Gratitude for Miracles

By Hazzan Jenna Greenberg.

In Parashat Vayeshev, one of the main characters is Yehudah, whose name is connected to the Hebrew root YUD-DALET-HEH, meaning “to give thanks.” Biblical names almost always have additional meaning beyond just being a name. And we know from last week’s parasha that this was the meaning of Yehudah’s name when his mother gave thanks to God at his birth.

While we are known by many names, B’nai Yisrael, Ivrim, the Hebrew word for Jews is Yehudim, from this same Hebrew root. We are the people who give thanks, we show our gratitude to God through so many of our traditional prayers, and even in our spontaneous prayers as well. We thank God daily for many things, and in particular, for the everyday miracles in our lives: that we wake up each morning, that our bodies work, that we are Jews, among a much longer list.

We are in the season of miracles, as the 25th of Kislev is approaching quickly, the first night of Chanukah. Among the many themes of this Festival of Lights is miracles: the miracle of yet another famous Yehuda and his Maccabee army being small and mighty, yet still victorious nevertheless over their enemies; and the miracle of a little bit of oil that lasted much longer than anyone would have ever expected. 

How appropriate then that during Chanukah, we insert the special prayer Al haNissim (on these miracles) into the Birkat Hoda’ah (from the same Hebrew root above), the blessing of gratitude that we say as the third to last blessing of every Amida. Gratitude and miracles are intertwined. They go together like dreidels and gelt, like latkes and sufganiot! But truly, to celebrate both the everyday miracles in our present lives and the grand miracles of our ancestors requires much gratitude and appreciation.

May we always show our gratitude for the miracles in our lives, not only on Chanukah, but every day of the year.

Shabbat Shalom and an early Chag Urim Sameach!!