להתבונן ולהודות על כל החסדים
To consider and thank for all the kindness
ּווֲחַּתְׁ שִּיַו םָעָה דֹּּקִּיַו(יב:כז)
And the people bowed and prostrated themselves. (12:27)
Rashi explains: And the people bowed – upon the tidings of the impending redemption, and coming into the Land of Israel, and the tidings of the sons which they would have.
Among the things that caused the people to bow and prostrate themselves, Rashi counts ‘the tidings of the sons’. Do we not already know that Israel increased out of the norm while in Egypt? We must understand from his expression that even the news of sons was similar to the other things to be grateful for that were counted together, and just as ‘the tidings of the impending redemption’ and ‘the tidings of coming into the Land of Israel’ came after hundreds of years of subjugation and anticipation of redemption, so it is with ‘the tidings of the sons’, after years of anticipating sons, therefore he saw fit to thank for this as well.
However, once we know that the reality was, in Egypt Israel merited giving birth to six babies at a time, it is not possible to explain that is the intent of his words, and also since we do not find any tidings like this in Moshe’s words.
Thus, we must say that the news of sons is not like the tidings of the other things that are counted with it. These tidings were for things that they did not merit before then, and the tidings of sons was only an ‘instruction’ of what to say to their sons when they think about the avodah of Pesach, and they will ask (12:26), 'מה העבודה הזאת' – ‘What is this service?’ In response, they will also remember the kindnesses that were done for them when they were redeemed, and they will see fit to thank for them as well.
This teaches us how to look at the kindnesses that the Creator Yisbarach has bestowed upon us, for in general, every person earns many kindnesses from heaven, but on the other hand, he is not complete in every way, everyone finds a hole within himself, that is, specific details that he is missing, and since these lapses bother him, sadness grips him, and he forgets the many kindnesses which are regularly bestowed upon him, and does not pay attention to thank for them. Even if ultimately the Creator Baruch Hu bestows upon the requests of his heart, he only thanks for the latest kindness that Hashem Yisbarach benefited him and filled in what he is missing. However, even then he does not pay attention to the many kindnesses that Hashem Yisbarach has benefited him until then, and even if he does thank it is only lip service, since he takes everything for granted and he does not pay attention to the abundance of good and how much he has to thank for.
However, if we pay attention to the ways of the ‘Generation of Knowledge’ we will learn from them how we must thank for those kindnesses that we take for granted. They were blessed with many children, but on the other hand they were oppressed by the terrible burden of slavery, and they very much yearned to be redeemed and live a life of freedom like every other nation and have a homeland. It is self-understood that once they were informed of this, they thanked from the depth of their hearts. However, then they remembered all the kindnesses that were bestowed on them until then and from this they also thanked for the children. They realized that this too was a great kindness and even greater than redemption for without children there would be no one left to remember.
These words are precisely in the language of Rashi, that he said, ‘upon the tidings of the impending redemption, and coming into the Land of Israel, and the tidings of the sons which they would have’. The words ‘which they would have’ describe the redemption and the land, for these have not yet been earned and were only promised them in the future. However, for the tidings of the sons it would have been more appropriate to say ‘that they had', unless we say that they are thanking for the sons just as they are thanking for the redemption and the land that they will have. Since for these they must thank from the depth of the heart, since they yearned for this very much, similarly they are thanking for the sons yet to come, even if they had already taken this kindness for granted, they would not skip over the gratitude, and certainly thank for the sons they already had.
Among the ‘Aggadic teachings’ we find a story that arouses amazement, and this is what our Chazal told us: A man was walking on the way and the walking was very difficult for him, and in his discomfort, he asked of Hashem Yisbarach to supply him with a donkey. And so, he was answered by heaven and a donkey appeared by him, but instead of serving its purpose of him riding on the donkey, he had to carry the donkey. Our Chazal teach from this that a person must be very specific with his request, for this man was not specific with his request that he wanted a donkey to ride on, he only mentioned that he wanted a donkey, therefore, although his Tefillah was answered, it did not serve his purpose.
When we think about this story, the question arises, since this man who did not get his purpose fulfilled, we can understand it was because he did not pray properly and did not phrase his request well enough. But in addition to this we see in this story that not only did he not get what he wanted he even suffered more because of this Tefillah. It added to his predicament for until now he could hardly carry himself and now he was forced to carry the donkey, and this is a great wonder, for what was the sin of this man that he did not beseech G-d with intellect to know how to request before his Creator, so why was he punished?
But if we consider it, we will see the answer from the punishment. Once this man was forced to carry the donkey, it shows that he was able to do it. That is, when he asked Hashem Yisbarach for a donkey to ride on, it was not because he had no hope of walking, for he was still able to exert himself. He only asked for a favor on top of a favor he already had, and he had no need to trouble himself. A Tefillah like this needs gratitude by itself! After all, by turning to Him, you are declaring that your goodness depends on the will of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and why then would you ignore the goodness He has already given you in the past? When you ask for something that does not need much effort in order to get what you need, why do you hide from the very strength that your Creator already gave you? This is a sign that you are ungrateful! If so, then not only do you not get additional favor, rather it is fitting that you lose some of the good that you already had, and now you will have to carry the burden upon you.
Hashem Yisbarach should help us to be smart enough to recognize His kindnesses and then Him for them, and in this merit may they increase upon us even more.
