The two words we learn and are taught to say as early as we can speak are thank you. When a person says thank you, those two words have an impact in this world and also in the next.
In this world we are happy that we made another person smile and feel good, and we are happy that we received the help we did. In the next world we have a great reward for using those two words.
Hakarat Hatov – which means gratitude, is one of the biggest actions we can take to please Hashem.
G-d has everything and needs nothing. However, there is one thing G-d wants from us and that is gratitude. He wants us to appreciate all we have, and all He does for us. Gratitude is very highly regarded in heaven. G-d mentions to his children that we must even have gratitude to the Egyptians who enslaved us for so many years since they gave us food, as little as it was, and we had a place to sleep. This sounds absurd. They tortured us and we have to say thank you! Yes this is what Hashem is trying to pass onto us, the value of those two words and how powerful they are, to the receiver and to the giver.
This past week I attended a small event, organized by the big chesed foundation of Ezer Metzion. This event was an evening of appreciation, dedicated to all the care volunteers of Ezer Metzion in Jerusalem. There were about 150 people, men and women. There were a few speeches and they all spoke about how special each and every one in the room was and how without all the volunteers there would be no organization. This organization depends all on the people who choose to do that one extra act of giving and helping out someone else.
I am a fairly new comer to these regular volunteers and yet they made each and every one of us feel like a million dollars, and that the entire organization is depending on us, and people like us in the various departments.
Sometimes one can attend a grand event with lots of flashy lights, famous people, or lots of wealth and prestige. But I had never attended an event like this one. The impact of the thank you that I felt from people I didn’t know, was so powerful, I felt like I was flying on air. On one hand it was a small gathering, nothing fancy at all. A nice but simple table was set up with some hot food and salads for the people to enjoy. But beyond the physical things that one could see with their eyes, was what the spiritual eye, which wasn’t limited, could see.
The heavenly skies were opened wide. When I closed my eyes, I could see the flashy lights up in heaven, I could hear G-d calling all his angels to see this wonderful gathering, which is all about those two important words that mean so much to G-d. All those people who are simple and ordinary, without any fancy names or titles, are so special to G-d. He wanted all the angels to see what’s important and what counts so much up in heaven.
We all received a small gift down here in this world which was a hand vacuum for the car, and we also all received a big hug from the one and only Father of us all, the Almighty Himself. I could definitely feel that hug. There was no prideful energies in the room which could block out all that love and appreciation that I felt, also from Hashem.
No matter where you go and no matter what you are doing, don’t forget to say thank you. Don’t forget to look up at the heavens and see Hashem hugging us and clapping his hands with joy that we are showing appreciation and giving gratitude to those around us, for whatever they did to help us.
And when the world will be filled with thank yous, there will be no more room for evil or bad thoughts, since the whole world will be filled with gratitude.
May we merit G-d’s gifts and goodness in this world and in the world to come as well, Amen.
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