When Leah gave birth to and named her fourth son, the pasuk says: “And she became pregnant once more and she gave birth to a son and she said ‘This time I will thank Hashem’ therefore she called his name Yehudah...” [Bereishis 29:35]. The Gemara teaches [Kiddushin 7b] that Leah was the first person in the history of the world to thank the Almighty.
This is a very perplexing Gemara. How can this be? Noach emerged from the Teyva and offered sacrifices. Were they not offerings of thanksgiving? When Avraham Avinu “lifted up his hands to Kel Elyon” following his victory in the war between the 4 Kings and the 5 Kings, was that not thanks? What does the Gemara in Kidushin mean by saying that from the day G=d created His world there was no person who expressed thanksgiving to the Almighty until Leah did it upon the birth of her fourth son?
It is inconceivable that none of the patriarchs said “Hoda-ah” (thanksgiving to the Almighty)!
The Mir Mashgiach, Rav Yeruchem Levovitz, points out a very interesting insight into human behavior. If Reuven does Shimon a big favor and then Shimon says to Reuven, “I can’t thank you enough” and is very effusive with his thanks, Reuven may respond, “Think nothing of it.”
We look at this conversation and we think superficially “Reuven is a good guy and so is Shimon.” Shimon thanked Reuven profusely and Reuven said, “Think nothing of it!”
Rav Yeruchem teaches that both Reuven and Shimon have a hidden agenda here. Shimon does not want to be beholden to Reuven> Therefore, he thanks him profusely. He buys him Shabbos flowers. He sends him a candy basket. Why? Shimon wants to relieve himself of the duty to be beholden to Reuven for the favor he received from him. On the other hand, Reuven’s attitude is “This guy owes me big time.” So he tells Shimon, “Think nothing of it. Do not say another word!” Why? Reuven does not want Shimon to pay off his obligation to acknowledge the favor. Reuven wants Shimon to remember it every time he sees him. The hidden dynamics are that people who are indebted do not want to feel indebted and those who have done favors want to have those favors remembered forever. They want to remain in control of the person they helped. This is what often goes on in human relationships.
Certainly, Noach expressed thanksgiving and so did Avraham and the other Patriarchs. They each gave thanks. However, when Leah came and said, “This time I will thank Hashem...” and therefore something unprecedented occurred when Leah called her son Yehudah. By giving the boy a name that perpetuates the phenomenon of her need to Thank Hashem for him, she indicated that she never wanted to lose that sense of expressing gratitude to the Almighty. Every time she would address her son, she would bring to mind the great debt she owed to the Creator of the World for granting her this additional child.
Leah’s thank-you was not a onetime expression of thanks. It was the first ongoing constant expression of “thank-you” to G-d in the history of humankind.
