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Hoda'yah - of Jewish Thanksgiving and Other Religious MotivationsOctober 2007From the Desk of Rabbi CohonA Jewish bubbie is walking on the seashore with her grandson. Suddenly a huge wave comes in and sweeps him out to sea. "Please God, bring him back," she cries, "I’ll do anything, pray three times a day, keep strictly kosher, give 10% of what I have to tzedakah, I’ll be nice to my son-in-law, anything, just bring him back!" At that moment another wave crashes in to shore, depositing the boy, unharmed, at her feet. The bubbie looks up at heaven and says, sternly, "He had a hat." As the joke demonstrates, it’s often easier to find chutzpah than gratitude in Jewish life—in all life. And so, to aid us in that process autumn is the season designated for thanksgiving in our society. All three major thanksgiving festivals from September to December—Sukkot, American Thanksgiving, and Chanukah—are based on the original commandment establishing a holiday of gratitude, a "Feast of Tabernacles", in the Torah, which we complete this week. But thanksgiving is much more than a holiday. It is at the very core of what it means to be human. Gratitude is the essential religious emotion. When we give thanks for what we have, and for what we receive, we convey a profound message of connection, interdependence, and even holiness. Saying "thank you" can be no more than an automatic gesture, but it can also be the key to unlocking our hearts and opening them to other human beings. When we say "thank you" with all of our souls, we create a quality in ourselves that allows for true communication with others. That’s also true for the process of thanking God. Traditionally we are to begin each day in Jewish tradition with the prayer Modeh Ani lefanecha, "I give thanks before You, my God", thanking God for giving us life, a pure soul, and a new opportunity to begin each day. Each Amidah in every service includes the beautiful prayer Modim anacnhu lach, offering gratitude to God for the ordinary miracles that God does for us morning, noon, and night. Opening that stream of gratitude is one of the keys to creating a life, and even a world, of mutual respect and goodness. The Dalai Lama has said "Everyday, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it." Won’t you take a few moments today to thank someone you would not normally thank, and to offer gratitude for what you have? It can change your life—and that of the people all around you. L’shalom v’rei’ut v’hodayah, in peace, friendship, and gratitude, Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon PS: Special Thanks During this Sukkot Season I am particularly grateful for all the assistance over these recent High Holy Days provided by our outstanding staff and amazing volunteers. The dangerous thing about thanking individuals is that you always miss some… but that’s also why we have prayers asking for forgiveness. I’d especially like to thank Ruth Dickstein, who did an outstanding job coordinating our extensive volunteer participation over the Yamim Nora’im; Natalie Waxenberg, our Rabbinic Executive Assistant, who did all of the correspondence on the honors over the High Holy Days, and helped keep our office functioning during a complex time with contributions above and beyond the call of duty; Rabbi Ben Sharff and Mila Anderson for helping establish our Northwest High Holy Day services, among many other tasks completed beautifully; Donna Beyer, who is a marvelous president and continues to be a great partner in the sacred work of Temple Emanu-El; our Adult Choir, who were better than ever this year, and who gave so many hours—75, including all the rehearsals—to make magnificent, soaring music to elevate our spirits; Mitch Kagen, who chaired a great—and infinitely patient—group of ushers; Steve Schulman, who effortlessly provided excellent guitar accompaniment for our Family Services; Steve Dickstein, for his help on the bimah in preparation and during the holidays; Marjorie Hochberg, for helping to find a new and very fine accompanist, Chris Tackett, just three weeks before Rosh HaShanah; Jon Wirtis, chef extraordinaire, and all who helped create a sumptuous and satisfying Break Fast; and especially Oleg Shiskovskiy and our outstanding maintenance crew, Robert, John, Victor, and Steven, who provided everything in the right place at the right time without a hitch. There are so many more people who contributed substantially to our highest holy days being both beautiful and meaningful that if, as the morning liturgy has it, if "our tongues rang with Your praise tirelessly as the roaring waves" we could never adequately thank all of you. But we will continue to try!
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