D'var Torah

Shabbat Shalom!

I’ve had a wonderful first few weeks here at TRS, and I’m so happy to have the chance to share some Torah with you. If we haven’t had the chance to meet in person yet, I hope we will soon.

In this week’s parasha, Eikev, Moses continues to address the Israelite people, instructing them to fulfill God’s commandments and to remember the events that have taken place over the past years while wandering in the desert. The Israelite people are finally getting ready to enter the land, and there’s a lot to recap!

In his speech, Moses describes the beautiful land the Israelites are about to enter. It’s a place with great abundance, especially of food, a place overflowing with wheat, barley, figs, pomegranates, olives, honey, and more. Moses reminds the people that for years in the desert, they had no such delicacies and relied solely on God to sustain themselves. Now that they’re entering this promised land with abundant food, Moses, perhaps, fears that they might forget about God. So, Moses reminds them:

וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַטֹּבָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לָֽךְ׃

 

When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to your God for the good land given to you. (Deut. 8:10)

While this is just one line in what will be chapters of Moses’ final speech to the Israelites, I think it is one of the most important, and one we can easily connect to and bring into our own hearts. How often do we get caught up in the busy day-to-day of our lives without taking a step back to express gratitude? While Moses is speaking of gratitude to God, we know that gratitude comes in different forms. We can express gratitude to God, but also to the people around us — family, friends, co-workers, and the people we may not even know well but interact with daily. All expressions of gratitude are valuable and can hold an important place in our lives.

So, this Shabbat, I invite each of us to find a moment for gratitude. Tell someone you’re thankful for them; perhaps they will do the same, creating a more thankful and joyful community.

With gratitude,
Cantor Sydney Michaeli