שוּעָ האוֹדְ ךָ כִ י עֲ נִ יתָ נִ י וַ תְ הִ י לִ י לִ י
I thank You Hashem for You answered me and became my salvation
My son attends a yeshiva in Brooklyn exclusively for boys with Down syndrome. Before sending him to that school, however, my wife and I took a little tour around the school to a get a feel for what it was like.
Entering one of the classrooms in which all the boys were Down syndrome, I was met by an energetic sixteen year old boy. “I have a Dvar Torah for you!” he said. “I’m all ears,” I replied, “go ahead.” “There is a Pasuk in Tehillim, ‘I thank You Hashem for You answered me and became my salvation.’ We repeat this Pasuk twice in Hallel. Do you know why we say it twice?” I didn’t want to tell him that I didn’t know the answer, so I said, “That’s a very good question!” “Well,” the boy continued, “I’ll tell you the answer!”
If someone came over to you and offered you an orange, what would you say? “Thank you.” But what if someone came over to you and offered you an iPod; what would you say? I’ll tell you what I would say? Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I would never stop saying thank you.
“Don’t you understand? That’s exactly what happened when Hashem took the Jewish people out of Egypt. He redeemed us and made us free people. Do you understand that leaving Egypt was like getting an iPod!” So what do we say to Hashem in return? Thank you, thank you, thank you. We can’t stop saying thank you!”
