Do you ever consider the various ways folks today choose to sign their e-mails? They’ve become so elaborate! Replete with multiple addresses, affiliations, and phone numbers, and embellished with florid fonts, rainbows of color, and a clever anecdote, one’s signature is often much longer than the body of the e-mail itself. Perhaps this is a way to compensate for an e-mail’s lack of feeling and personal contact.
Though I created one of these signatures with two fonts, two colors, and a facebook link to boot, I rarely let an e-mail go without a more personal closing. I worry about the feelings my signature will invoke, taking great pains to insure that my e-mail seems personable and caring. I even debate the choice of words for my closing. Should I say “L’shalom,” or “All the best,” or “Sincerely”? Oftentimes I end up closing with a “Thanks” or “Thank You” because other possible choices seem empty; but merely saying “thanks” feels insufficient as well.
This time of year gives me that same feeling. We celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving to commemorate the gathering of the Pilgrims who, grateful for surviving a cruel winter and thankful for their harvest, held a feast to offer thanks to God. I cannot begin to fathom what life must have been like for this group who were so dedicated to God and to their faith that they would risk their lives and the lives of their families to observe and practice it. Though I enjoy the holiday of Thanksgiving—preparing our favorite Southern foods, decorating with symbols of bounty and harvest, watching the Macy’s parade—I still feel somewhat shallow, almost guilty for enjoying such things. We sing “HaMotzi” and share things we are thankful for, but these words seem wholly inadequate. A prayer that attempts to give voice to our intangible gratitude to God has returned to our liturgy in Mishkan T'filah:
Ilu finu malei shirah kayam אִלּוּ פִֽינוּ מָלֵא שִׁירָה כַּיָּם...
ein anachnu maspikim l'hodot l'cha אֵין אֲנַֽחְנוּ מַסְפִּיקִים לְהוֹדוֹת לְךָ...
Were our mouths as full of song as the sea...still we could never thank You enough...
or bless Your name for a ten-thousandth of the myriads of times
that You granted goodness and favor to our ancestors and to us.
This prayer reminds me of a little child stretching its arms as wide as possible proclaiming, "I love you THIS MUCH!" This is the way I long to express my gratitude every day, for the blessings I enjoy every day, not just at Thanksgiving. As Joshua Heschel said, “Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.” May we all find a way to show our gratitude each and every day!
