The past few posts have been dedicated to Rabbi Meir Avshalom Chai HY”D during the week that his family members are sitting shiva.
The other day I overheard a conversation between a client in store and the woman behind the counter.
"How are you?" the client asked.
"Things are going okay, as normal. Hodu lashem ki tov. You gotta thank
G-d when life is going on as usual."
Later that week I came across a video where Rabbi Krohn discusses Hakarat Hatov(appreciation).
The Rabbi asked why we are called yehudim. He answered that the seforno says because the word yehudi comes from hodeh to give thanks. Rabbi Krohn said that we have to say Hodu Lashem ki tov for the goodness Hashem bestows on each and every one of us. He asked when was the last time someone went on a vacation and thanked G-d that he could afford one? When did he last offer thanks for his family, his spouse, his job...?
Rabbi Krohn went on to elucidate that Rav Chazkel Levenstein wrote about the blessings we recite after the meals. He wrote that we after we eat, we recite the beracha hazan et haolam kulo betuvo. (Who sustains the world with kindness and compassion) We say it but we are not really thinking when we are bentsching that we’re thanking G-d for the beautiful watermelon, etc.…
We bentsch because we are frumme mentschen so we have to bentsch, instead of realizing that we are reciting the Grace after meals to say thank you for the taste, the beauty and the nutrition of the food.
http://www.torahanytime.com/scripts/media.php?file=media/Rabbi/Paysach_Krohn/2009-11-14/Hakarat_Hatov_Appreciation/Rabbi__Paysach_Krohn__Hakarat_Hatov_Appreciation__2009-11-14.wmv
Rabbi Meir Avshalom Chai HY”D's son said that the way to memorialize his father is through Torah study, prayer and the mitzvot. Today, I will recite the Grace after Meals with an extra intensity, in the merit of the niftar.
And may we find opportunities to say Hodu Lashem ki tov (Let's give thanks to G-d for He is good) in our daly lives.
G-d¿
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