Thanksgiving - 5776

Thanksgiving - 5776

Rabbi Hal Miller

Most of Tanach, and in particular most of Tehillim, concentrates on our recognizing,

honoring, and thanking G-d for all that He has done, does, and will do for us. Some

parts are more clear about this than others. One such place is Psalm 100, which we

say almost every morning of the year. It is short, yet it epitomizes the whole idea of

Thanksgiving.

The first verse begins, mizmor l'todah, a song of thanksgiving. What does todah mean?

Rashi writes that the phrase means that this psalm is to be sung during thanksgiving

sacrifices, but this would limit the purpose of our psalm to Temple times only. Rav Hirsch

defines it as applying also today, when he writes, "Todah denotes an acknowledgement

of what the Lord has meant to us in the past and what He still means to us today, and

also an avowal of what our relationship to Him has been and should be; therefore it can

be either an acknowledgement of a debt of gratitude or an admission of fault." Rav Hirsch

has also given us some lead on what the word means, acknowledging God and what

we owe Him.

Verse four also gives us an answer: "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with

praise, give thanks to Him, bless His name." Here, Rav Hirsch says, "Todah is the

acknowledgement of a debt or of gratitude emanates from the awareness of what God

means to us." The verse seems to equate todah with tehilah, praise, about which Rav

Hirsch tells us, "Tehilah is the praise of His mighty acts." Are they equivalent?

Vayikra Rabbah gives us an indication that they are connected, at least. The Midrash

in 9:7 explains that "thanksgiving" has two classifications: voicing gratitude, and

bringing the todah sacrifice. On the first, it brings Yirmiyahu [33:11], "Give thanks to the

Lord of hosts." On the second, it brings Psalm [56:13], "Your vows are upon me, O God,

I will render thanksgivings to You." The Midrash then connects them in the World to

Come, saying that all sacrifices will be annulled then, except the thanksgiving sacrifice,

and that all prayers will be annulled, except those of thanksgiving.

Following the Midrash, if we use Rashi's definition, then todah is discussing the

sacrifice, and Rav Hirsch's definition, then tehilah is the prayer side, and they are tied

in the World to Come. If that is the case, then our reading of Psalm 100 is a way to

bring ourselves into that World!

North Americans celebrate a Thanksgiving holiday this time of year, Canadians in

October, US citizens this week in November. The fact that those North American holidays

were started for other reasons does not change our need to absorb them for our own needs.

A happy Jewish Thanksgiving to all.