How to Thank God
Offering of Thanks
וְכִֽי־תִזְבְּח֥וּ זֶֽבַח־תּוֹדָ֖ה לַֽהֹ’ לִרְצֹֽנְכֶ֖ם תִּזְבָּֽחוּ
And when you slaughter a thanksgiving offering to Hashem, you shall slaughter it so that it should be offered willingly.
Vayikra 22:29
The pasuk (verse) teaches about a Korban Todah, an offering brought by those obligated to thank God (Hashem) after recovering from an illness, being freed from prison, and crossing the sea or desert safely.
The Ksav Sofer, Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, makes the following observation:
וכי תזבחו זבח תודה לה׳ לרצונכם תזבחוהו, עיין הפלאה [פנים יפות] בפ׳ אחרי בפסוק וכי תזבח זבח שלמים עיי״ש, ונ״ל דהנה מי שנעשה לו נס וניצול מליסטים וכדומה יביא תודה על הטוב שגמלוהו, והנה אם גם כי שמח כי הצילו ה׳ מרעה שבאה עליו מ״מ אינו לרצון לאדם, כי הי׳ טוב לו יותר אם לא בא מעיקרא לידי סכנה ולא הי׳ צריך לנס וא״כ אין קרבן תודה לרצון לפני האדם. אבל באמת ישמח האדם ביסורים שעברו עליו כי לא על חנם באו עליו אם לא שחטא לפני ה’, ורק ע׳׳י רחמי וחסדי ה׳ ניצל, וא״כ גם ביסורים ישמח ויודה לה׳ כי הענישו בעולם הזה ונתכפרו עונותיו וכדמצינו בחז״ל ששמחו ביסורים, וכמו שאמר דוד המלך ע״ה תהלים צד,יב) אשרי הגבר אשר תיסרנו י-ה, וז״ש וכי תזבחו זבח תודה לרצונכם תזבחוהו שלא יהי׳ שלא לרצון כל עיקר הדבר שעי״ז תתחייבו תודה אלא לרצון יהי׳ לפניכם וכהנ״ל
When you offer a thanksgiving sacrifice, do so that it should be to your desire — See the Haflaah (Panim Yafos) to Parashas Acharei-Mos on the pasuk “when you offer a shelamim sacrifice.”1 It appears that one for whom a miracle was wrought — he was saved from thieves, for instance — must bring a thanksgiving offering for the goodness that was done to him. Now, granted that he is happy that Hashem has saved him from evil; but still, the situation is not fully to his satisfaction — for he would rather the danger not have come upon him in the first place, and then he would not have needed the miracle! Thus, the thanksgiving offering is never truly totally to one’s desire and liking. However, by saying that it should be desirable to us, the Torah is teaching that one should in fact be gladdened by the suffering that has come upon him, because it was not in vain; it means he has sinned before Hashem, and only by Hashem’s mercies was he saved. He should therefore be happy even for his suffering and should thank Hashem for punishing him in This World and atoning for his sins.
In this vein, we know that our Sages were happy with the suffering that came upon them, and as David HaMelech (King David) wrote (Tehillim 94:12), “Fortunate is the man whom You torment.” And this is what this pasuk means when it says that the thanksgiving sacrifice must be “to your satisfaction” — that your obligation to bring the sacrifice should not be undesirable to you in any way, but should rather be totally desirable.
I Never Asked for It in the First Place!
When a person offers thanks to Hashem for a miracle that he experienced, or after being rescued from a dangerous situation, in the back of his mind he may be thinking, “While I’m thankful for what Hashem has done for me, why did I have to be placed in this situation in the first place?” With that thought process, the person is essentially bringing the korban without the true ratzon (will) which the Torah requires of him; as the pasuk says, “It should be offered willingly.”
The Ksav Sofer continues to explain that Hashem may have brought the hardship upon the person as a way to offer him atonement in this world; through His mercy and kindness, He thus spared him from an even more challenging situation. Therefore, a person should rejoice in the suffering that has come his way and recognize its silver lining — namely, that it is to his ultimate advantage and benefit. Hashem has a master plan, and at times, we merit seeing only afterwards why things needed to work out the way they did. This is what the pasuk means when it commands to bring a korban of thanksgiving lirtzonchem, willingly; the korban should be brought with the understanding that encountering the dangerous situation in the first place was for our own benefit.
Rashi on this pasuk explains that the Torah warns of having improper thoughts when offering the Korban Todah:
לרצנכם תזבחו: תחלת זביחתכם הזהרו שתהא לרצון לכם
You shall slaughter it willingly — From the very beginning of your slaughtering, take care that it should be acceptable (to Hashem) for you (with proper intentions so it does not become pigul2).
Perhaps we can interpret Rashi’s words in a homiletic manner alluding to the Ksav Sofer’s idea. The word techilas, “from the very beginning,” can be understood as one should not think to himself that he would have been better off without needing the miracle in the first place but instead, recognize that “from the very beginning” of what took place it was necessary and for your own benefit. With that recognition, zvichaschem, one should bring “the slaughtering” so that it is a pure offering without any improper thought such as wishing that Hashem would have spared you the illness or prison sentence in the first place.
The Blessings Will Find You
This idea recalls the words of the Degel Machaneh Ephraim, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Ephraim of Sudilkov. In Parshas Ki Savo, he discusses Hashem’s promise that if we follow the Torah, He will provide us with blessing:
וּבָ֧אוּ עָלֶ֛יךָ כָּל־הַבְּרָכ֥וֹת הָאֵ֖לֶּה וְהִשִּׂיגֻ֑ךָ
And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you.
