Is Gratitude all that it's Cranked up to Be? – Parshat Ekev

As little kids most of us were taught the "magic" words – please, thank you and excuse me. We were taught that these words helped us somehow. Mostly we knew it got us what we wanted – the toy, a smile, good grace. Beyond that, there was no value to these words.

Yet, in this week's parsha, Parshat Ekev, we find the Torah actually commanding us to bless God after each meal.1 But does God really need for us to thank Him? Of course not. He can manage quite well without it. So why does the Torah (God) feel a need to command us to thank Him? The great 13th century sage and leader, Rabbeinu Bachyei , explains that we need to remember that all this good was prepared for us. The purpose is not for God's sake but for ours. As we see also in Tehillim, "it is good to thank the Lord."2 This theme is oft-repeated in our prayers and liturgy as well.3

In fact, any number of people, over the last two decades, have discussed the importance of keeping a gratitude journal.4 Dr. Nerine Evelyn Gregersen, one of the keynote speakers at the recent Logotherapy Congress in Dallas, spoke of Gratitude and its importance to finding meaning in our lives. Having a regular routine of giving thanks, she writes, can help in three ways ;

1) it "familiarizes us with these three pathways, priming us to discover meaning more often,

2) is meaningful in itself, thus sensitizing us to other meaningful moments, and

3) makes us aware of the noetic dimension, wherein the will to meaning and other essentially human attributes also exist."5

In addition, Vishen Lakhiani, founder of Mindvalley Academy said at a recent speech:  "Science has shown that Gratitude has the single largest correlation with human well-being than any other character trait."6

Giving thanks is good. Showing gratitude is healthy. Being thankful can help lead to a life of meaning.

 Click here for another logoParsha article on Parshat Ekev (It was Almost All Me)

Notes

 

  1. Devarim 8:10
  2. Tehillim 92:2
  3. It appears at the end of the "blessing of Thanks" in the daily prayer and in the Maoz Tzur sung on Chanukah, for instance
  4. I first heard of the concept from Brian Johnson, The Friendly Philosopher in the mid 90's
  5. Gregersen, Dr. Nirene; 'Gratitude: A Pathway to Meaning-Discovery'. Logotherapy is a system of psychology which puts forth that Man's basic movtivation in life is the search for meaning – based on Dr. Viktor Frankl's book, 'Man's Search for Meaning'
  6. Vishen Lakhiani – in a video at about minute 5 - this is the url - http://learn.mindvalley.com/courses/the-evolution-of-health-and-fitness-masterclass/pages/4

Have A Great Shabbat!laughing

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