by Rabbi Avi Billet
The second to last blessing of Shmoneh Esrei, which begins with the word מודים and concludes with the blessing of בא"י הטוב שמך ולך נאה להודות, is known as the ברכת הודאה, a term which can arguably mean a. the blessing of thanksgiving, or b. the blessing of acknowledgment. (Tehillim chapter 100 is often referred to as a “Psalm of thanksgiving” – it concludes with the words that translate to mean “For Hashem is good, His loving-kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness is for all generations.”)
We begin our communication with the Almighty every day with the words מודה אני – which can also mean either “I give thanks to You” or “I acknowledge before You” that You have restored my soul to me in compassion…
This duality can help us understand the strange reality of the name Leah gives to her 4th son – יהודה/Yehuda.
Leah names Reuven and Shimon (29:32-33), then there is a subtle change in the text when it comes to the naming of Levi, whereby Leah explains her feelings, but “he called him Levi” presumably indicates that either Yaakov (Midrash Sechel Tov, Rashbam, Radak, Chizkuni, Netziv), the angel Gavriel (Rashi), or God Himself (Hadar Zekenim, Rabbenu Bachaye) called him Levi. Then it resumes with her naming Yehuda, “This time let me praise (odeh) God.”
Why does she wait until her 4th child is born to praise, acknowledge, or give thanks to God? What follows are explanations and insights from an array of classic commentaries. Bear in mind the dual-notion of her giving thanks, as well as acknowledging God’s role.
The Midrash notes in several places that Leah and Rachel knew Yaakov would have 4 wives and 12 sons. Simple math has each woman giving birth to 3 children – making all things even and fair. Her having a 4th son indicates she is having more than her presumed share (see also Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Radak, etc).
Targum Yonatan gives a further credit of divine inspiration to Leah through having her note her awareness that from this son will come the line of kings, especially King David who will bring the thanks to and praise of God to a whole new level, through the many passages in Tehillim which do exactly that!
Rabbi Chaim Paltiel compares Leah’s experience to that of a Kohen who receives his Terumah and Maaser (sanctified foods) without saying thanks, because he is merely receiving what is his due, and then says thanks when he receives unsanctified food. Along the lines of the Midrashic idea noted above, she was expected to have 3 sons, as that was her due in being one of Yaakov’s 4 wives – acknowledging with a thanks would have been out of place, as that was her presumed destiny. Once she was blessed with a child she wasn’t expecting, or perhaps didn’t even think she deserved, it was proper to give thanks to the Almighty.
Hadar Zekenim (an anthology of Tosafists) further adds to her divine inspiration of seeing that Datan and Aviram would come from Reuven, Zimri would come from Shimon, Korach would come from Levi… but Yehuda would not have such descendants causing trouble in the Torah. On the contrary, Yehuda himself would himself “acknowledge” his role with Tamar, thereby saving her and saving her twins, one of whom would become the ancestor of King David. (R Chaim Paltiel – see above – and Daat Zekenim also quotes this) (Another thought is that Kingship has 30 qualities – and “יהודה = 30” in numerical value/gematria.)
R Meir Simcha goes in a different direction, noting that there is no blessing for the ability to see, hear, or express emotion. (There are blessings for encounters – such as the ocean, beautiful mountains, lightning – but they are not specific to the ability to see.) There is a blessing for the feeling of ריח – as implied from the last verse in Tehillm 150:6 – a blessing over something from which the soul, but not the body, derives benefit. Note how Leah names Reuven based on sight, Shimon based on hearing, Levi based on emotion (her husband will now want to be with her) – which are the senses that don’t have a bracha! Yehuda is named based on ריח, which is proven based on a verse in Yeshayahu 11:3 that references the branches of Yishai (David’s father), “His spirit will be animated by fear of Hashem…” (Meshech Chokhmah)
On a relatively simple level of divine inspiration, Netziv suggests she named him seeing he’d be worthy of the name, because people would acknowledge his strength and wisdom!
Seforno notes that this name has been around before (יהודית – 26:34), and is a combination of thanks united with one of God’s names. (see also the name עמיהוד – Bamidbar 34:20). This explanation is expanded upon by Alshikh.
Alshikh’s explanation goes back to the name of Levi – noting that Leah said ילוה אישי אלי – my husband will be drawn to me - that she either intended to name her son ילוה or לויה, because other than the letter ל, it contains the letters that make up God’s name. (In God’s name, the ה appears twice, with the other letters being י and ו). She wanted to acknowledge God in that way, but it was ill-timed, because, unbeknownst to her, she was going to have the 4th son! This is why there was intervention (as noted above in the differences of opinion regarding who named Levi) and she did not name Levi. When Yehuda was born, and everything that has been noted until now about Yehuda became clear to her, it became more than appropriate to give him the full name of God, altered with a letter ד, which indicates both an acknowledgement of the foresight in her not having named לוי with the wrong name, as well as her thanks specifically for the 4 (numerical value of the letter ד) sons.
I recall a story told of a certain Chassidic rebbe, which actually took place when he was a child. People found him randomly dancing! When they asked him why, he said “We haven’t had much food in the house for the last 3 days. I am very hungry. I wanted to tell God how angry I am at Him! But when I realized I didn’t thank God properly for the many years when things were fine, I figured I should do that first. Only after I’ve expressed my gratitude of ten years through dance and song will I tell him how angry I am over the last three days.”
We don’t need to make calculations as Leah made to figure what is our due and when we ought to acknowledge God’s goodness and kindnesses, or specifically thank Him.
Thanksgiving is a yearly reminder of our need to truly thank God daily, and to acknowledge His role in our lives and existence, as we say in the blessing of "מודים" - we praise Him evening, morning, and afternoon (ערב בבקר וצהרים) – day in and day out.
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