Shabbat Message Thanksgiving Weekend, 2024

This is Rabbi Harrison with a Thanksgiving message for our beloved Temple Beth Hillel-Beth Abraham Family. 

In Judaism, we recite a prayer for Thanksgiving, Modim Anachnu Lach, in each and every service. We’ve begun pausing at this prayer regularly on Friday evenings to share milestones and simchas with each other. Sharing can foster our feelings of connection.

It’s easy to be grateful for joyous occasions. Today, I challenge us to give thanks for the mundane:

Let us give thanks for the piles of dirty dishes; it means we have plenty of food to eat. 

Let us give thanks for the loads of dirty laundry awaiting our attention; it means we have plenty of clothes to wear. 

Let us be grateful for our unmade beds; it means there was a safe and sheltered place for us to sleep; 

Let us be grateful for the carpool schleps and long grocery lists, it means we others to love and nurture.