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You may be familiar with the Hebrew word for thank you: Todah. It really means “thanks” as the direct object “you” is not present. If one wanted to be precise, you would say “Ani Modeh L’cha/Lach” – I thank you. Moments can occur throughout the course of our daily lives where Todah can be used. What about thanking God? Are there moments for that as well? 

Anticipating that we might not be of a mindset to regularly thank God, as we might not be attuned to the gifts that we receive from God, the authors of the prayer book created not one, but two different “thank you” texts and placed them into the daily service, helping to guide us towards a regular “attitude of gratitude” to God. We find these texts near the conclusion of the thrice-daily Amidah. I think that it is likely that they could not decide which one to use, as they liked both, so one is used out loud, and one is used privately. The out loud version reads as follows:

We thank You, You who are our God and the God of our ancestors through all time, protector of our lives, shield of our salvation. From one generation to the next we thank You and sing Your praises – for our lives that are in Your hands, for our souls that are under Your care, for Your miracles that accompany us each day, and for Your wonders and Your gifts that are with us each moment – evening, morning and noon. You are the One who is good, whose mercy is never-ending; the One who is compassionate, whose love is unceasing. We have always placed our hope in You. 

We usually refer to miracles during Chanukah, since we are reminded of them through the liturgy as well as the nun on the dreidel, which stands for nes, miracle. The author of the above text had the insight to recognize that we are enveloped in miracles every single day of our lives yet might lack the ability to recognize them readily. This simple text serves as a reminder that they are ever-present; it is our receptors that need fine tuning to perceive them. The birth of a baby is miraculous. Robotic surgery is miraculous. New medications continue to be created that cure disease. When we acknowledge that we are surrounded by miracles daily, we open ourselves up to the possibility that we might dare emulate God and participate in the creation of one. To achieve the godly is not impossible. May we all find moments this Thanksgiving to have Todah moments, both as a recipient and as a donor.