From Cantor Lee 

It has been three weeks since my daughter’s wedding and I am still flying high!   My daughter is happy and I adore my beautiful new daughter in law!For this joy alone, I am beyond grateful!  But there is even more that is taking me into the higher realms!  People are still trying to describe what happened during the wedding weekend. “It was Magical.”  “I was transformed.” “There was the presence of an electrical charge.”  Rabbi David and I can only say that the heavens opened up to allow the in-pouring of the Divine!  And I am still feeling this in-pouring!

It was as though 170 people were taken to a magical fairy land and each given a spark of  Love Energy to not only further open our hearts but to touch everyone  that we meet. This can certainly make the mother of the bride continue to fly! With Thanksgiving tomorrow here  I can only say, Thank you to my daughter, Rachel. Thank you to my new daughter, Marissa. Thank you G-d!!

From Rabbi David aka The Reb

Another Amen!! I agree with my beautiful wife!

Now on to my thoughts about Thanksgiving and The Power of Gratitude:

The American idea of setting aside  a holiday for the sole purpose of showing appreciation for what we have is more  than just noble. The classic  explanation of its origin has to do  with the Pilgrims’ appreciation of their life in the new land and the hope of surviving harsh winters to come.

This idea is not strange to us, the Jewish People, at all. Setting  time  aside  to rejoice in life and our traditions is a central theme in Jewish life. Moreover, our tradition encourages expression of appreciation on a daily basis. We are given the opportunity to express gratitude  many times  during  the course of the day. We use a special “spiritual instrument” to do exactly that. We call  it, a blessing.

Jewish  scholars in every generation are instructed us to say at least  100  blessings a day, every day of our life.  Imagine  that… Many of these “expressions”  are in fact pretty routine and are embedded in our prayer book.  There are blessings for almost every aspect of our life from waking up in the morning, washing, taking care of our hygiene needs, blessings over different foods, encountering different natural phenomenon – and these are just for starters.

To help us  reach  the 100 recommended blessings,   the  great rabbis of the past instituted a series of 91 blessings  to be recited as part of the morning, afternoon and evening services. The other nine are recited at different occasions  during the day as they present  themselves.

But  why? If I was G-D, I would be a little taken back by this barrage of constant  blessings. (OK, I get it. You appreciate your life and everything in it. You don’t have to constantly thank me … I get it the first time…  ) Maybe part of the reason  for this  constant appreciation for the marvels of life is to benefit us for our own well being.

Reciting a blessing, or for that matter any expression of appreciation regardless of its religious content, creates a powerful positive energy around us, helping us with our physical  and  psychological health. That is the reason why the Jewish tradition teaches that blessings or any expression of appreciation are like boomerangs; they leave our soul aiming for others and come back to benefit us many times over.

Never taking any part of our life for granted is not only a way for a healthy life, it is also a foundation to a healthy society which encourages nurturing relationships in all of our social circles, our immediate and extended family circles as well as our co- workers and acquaintance circles.

I am often  amazed  by the wisdom of the Jewish scholars of the past who instituted  these expressions of constant appreciation as part of our Jewish fabric. The  Jewish narrative regarding the holiday of Thanksgiving is that the Pilgrims  took the  idea from  the Jewish holiday  of  Succot.  The holiday of Succot which is celebrated  at the end of the agricultural year is designated in the Torah specifically as a holiday for thanking G-D for a fruitful  and rainy winter in our land of Israel.  It is a holiday  in which  we are literally commanded to rejoice and appreciate our life  and our environment. This of course is part of the “Jewish Boomerang”  principle:  the more we appreciate  the rain and  the crop of the previous year, the more  rain and richer  crop  we will have next year.

May we all be blessed with a Happy Thanksgiving!