Again and again, Jewish tradition teaches us to give thanks for the myriad blessings of our lives. As Psalm 92 reminds us, "It is good to praise the Eternal, to sing hymns to Your name, O Most High" (Psalm 92:2). And, in Psalm 100 we read, "Enter God's gates with thanksgning, God's courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). Giving thanks is central to Jewish tradition's view of how me interact with our world, with our fellow human beings, and with God. I believe we should look beyond hakarat hatov as simply "giving thanks for the good," and in so doing we can acquire an additional quality with which me can navigate our lives and relationships.
-Rabbi Eric S. Gurvis
(9) When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. (10) You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I יהוה am your God.
We know this principle of peiah as a cornerstone of our tradition's expansive teachings on tzedakah ("righteous acts of providing for those in need"). Might we also view our acts of tzedakah through the lens of hakarat hatov? In my fulfillment of the sacred responsibility of tzedakah, can I see not only an extension of myself to others, but also an aspect of recognizing. and acknowledging the good that I enjoy?
This verse is well-known, not only in the context of Jewish tradition but has been embraced far beyond the boundaries of our people and our communities. Yet, in the real world, we know that "loving" our neighbor is not always a simple matter. Still, hearing this call through the lens of hakarat hatov, we may better be able to fulfill this commandment. I may not love everything about my neighbor, but can I recognize what is good in her? Can I use hakarat hatov to appreciate and honor the ways in which she adds to our world?
Many of us experience the treatment of the elders among us as deficient, a personal and communal failure to fulfill this mitzvah. As a society, we can do better. How might our engagement with our elders change if we viewed them not only through the lens of the kavod ("honor") to which this verse calls us, but also through hakarat hatov? Might we do better if we contemplate the good that our elders have contributed over the course of their lives? I cannot help but think of the stories of Choni HaMaagal in Tractate Taanit of the Babylonian Talmud, wherein he is taught to appreciate his forebearers who planted trees that he might enjoy their fruit and their shade.
-Rabbi Eric S. Gurvis
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As you read through Parashat K'doshim, which of the mitzvot in the portion offer you an opportunity to practice hakarat hatov (e.g., Leviticus 19:32, "You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old; you shall fear your God: I am the Eternal")?
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How might you extend hakarat hatov to the fulfillment of Leviticus 19:30, "You shall keep My sabbaths and venerate My sanctuary"?
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In Leviticus 20:26 we read, "You shall be holy to Me, for I the Eternal am holy." How might one bring the practice of hakarat hatov to this penultimate verse of our portion?