Since the passing of my parents a bit over a year ago, I’ve been paying more attention to blessings.
Prayer has always been an important part of my life.
Indeed, the Hebrew verb for prayer, l’hitpallel, is less about asking God for things, but rather about engaging in soul-searching and self-evaluation.
Every morning, I realign my moral compass.
Rather than sending our hopes and wishes into the divine stratosphere, Jewish tradition suggests that we begin each day with a personal accounting.
The prefix to the word hitpallel—hit—is aligned with the idea of reflection. Otherwise stated, our prayers reflect back upon us.
“How am I today?” I often ask. “What do I want to focus on today—and how can I make an adjustment to make myself a better person?”
Understandably, there are many who have developed a “meh” attitude towards prayer:
“I keep asking God for this—but God doesn’t always respond.”
But that’s not how Jewish prayer is generally structured. Rather, we “send forth” hopes or dreams, and even our anxiety, and God then enters to fill that space.
Within the suite of 14 standard prayers, which launch the Jewish day, I have become increasingly fond of a few more obscure ones.
The first, praises the rooster:
“Thank you God for giving the rooster the understanding to distinguish between day and night.”
In most prayer books, the translator edits out the word rooster and replaces it with “giving the heart” the understanding to distinguish day and night.”
But in recent months, I’ve been returning to the rooster.
In a world where we can shop, watch and surf 24-hours-a-day, I pine for the days when television networks signed off at 1 am with a prayer and the national anthem.
How many of us write and respond to emails at 3 am?
Unfortunately, these days you can purchase an item while stopped at a red light.
What ever happened to “a time and a place for everything?”
The spiritual rooster within us understands the difference between day and night, darkness and light, goodness and evil, truth and deception.
Better to shut off the phone, computer, and Netflix for eight hours and greet the dawn with a unique and renewed spirit.
I’ve become a big fan of the rooster.
Another blessing I once glossed over has become more relevant to those of advancing years.
It thanks God for “fashioning the body with wisdom—creating openings, arteries, glands, and organs marvelous in structure.”
The prayer continues:
“Should but one of them fail to function by being blocked, it would be impossible to survive and serve you.”
Enough said.
But my favorite prayer is, perhaps, the simplest of all:
“Praised be you God, who has provided me with everything I need.” I think about that each morning.
We live in an increasingly “get more, want more” world, as if somehow we feel that more money, more time and more pleasure will lead us to ultimate happiness.
But the endless pursuit of money, time and pleasure is just that — endless.
To quote a colleague:
“We already have enough money, if only we learned to manage it better.
“We have enough time, if only we stopped wasting it.
“And we would have more pleasure, if we just stopped to recognize the love within ourselves and others.”
Prayer and blessing at the start of our day help move us away from the idea that “more is better.”
Over the years, I’ve spoken with many people, who devote a few moments each morning to thank God for things that are not found in any prayer book.
Those things often come to mind while driving to work, taking a shower, or savoring our morning coffee.
Here are some of those blessings:
“Thank you God for the ability to see color, to enjoy music, hot water, cold water, Cheerios, air conditioning, forks, my kitchen, rain, sunshine, hugs, laughter, medicine, footwear.
“And, most importantly, family, friends and community.”
Since the passing of my parents, and many within our community, as I count my blessings, I’ve been moved to express more gratitude for the small things that have become increasingly noticeable and important to me.
Most of all, my wife, children and grandchildren, my brother and his family, friends and congregants—each one unique and a blessing in God’s sight.
It is one reason I try to bless our children every Friday night with the words contained within this week’s parashah.
God asks Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelites with these ageless words:
May the LORD bless you and protect you!
May the LORD deal kindly and graciously with you!
May the LORD bestow favor upon you and grant you peace!
How wonderful it is to bless, and to feel blessed.
Within this 24-hour world, let us take a few moments — as we reboot each morning — to distinguish between light and darkness, good and evil, gratitude and complacency.
It raises a question almost every religion poses, as the rooster crows each morning:
“What kind of day will I choose to have today?”
And it can begin with just one thought and the recognition, especially at dawn, that we have everything we need.
My faith inspires me to believe that if I pose that question with gratitude, courage, and selflessness, God will meet me halfway.
In the words of my late mother, who believed in the goodness of everyone, “Whatever you wish for, I wish that for you.”
Shabbat shalom, v’kol tuv.
Rabbi Irwin Huberman