A man was informed that he had won a grand lottery and was now wealthy, no longer needing to worry about his livelihood for the rest of his life. The man gathered his entire family and began to thank HaKadosh Baruch Hu for His abundant kindness. He naturally expressed gratitude for the good news he had just received, and then he started listing all the past goodness that Hashem Yisbarach had bestowed upon him. Likewise, he thanked Hashem Yisbarach for his wonderful family and for the good children with whom he had been blessed. Those around him were astonished and asked: “We understand why you are thanking HaKadosh Baruch Hu for all the kindness He has shown you from birth until today, but what do all these expressions of gratitude have to do with this particular moment?” The man replied: “Until now, I was always preoccupied with my livelihood and did not pay attention to all the goodness that the Creator Yisbarach grants me at every moment, nor to all the blessings that surround me, all of which come from Him. But now that I have received this good news and my mind has settled, I see and understand that even until now, I was filled with goodness and kindness from the Creator Yisbarach.”
Moses gathers the elders of Israel and conveys to them the commandment of the Creator to slaughter the Karban Pesach. He informs them that through the blood of the Karban Pesach, they will be saved from the plague of the firstborn. However, the commandment of the Karban Pesach will remain ‘לחק לך ולבניך עד עולם’ - ‘as a statute for you and your children forever,’ (12:24) and even when ‘תבואו אל הארץ אשר יתן ה ‘ לכם’ - ‘you come to the land that Hashem will give you.’ (12:25)
When the people of Israel heard these words, what did they do? ‘ויקד העם וישתחוו’ - ‘And the people bowed and prostrated themselves.’ (12:27) Rashi explains: ‘For the tidings of redemption, the coming to the land, and the tidings of the sons they would have.’
We must understand—this gratitude for the news of redemption is entirely understandable, as is the gratitude for entering the land. But gratitude for the tidings of children? What are they thanking for now? After all, they already had children until now, and even more than what is natural, as the women gave birth to six at a time! So what is this gratitude about?
The generation of knowledge teaches us a profound principle about gratitude. A person might think that he needs to give thanks only for a great lottery win or for rare and exciting news. But the truth is that one must express gratitude for everything, whether big or small, that happens to us every single day. As our Sages expounded: “For every single breath, one must praise the Almighty.” (Bereishis Rabbah 14:9)
