Themes in this week’s Torah section include: the importance of gratitude and the importance of celebrating the fruits of our labour. These are also relevant to our preparation for the High Holiday period.
Moses instructs the people that when they enter the Land of Israel and cultivate the land they are to bring the first-ripened fruits to the Temple as a sign of gratitude.
The word for gratitude in Hebrew is “hodaya” (“todah” means thank you). This word shares the same root as the word Jew, “Yehudi”. The Sages connect these words and teach that a fundamental aspect to being a Jew is cultivating a sense of gratitude and hence, there are many prayers and rituals within Judaism that connect us with sentiments of thanksgiving. In fact the first prayer of the morning, the very first words a Jew is encouraged to say each morning are: “model ani” (“Modah ani” for a woman), meaning “I am grateful”.
We also know that studies in psychology show that feelings of gratitude and practices In our lives that help us remember what we are grateful for, lead to greater levels of wellbeing.
So, instilling routines in our lives to remind us of things we are grateful for can be helpful making our lives and the lives of those around us more harmonious. We can learn from the ancient tradition of bringing the first-ripened fruits to Jerusalem as an act of gratitude and consider how it might be relevant to us today.
Firstly, we can make time regularly to consider the fruits of our labor, to celebrate them and to give thanks for them. So often we can achieve something and quickly go on to the next thing, not making time to fully recognize the success, and also not making time to give thanks.
A second aspect is that making time to give thanks reminds us that we are not alone. Every achievement we have is a composite of many factors – luck, help from others, hard work and more.
During this month of Elul, it is a fitting time to reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives and also to consider what we have been working towards over the year and what fruits have come from it. It is a time to celebrate what we have achieved and to thank others for the help they have given. We can also make time to consider how we can make giving thanks a regular part of our lives. What routines will we put in place for the year to come so our levels of wellbeing can be even better.
Wishing you a Shabbat shalom and a Shabbat of gratitude.
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