Gratitude

Every time I attend a service at Temple Israel I walk away so fully nourished! Not only have I enjoyed many-a-great meal with this hospitable community, I am nourished spiritually so well. This bastian of Reformed Judaism in the South is well known for its acts of kindness and its mindfulness toward justice. From the swooning tones of my friend Cantor Kaplan to the thoughtful words of Rabbi Micah Greenstein I seem to find myself surrounded in communal holiness. Today I was at Temple to celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of Mimi Scheidt and Meagan Orgel. These two beautiful young women were surrounded by two loving families and a faith community who only want the best for them. The word for the day seemed to be 'gratitude' at Temple Israel.

After some recitation in Hebrew of Torah, prayers and songs the congregation was called to think about gratitude. In simple and poignant words, the idea of praying "after we are full" was introduced. Rabbi Micah remarked how we pray in times of trouble, illness and anxiety...and before meals, when we are hungry. He reminded us all of the prayers that broke out after the manna fell in the wilderness during the Hebrew Exodus. Mimi and Meagan both pointed to the necessity of praying when we are full so that we don't live in some sort of self-satisfaction only needing God in our desperation. In other words, instead of riding around thinking about what we don't have, what we are upset about, what we do not like and finally what is wrong with us and everyone else; what would happen if we lived in a sense of gratitude? What if we forsook the ways of being chronic complainers--only talking to God before a blessing, a want, a desire, and lived in a state of gratitude? Rabbi Greenstein said he saw a bumper sticker the other day that laid the proposition clear--"WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?"

Instead of focussing on what needs to be better, my first question is "What am I grateful for?" It is easy to fill the ears of a patient listener with our lamentations, but it is probably more of a challenge to offer 5 minutes of gratefulness. I think I will start praying after meals making sure that my own satisfaction somehow does not exempt God from my prayerful and heartfelt communication. I bet the Lord will notice, the people around me will too and I might even understand more fully that God has satisfied me in many ways and has not sent me away empty. God forbid if I understand that my many blessings do not need to involve God with the same kind of plaintive prayer as when I am whining. A prayer of plaintive gratitude could do wonders. Mazel Tov!