A young man [avreich] relates that he lived an old house and had to renovate it a little. In order to save on the costs, he hired Arab workers himself and renovated the bathroom and the kitchen. Since it was an old building and there were unpleasant smells coming from the sinks, he decided to replace the plumbing as well. A short time later, a blockage was discovered in the apartment’s plumbing. At first, the young man wondered how it was possible, after all, all the plumbing is new. Having no choice, he hired a plumber who discovered there were stones inside the plumbing that the workers had thrown in to cause damage and distress to the landlord. The man was very surprised, “Why would they do that? I paid them handsomely, and even added ‘bakshish’ [a tip in Arabic] for them?!” After talking with some friends and neighbors, he realized there was nothing new here, and ingratitude was one of the virtues that our Arab cousins excel at.
Sarah Imeinu brought her maidservant into her house and gave her to Avraham Avinu so that he would have children from her, and what happened? 'ותרא כי הרתה ותקל גברתה בעיניה' – ‘and she saw that she had conceived, and her mistress became lighter in her eyes’ (16:4), she began to disparage her mistress, Sarai. Rashi explains, what her mindset that caused her to put her down? ‘She said, “This Sarah, she is not what she appears to be; she presents herself as if she were a righteous woman, but she is not a righteous woman, for she was not found worthy of pregnancy all these years, while I conceived from the first relations.”’ This is outrageous, who are you Hagar? A despicable Egyptian slave, and the whole reason Sarah brought you into her home is because she did not merit to have children. So, instead of showing gratitude to your mistress, you disrespect her? You already think that you are better and more important than her?!
Indeed, even today we need to know that gratitude is a basic thing, towards those close to us, but especially towards HaKadosh Baruch Hu for creating us and for all the good He gives us at every moment. When a Jew succeeds, he remembers Who did this all for him, and when it is hard for him, he knows that all that Hashem Yisbarach does – is for the good, and he continues to give thanks.
-Tiv HaTorah – Lech Lecha