Devarim 28:2
The Degel Machaneh Ephraim explains:
ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה והשיגוך. צריך להבין זה שאין לו ביאור לכאורה היה ראוי לומר להיפך שהוא ישיג את הברכות ולא שהברכות ישיגו אותו אך דהענין הוא כמ״ש דהמע״ה אך טוב וחסד ירדפוני וכו’. והיינו כי לפעמים אדם בורח מן הטוב מחמת קוצר דעתו שאינו יודע אם הוא טוב ולכך התפלל דהמע״ה אך טוב וחסד ירדפוני שהם ירדפו אחרי וישיגו אותי אף שאיני יודע לרדוף אחריהם והוא שמרמז ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה והשיגוך והבן
And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you” — This pasuk appears to lack explanation, for it would have been more appropriate to state the opposite: “You will reach the blessings” and not “The blessings will reach you.” However, the point is similar to that which David HaMelech wrote (Tehillim 23:6), “Only good and kindness shall pursue me.” Since at times one runs away from the intended good because of his inability to recognize it, and therefore David HaMelech prayed that “good and kindness should pursue me and reach me even though I don’t know to run after them.” And this is what the pasuk here alludes to when it says, “And all these blessings will come upon
you and overtake you.
The Degel Machaneh Ephraim asks: The phrasing of the pasuk seems to be odd as it would have
been more proper to phrase the words “you will reach the blessings” instead of “the blessings will reach you”? We can also ask that if Hashem will give you blessings, why the need for the words “and overtake you”? Surely, someone who is on the receiving end will gladly accept blessings and there’s no need for it to overtake3 the person?
He answers that in truth, at times we run away from the good that Hashem grants us, not recognizing the hidden blessing awaiting us even when at first the opposite is perceived. We need to habituate ourselves to relinquish all control and believe that Hashem seeks to deliver only that which is in our best interest. The pasuk is teaching that the blessings will reach you even if you are refusing to accept them, thinking that they aren’t for your benefit. This is what David HaMelech alluded to when he said, אַךְ טוֹב וָחֶסֶד יִרְדְּפוּנִי כָּל יְמֵי חַיָּי וְשַׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית יְהוָה לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים. (Tehillim 23:6). David asked Hashem for good and kindness to run after him, so that even when he runs away from what he thinks is to his detriment, Hashem should allow the good and kindness to reach him — as He knows what’s truly best.
A Personal Thank You
Rabbi David Abudraham, in his commentary on the siddur, notes that we appoint a Shaliach Tzibbur (prayer leader) for all of Chazaras HaShatz (leader’s repetition of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer), from whom we listen to all the blessings and may thereby fulfill our obligation of Shemoneh Esrei. But one berachah (blessing) — that of Modim — requires those listening to respond with Modim D’Rabanan (prayer of thanks instituted by the rabbis); listening to the Shaliach Tzibbur alone will not suffice. Why is that? And in what way is Modim, or giving thanks to Hashem, different than all other parts of Shemoneh Esrei of which we rely on the one reciting out loud?
וכשיגיע ש״ץ למודים וכורע כל העם שוחין ואומרין הודאה קטנה המתחלת כמו כן במודים שאין דרך העבד להודות לרבו ולומר לו אדוני אתה על ידי שליח אלא כל אדם צריך לקבל בפיו עול מלכות שמים ואם יקבל על ידי שליח אינה קבלה גמורה שיוכל להכחיש ולומר לא שלחתיו. אבל בשאר התפלה שהיא בקשה יכול לתבוע צרכיו על ידי שליח שכל ויאמר לא שלחתיו וזהו שאמר דוד אמרתי לה׳ ה׳ אתה אני אדם חפץ בטובתו ולא יכחיש בעצמי אמרתי לו ולא על ידי שליח
And when the leader of the congregation reaches Modim and bows, the listeners bow and prostrate and respond with a small praise which also begins with the words Modim [Modim D’Rabanan]. This is because it is not proper for a servant to praise his master and say “you are my master” through a messenger; rather, each person needs to accept upon himself the yoke of heaven with his mouth. And if he accepts this upon himself through a messenger, it is not considered a complete acceptance since he can deny and argue that he never sent the messenger [with that message]. However, regarding other areas of tefillah that are requests, one may use an intermediary to ask for his needs, since everyone wants the best for himself and there is no fear that he will deny [having sent the messenger]. This is what David HaMelech said, “I said to Hashem, Hashem you are” (Tehillim 16:2) — I myself said this to Him and not by messenger.
Abudraham
The Abudraham explains that when it comes to giving thanks, appointing a shaliach (messenger) does not satisfy our obligation. One needs to show appreciation on his own with sincerity, lest he come to deny Hashem’s superiority.
Perhaps we can offer another reason for the need for an individual to say Modim without the Shaliach Tzibbur acting as an intermediary. According to the Ksav Sofer quoted above, we need to welcome the difficult situation God brings our way, recognizing that it is for our good even if it may seem at first to our detriment. Consequently, it is important that when giving thanks to Hashem, we do it on our own to ensure that it is completely “our will,” as the pasuk said: lirtzonchem. But if we use an intermediary, this would allow for the possibility that we continue to hope in our heart that Hashem would have never tested us in the first place. Offering thanks on our own will require one to remove those negative feelings and give thanks to God willingly, with complete gratitude and recognition that Hashem has our best interests in mind.
Parshas Emor | Excerpted from Torah V’nefesh – The Spirit of Torah by Rabbi Aaron Muller
- 1. This pasuk does not appear in Acharei-Mos, but rather elsewhere; in Acharei-Mos 17:5, it says ‘וְזָ֨בְח֜וּ זִבְחֵ֧י שְׁלָמִ֛ים לַֽה
- 2. Pigul occurs when one who brings the korban had in mind that it will be eaten after the proper time, or that the parts designated for burning will be burned after the proper time. In such a case, the korban may not be eaten.
- 3. Implying unwillingly.
