We have an obligation to always be mindful of our gratitude to Hashem – we begin each day with Modeh Ani and we move on to Hodu and Modim and many other expressions of thanks to Hashem throughout the day. In our daily prayers we recite, “We will give thanks to You and recount Your praise, evening, morning and noon, for our lives which are committed into Your hand, for our souls which are entrusted to You, for Your miracles which are with us daily, and for Your continual wonders and beneficences.” Yet a day like today makes us pause to really think about the things for which we are thankful.
I am thankful to be alive and well. I am thankful for my loving family, my wife and children, parents and siblings, grandparents and in-laws. I am thankful for the wonderful community in which I live. I am thankful that I have a roof over my head, food to eat and clothing to wear. I am thankful to be in a country where I am free to live and worship as I choose. I am thankful to be living in a time where advancements have enhanced our lives so much.
I am thankful to be a Jew. I am thankful for the Torah, Mitzvahs, customs and traditions of Judaism which make our lives rich and meaningful. I am thankful for having been influenced by the beauty and depth of Chassidic teachings and the ways of Chabad. I am thankful for being a follower of the Rebbe, who I see as a direct continuation of leadership and inspiration in the model of such greats as the Baal Shemtov, the Rambam, Rabbi Akiva and Moses. I am thankful for the privilege of being one of the Rebbe’s shluchim – to whom he entrusted the sacred task of really caring for the welfare of each and every Jew. I am thankful for having been taught and trained that it is more important to look out for the needs of another than to be concerned only with oneself. I am thankful to be living in a time of history wherein we will witness complete and final redemption through the coming of Moshiach. As we conclude in the aforementioned prayer, “Beneficent is Your Name, and to You it is fitting to offer thanks.”
Mazel Tov to Chaya Sara and Saadya Kaufmann upon the birth of their daughter Leah Raizel Mushka. Mazel Tov to the grandparents, Nechama and David Kaufmann and Chana Leiba and Reuven Nathanson.
Mazel Tov to Becca and Guy Bradley upon the birth of their son. Mazel Tov to the grandparents Judy and Gerald Newman.
Mazel Tov to Aline Waknin and Gary Connelly upon their upcoming marriage this Sunday. Mazel Tov to Linda and Simon Waknin and the whole family.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin