Let My People Know

"Thankful for Thanksgiving"

 
The Almighty does not "need" our thanksgiving. 

It is we who benefit from feeling and expressing it. 

Our Jewish liturgy contains a seldom-noticed prayer, hidden within a prayer, which acknowledges this. 

The phrase appears at a high point in the service, yet it is said to oneself: "We thank You for inspiring us to thank You." 

This goes well beyond being thankful for our objective gifts. 

It is a recognition that even the ability to know that we should be grateful is a gift from God and worthy of thanks. 

–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz 
 
From an essay, "Thankful for Thanksgiving," Nov, 2002, by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz