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. Thankfulness is touching; gratitude — stirring. Thankfulness means appreciation for a favor which you yourself could not do immediately but which you could do later; gratitude means recognition of a favor which you could never accomplish by yourself. You are thankful to a person who has supplied you with a stamp when you were in a hurry to mail a letter. You are grateful to a person who has saved your life.
And this, friends, leads us to our second point — that gratitude to G-d, whether for political freedom, the State of Israel, our personal health and happiness, or any other blessing, that this gratitude involves a confession of inadequacy or dependency. You have done something for me which I could never attain by myself. I am inadequate; you have fulfilled me. I am lacking, imperfect, incompetent, deficient, powerless; you have provided me with what I so need and cannot supply by myself. It is a confession which comes from humility. How interesting that the Hebrew expression for "I am grateful" — MODEH ANI — also means "I confess." And similarly, "HODAYAH" means both gratitude and confession.
And what a great religious principle lies in this idea. Man cannot express his gratitude to G-d unless he first acknowledges his dependency on G-d. Take, for example, the first words a Jew says upon arising every morning: MODEH ANI LEFANECHA MELECH CHAI VE’KAYAM, SHEHECHEZARTA BI NISHMATI BE’CHEMLAH. "I thank You, O Great living G-d, that You have returned to me my soul with mercy." Mercy, indeed! For here is the acknowledgement that without G-d there is no life, a confession that Man is not independent, that by himself he is nothing. Yes, despite man's A-bombs and H-bombs, despite his commerce and his electronic brains, despite his sendars, lips, and learning, still he depends upon G-d for the very air he breathes. Let a little more dust than usual settle in that air, and entire cities grow panicky — as has happened this week. This is more than thankfulness. This is gratitude.
Perhaps the most beautiful and striking illustration of this type of gratitude can be found in one episode of the life of Leah as portrayed in the Bible. You will recall that when she gave birth to Judah, her joy was accompanied by an uninhibited expression of gratitude. VATOMER HA’PA’AM ODEH ET HASHEM, AL KEN KARAH SHEMO YEHUDAH. "And Leah said, this time will I thank the Lord, and therefore she called him Judah." What an inferiority complex she must have borne until she gave birth to Judah. VE’EINEI LEAH RAKOT — Her eyes were dull. She was shy and withdrawn. She was an older sister who was overshadowed by a younger sister, and probably the type of girl whose elders predicted she would be barren. Drab, colorless, and hopelessly introverted, she got a husband only through her father's ruse. All her life she plays second fiddle to her sister Rachel who was YEFAS TOAR VE'YEFAS MAR'EH, beautiful, brilliant, dazzling, a girl for whom Leah was no match. And here they find themselves married to the same man, Jacob, who openly loves Rachel more than her timid sister. How painfully Leah must have borne her lot. Silently she prays to G—d to put her in her husband's good graces. And then, when she bears her fourth son, she finds that she has won Jacob's admiration and love. In a society in which fertility is of primary importance, she gained her husband's respect and affection. HA'PAAM ODEH ES HASHEM. How grateful I am to You, O G-d, for with the birth of Judah, I have that which I never could have received without You—my husband's love. Here was gratitude in the deepest Jewish sense of the word. Gratitude based upon a feeling of inadequacy.
And there is yet a third, and final, aspect of gratitude which should be mentioned. And that is that gratitude, whether given to G—d or to fellow man, must be complete and unstinted—without strings. It must not be corrupted with envy or penury. In Jacob's death-bed farewell speech to his son Judah, he says: YEHUDAH ATA YODUCHA ACHECHA, Judah, your brothers are grateful to you. And our Rabbis comment: B'OLAM HAZEH UV'OLAM HABA—in this world and in the world to come. The sons of Jacob did not begrudge their thanksgiving; they expressed their deepest emotions of gratefulness for both his material and his spiritual leadership. For thus must all thanks be—unhampered, undisguised, and unbegrudged.
Such thanks does Cong. Kadimah offer to its Brotherhood on this Brotherhood Sabbath. Kadimah offers a Jewish-type gratitude toward the Brotherhood—gratitude that comes from the heart, not only thankfulness that comes from the lips; gratitude which bespeaks the realization that the Brotherhood has something of positive value to offer; and finally, this gratitude goes to the Brotherhood for both its OLAM HAZEH and its OLAM HABA aspects. For indeed the Brotherhood has contributed heavily in its OLAM HAZEH, this-worldly achievements. Administratively, it has proved its efficiency. Socially, it has proven a popular rallying force for all Jewish-minded men of Springfield. Its social services have proved an inspiration for the entire community. It has earned our gratitude for OLAM HAZEH. And in matters of OLAM HABA too, do we hope to have many occasions to offer our thanks. The more the gentlemen of the Brotherhood participate in the religious activities of Kadimah, the more they interest themselves in our services and worship and ritual, the more will they receive our unlimited and our ungrudging gratitude. YEHUDA ATA YODUCHA ACHECHA. Kadimah, this evening salutes its Brotherhood, and in the name of the entire community, thanks it, its officers, and its entire membership.
To summarize, then, our gratitude on this Thanksgiving Day and every day, for this democracy and for every blessing, entails three elements: one, gratitude which comes from an inspired soul, rather than mere thanks coming from polite lips; two, gratitude which arises from a recognition of G—d's superiority and our own inadequacy and dependency upon Him; and three, gratitude which is full and complete, wholesome, ungrudging and undiminished.
May we, by virtue of our sincere gratitude, forever be the recipients of G-d’s eternal blessings. May He, in His goodness, constantly give us cause to offer up to Him our endless gratitude and thanksgiving.
**Benediction**
The most appropriate benediction at this occasion is the hope that we prove worthy of the following inscription on the Plymouth Rock monument:
"This place marks the final resting place of the Pilgrims of the Mayflower. In weariness, in hunger, and in cold, fighting the wilderness and burying the dead in common graves, that the Indians should not know how many had perished, they here laid the foundation of a state in which all men for countless ages should have the liberty to worship G-d in their own way. All you who pass by and see this stone remember, and dedicate yourselves anew to the resolution that you will not rest until this lofty ideal shall have been realized throughout the earth."
