A Yeshivah Bachur once asked me if it was proper to attend a Thanksgiving turkey meal at his relatives home. He was reluctant to go because he thought it was Chukas Hagoyim. I explained to him that the Hebrew word for turkey is הודו, which is derived from the word הודאה, giving thanks to Hashem for all the blessings that He bestows upon us and to consider the meal as a family affair on a day off from work. In doing so, we should express Divrey Torah on being thankful to Hashem for the life we live and for all the Brachot that we so often take for granted.
These are times when we say our Tephillot. We need to read, carefully, our daily prayer Modim, and to take to heart those magnificent words,"We shall give thanks to You and declare Your praises for our lives which are in Your hand, and for our souls which are in Your keeping and for all the miracles which You perform for us on a daily basis."
Our Torah portion for this Shabbat, Parshas Vayetze, tells us that Yaakov dreamed of a ladder between heaven and earth with angels ascending and descending. When Yaakov awoke he said, אכן יש הי במקום הזה ואנכי לא ידעתי מה נורא המקום הזה
"Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew not. How full of awe is this place".
Just like Yaakov did not realize the holiness of that particular place and didn't realize that Hashem was dwelling there, we who live in such a fast and furious pace sometimes lose sight of G-D's presence. We need to start taking time to contemplate all that is happening around us and to start focusing on the wonders and the Blessings of the world and to see the G-Dly that envelopes us daily.
One wonders why, only on rare occasions, do we recite the prayer of Hagomel, with the awesome words,
"Blessed are you Lord our G-D, King of the Universe, who bestows good on the unworthy, who has bestowed on me much good," the congregation follows with, "Amen. May He who has bestowed much good on you continue to bestow on you much good, Selah".
What a magnificent Tephillah - a prayer of Thanksgiving, a prayer never to take anything for granted, a prayer from the depths of our heart realizing how much we are to be thankful for and more so to utter a Prayer asking Hashem to continue to be in our lives and continue to shower his blessings upon us and K'lal Yisrael.
Our Prayers must articulate our noblest sentiments and deepest emotions and must always be kept on a high plane. In life, let us seek grace and not reward, let our Tephillot be a song echoing the joy of life and the acceptance of Hashem's Will and Hashem's Brachot. Let it bespeak our acknowledgement for all that is given and pray that it continues עד מאה ועשרים שנה.
שבת שלום ומבורך, מודים אנחנו לך
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