Faith

An open letter to the community about gratitude

RABBI IRWIN WIENER

Guest Writer

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1) Our communities, as have others around the world, experienced the most tragic event in our lives: The once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. A scourge that has affected everyone, both young and old, resulting in a feeling of hopelessness and despair.

Many tragedies have occurred in our journey. Sometimes we dwell on them more than the accomplishments we have achieved.

We forget the creativity and exploration that we share with all humanity. We dreamed and achieved unimaginable heights in reaching for a life of meaning. We also gained a better understanding of how God works, and how to realize that hardships can lead to fulfillment.

Hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens have perished. Millions of people around the world have perished as well. We watched in horror as friends and family disappeared from our circle and we wondered about our own mortality.

Now, it seems this nightmare is reaching the stage of defeat with the availability of vaccines that will eventually protect us from further tragedies. Now, perhaps we should consider a time when we can all join together to offer thanks to God for our survival.

It does not matter who we are or

where we came from. It does not matter if we appear different to each other. What does matter is that we are all children of God, and together we are surviving this nightmare.

During this upheaval we have forgotten the one thing that we all have in common – Gratitude.

True there are times when we have not felt so grateful, but truth be told, gratitude does not rest with a miraculous occurrence, but rather with the acceptance that we MUST set aside our differences and join together in acknowledging the ONE who gave us the ability to declare: “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

Perhaps we should consider a day to express our appreciation to God for our survival.

We can all gather in the ONE place

where gratitude is best expressed – our houses of worship.

The Prophet Isaiah declared: “My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.”

Matthew declared: ”My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.” One thought described by many understandings.

Let us all consider gathering together with one voice as we offer prayers of thanksgiving and redemption that brought us the opportunity to rejoice. Let us join in offering supplication to the ONE who brought us to this common understanding of collective gratitude.

Together we can marvel at the beauty of life, the greatness of our fortitude in reaching this milestone. Together we can sit in amazement as we visit with friends in the familiar surroundings of our spiritual enlightenment. Together we will understand that the sacrifices of this past year enabled us to appreciate what we have and what is yet to be.

Let us all venture together into the calm peace that is found in the one place that affords us the opportunity to speak without being heard, to accept without hesitation, to listen as our hearts express the true feelings of thankfulness.

As we gather in prayer and listen to the liturgical renditions it will be a reminder of our ability to persevere and “Sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the Earth.” (Psalm 96:1)

AMEN

Rabbi Irwin Wiener D.D. is the spiritual leader of the Sun Lakes Jewish Community.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” – (Psalm 107:1)