100 Blessings a DAY???

Morning Blessings...

...olvih jlm vnyhla yy hta jvrb

They are almost ‘footnotes’ that we find at the bottom of the pages in our sidduim. Those little paragraphs that are attributed to sages, poets, and the best know of all: Anonymous [perhaps better known by the Latin Name: A. Noni Mus]. However most of us either never read them or simply ‘skim’ over them, but they are there for a purpose. Or perhaps, for several purposes. One is to encourage us to contemplate what precedes it on the page. Another is to give ‘flesh’ the the sometimes abstract prayers. But if we look at them and give some thought to what is written there, we can certainly benefit from those few words.

Example: on pages 14 and 15 of our Shabbat Siddur we find the following commentary which would do us well to contemplate.

Thanksgiving will not Cease

In the time to come all other Temple sacrifices will cease, but the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving will not cease. All other prayers will cease, but the prayers of Thanksgiving will not cease. (Leviticus Rabbah 9:7)

Whenever your mind is free, make a conscious effort to concentrate on the good that the Almighty has bestowed upon you. (Bakhya)

We give thanks to You, O L-rd, because we are able to give thanks! (Anomymous)

At the beginning of the day, we gratefully acknowledge some of the many blessings which G-d lavishes upon us regularly - so regularly that we can easily overlook them. [What is constantly granted is too easily taken for granted!] Jewish tradition expects up to recite “one hundred blessings each day” [Talmud, Menakhot 43a]. From morning to night the mood of thankfulness is nurtured so that we may live each day filled with a sense of gratitude to the Source of all blessings.

Gratitude at its highest goes beyond “counting our blessings.” It involves sharing our blessings. A thankful sense of dependence upon G-d, leads to an awareness of our duty to His children.

These comments follow our “Morning Blessings” and gives us something to dwell upon. Those Blessings are something that we read, or hear & say our “Amen”, and then continue on with additional morning prayers. Certainly we need to continue with our Shaharit service... but we can also contemplate later during the day what that all means.

Let me ask you something here: we are to say 100 blessings each day! Some of you think that perhaps that is an impossible number of blessings to say. So: Here’s an example for you to consider-

You are driving along in you car, listening to the radio - no, it’s not Shabbos and it’s not Yom Tov - on the radio they are playing Yussi Bjorling singing something from an Italian opera written in the 19th century [CE]. It is, of course, sung to perfection. You are enjoying the music, the AC in your car and the scenery as you drive [there is no smog and little traffic]. Your “SO” is with you and just about everything is “swell”.

How many blessings can you count - just from that particular moment?

I’ll start you out and then you can contribute your blessings to the list:

1 You are enjoying the singing of an artist long dead by the blessing of a recording.

2 The recording is a blessing created by many people.

3 The composer who first wrote the music [heard it in his head] - long dead.

4 The musicians playing in the ‘background’ and sharing their talents

5 The conductor that has put this together with skill and emotion

6 The recording technicians

7 Those who engineered the electronic equipment

8 Those who built the electronic equipment

9 Those who built the studio that housed the equipment

10 Those who financed the venture

11 Those who took the “master” recording and made the commercial recordings so that they could be available to all

12 The studio of the radio station that is playing the recording

14 The engineers at the station

15 The ‘radio personality’ who chose the recording to be played

16 The people who support the radio station

17 The people who first ‘discovered’ radio technology

18 The people who built the antenna system

19 The manufactures of the metal for the antenna

20 The smelters who refined the ore to make the metals

21 The miners who dug the ore from the earth

22 The truckers who carried the ore from the mine

23 The railroad employees who transported the ore to the refinery

24 The people who laid the tracks and built the trestles, and dug the tunnels, and lugged the ties, drove the spikes, carried water to the laborers, cared for the injured laborers, and financed the railroad.

25 AND your “SO” that you can share all this with... and how many more blessings can you now think of that “made your day”? We have not begun to realize our manifold blessings have we?

Shabbat Shalom

Re’eh

R abbi Abraham Twerski puts for the proposition:

That the comment that we usually find when we discuss this Parshat [“See, I am placing before you this day a blessing and a curse.”] can, and should be, directly applied to our observance of kashrut. [along with other observances...]

He says that, according to halachah, if a person hires himself out for a day’s work and does not specify that he wished to have time off for prayer, that he must (only) say the abridged Amidah, since he may not take time off from his work for the full prayer. People who have committed themselves to work may not take time off for anything other than meals - unless it has ben stipulated otherwise.

What he is addressing is that every human has a commitment to do the Divine Will and that we are in essence servants hired out, if you will, to HaShem and thus we are obligated to do His bidding. Therefore we have no right to spend our time in any activity which is other than that which is of Divine decree.

In order to observe those decrees, if follows that we must have good health [both physical and mental] and that which enhances good health is - by logic - an obligation. We need time to eat, to sleep, to exercise, to rest and have some relaxation and diversions... as long as we are keeping our bodies and minds in optimum shape for the participation in the Divine service.

IF we were to indulge in worldly pleasures beyond those that are necessary for good health, we are ‘taking unauthorized leave, according to our “contract”, as Divine servants and so, obviously, this is prohibited. EVEN IF THE ACTIVITY is a ‘permitted’ activity, but; involves our over indulgence in (say) kosher ice cream. We have gone beyond that which is a nutritional requirement for our daily consumption. Even kosher food that is not necessary because our nutritional needs have been met become, in fact, non-kosher.

Mussar, for one, stresses this point and says that Divine service is not restricted to prayer, study of Torah and the performance of mitzvot. We need to see and acknowledge HaShem is all of our ways in life: in our business dealings, with discussions with friends, in our avoidance of Lashon Hora, in our family relationships, our eating and sleeping and in our recreation.

So Rabbi Twerski posits that as we read, “See, I am placing before you this day a blessing and a curse.” that we cannot find not grey areas - only black and white. That which is forbidden is: forbidden. If follows then, he says, that we have - only - two categories of behavior. That which is required and that which is forbidden.

Rabbi says that “permissibility” does not exist. I would say further; “I am entitled.” is not a permissible concept - let alone a verbalized comment. It goes way beyond social acceptability. It is obviously heresy, which makes it unsuitable in any aspect of human endeavor, being an insult to your fellow as well as a denial of G-d.

Shabbat Shalom.