“I will thank the Lord:” Parashat Vayetzei and Thanksgiving 2012

This Dvar Torah and the learning that led to it are dedicated to the people of Israel. May their courage, dedication and love inspire us all to work for peace, and may we merit to speedily see peace in Israel and in all the world.

It is a happy coincidence for me that this week’s parashah, Vayetzei, coincides with the week in which we celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving. What comes to mind when you think about this holiday? Do you feel that it is primarily an American secular holiday? Do you feel, like I do, that it is also a wonderfully Jewish holiday, a holiday that encompasses the essence of who we are as Jews?

We read this story in our Babylonian Talmud (Brachot 7b): Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai: From the day that the Blessed Holy One created his world, there was no person who offered thanks to the Blessed Holy One, until Leah came and thanked him, as Scripture says: “And she became pregnant again, and bore a son, and said ‘This time I will thank the Lord’” (Genesis 29:35). The verse continues, “For this reason, she named him Yehudah”, from the Hebrew root which means “to thank.”

Rashi, the medieval commentator on Bible and Talmud, tells us that Leah was especially grateful to God, as she believed that she had received more than her fair share of blessings. Jacob had four wives, and our Matriarchs knew that 12 tribes would rise from Jacob. Each wife, therefore, was entitled to 3 sons. When Leah had a fourth son, she was especially grateful. That is why, even though we know that biblical characters did express gratitude before Leah, our rabbis say that no one had truly thanked God before her. So we see that thankfulness is the essence of our being. We are Jews, named for Yehudah, or Judah, whose very name embodies thanksgiving, and whose mother recognized that she, like many of us, was blessed above her share.

In Midrash Vayiqra Rabbah 9:7, our rabbis share their vision of messianic times: “Rabbi Pinchas and Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Menachem of Gallia: In the time to come (the days of the Messiah), all offerings will be annulled, but the thanksgiving offering will not be annulled. All prayers will be annulled, but the prayer of thanksgiving (in the Amidah) will not be annulled”. I invite you to think about this: In the days of the Messiah, why will the thanksgiving prayer be the only prayer we say? Why will the thanksgiving offering be the only one offered?

Our liturgy is full of expressions of thanksgiving. When we wake in the morning, the first thing we do is thank God for restoring our souls to our bodies. We thank God for our food each time we eat. A thanksgiving prayer is included in the Amidah we recite three times each day. In two weeks we will light our Hanukkah menorahs and sing “Rock of Ages,” in which we ask God to restore the Temple so that we may bring the thanksgiving offering.

The fourth Thursday in November is a day to thank God for the rights and freedoms we are privileged to enjoy in the United States of America. On this day we express our gratitude for the values which our country seeks to embody. We acknowledge our failure as nation to live up to our highest ideals, and we thank God for the free society that lets us work toward fulfilling them.

This Thanksgiving, I invite you to keep in mind Louis Ginzberg’s “Prayer for our Country” which we read every Shabbat. This year, and every day, may we remember that our abundance of freedom brings responsibilities. It is our responsibility to “forge a common bond in true harmony.” It is our responsibility to “safeguard the ideals and free institutions which are the pride and glory of our country.” It is our sacred responsibility to ensure that this land, under God’s providence is “an influence for good throughout the world.” God has blessed us with these opportunities and their responsibilities. Like Leah, let us thank God for giving us more than our share. Like Leah, let us put God’s gifts to good use.

May the Blessed Holy One help us to let our rich heritage be a source of ever-renewing inspiration for our lives today. Grant us the blessing of gratitude for our gifts. In the words of our prayer: May we work to ensure this land under God’s providence is an influence for good throughout the world, uniting all people in peace and freedom and helping us all to fulfill the vision of God’s prophet: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they know war any more.” Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Patricia Fenton is the Yoetzet Limudei Rabbanut (Rabbinic Studies Advisor) for the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, and the Manager of Judaica and Public Services for Library of the American Jewish University. She teaches rabbinic literature to American Jewish University students in the College, the Graduate Center for Education and the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies.