Introduction

Gratitude is a moral value of the first order. This principle is so basic that the Sages said (Berakhot 35a) that the Torah did not command us to recite berakhot over the things we enjoy because there was no need to command it; it is understood through simple reasoning that a person must give thanks for what he has received from his Creator.

To better understand the value of gratitude, let us begin with gratitude between one person and another. A person who knows how to appreciate his friends for the good they bestow upon him is a humble person, who recognizes that he is not the center of the world and that not everyone is obligated to help him and give him gifts. But it is not enough to feel gratitude in his heart; he must also express it in words of thanks, for in this way the love between the one who does the kindness and the one who receives it grows, and the desire of both to do good deeds is strengthened. In addition, a person who is accustomed to being grateful enjoys his world and is happy in it. He notices all the good things in his life; he does not take them for granted; he is amazed each time anew by all the small and great things that are done for him, and every little smile and kind word gladdens his heart.

The ingrate, however, sins through arrogance, as if he were the most important person and everyone else must be at his service. Besides his sin, he will also not be happy. He will always feel that he was not served properly, that he was not treated nicely enough. He also harms everyone around him, because he makes good people feel bad and despair of doing kindness.

The greatest thanks is due to the Creator of the world, who created the entire world in His goodness, with grace, kindness, and compassion. “Give thanks to God, for He is good – for His kindness endures forever.” Many people know that the world has a Creator, but as long as they do not thank Him for the good, they are not connected to faith itself. Without thanksgiving, the knowledge that God created the world is empty of content and lacks constructive meaning. Thanking God is the concrete expression of faith, and through it a person becomes accustomed to seeing the Divine kindness that constantly accompanies him. As a result, he can cleave to his Creator, walk in His ways, fulfill his supreme purpose, and perfect the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty. The Master of the Universe Himself taught us to see the goodness of the world, as it says at the conclusion of the account of Creation (Bereishit 1:31): “And God saw all that He had made, and found it very good.” From this we can rise to the good trait of thanking God and cleaving to His ways.

To a certain extent, the sin of Adam began with ingratitude. God gave Adam all the trees of the garden, and only from the Tree of Knowledge did He command him not to eat. Had Adam and Ḥava been grateful for all the good that God gave them, they would have merited to enjoy the world, the wonderful trees and the delicious fruits, and they would not have desired to eat from the Tree of Knowledge at all. But since they did not recognize the good, all the wonderful gifts they received came to be taken for granted, and they found no satisfaction in them. All that remained was a suppressed resentment: why were they forbidden to eat from the Tree of Knowledge? And when the serpent came to entice them, they fell and sinned. Even after the sin Adam continued to be ungrateful, saying (Bereishit 3:12): “The woman You put at my side – she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” Who knows? Perhaps had he confessed and said, “You, Lord my God, gave me a wife to rejoice with, and instead of thanking You, I sank into selfish thoughts, and as a result we went astray and sinned,” perhaps he would have been forgiven and not expelled from the Garden of Eden. It turns out, then, that by reciting berakhot with intent we rectify the sin of Adam.

In light of all this, we can understand why the Sages were so meticulous about the laws of berakhot, to the point that they instituted a special berakha for each type of enjoyment and were precise about the quantity that obligates a berakha aḥarona (final blessing), so that for each and every enjoyment thanks will be given to God in the finest and most fitting way.