jewry on the West Side of Manhattan. The Thanksgiving Day Services at the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue are not only a fine patriotic gesture as loyal American citizens; they are also an authentic expression of Judaism. The source for this judgment is the Sephardi scholar of the late Middle Ages, Abudrahm. Why is it, he asks, that during the repetition of the Amidah by the cantor, the congregation joins him for only one blessing, in the course of which it expresses the same sentiments in modified language? Abudrahm was referring to the Modim blessing, for while the cantor chants the Modim, the congregation recites, in an undertone, the Modim de’Rabanan. The reason for this, says Abudrahm, is that the other blessings consist of petitions for various benefits: we ask God for wisdom, health, prosperity, peace. Such prayers can be delegated to a representative of the congregation, which the cantor, in effect is – the shaliah tzibbur. But when it comes to offering our thanks to the Almighty – and this is the essence of Modim – there no delegation suffices, for the expression of gratitude is too personal, too intimate, too significant for substitutes.So that, in the same sense, when our fellow Americans repair each to his own house of worship to offer thanks to our Heavenly Father for the blessings of life, freedom, peace, and bounty which we…