Ten Seconds of Gratitude

I am not shy about loving Thanksgiving!  There is something powerful in having a day reinforce the power and importance of gratitude, which is a core value of Judaism.

Many of us are familiar with Fred Rogers.  I admit I loved watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and even had one of those sweaters that he wore.  The man was a tzaddik, someone who positively impacted so many through his being our neighbor. 

In 1997, Fred Rogers received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy.  In his acceptance speech – which lasted just over a minute and a half, he provided a powerful model of gratitude and how easy and impactful it can be to spend just 10 seconds being thankful.  Here are his words:

Thank you.  Thank you.  Oh it’s a beautiful night in this neighborhood.  So many people have helped me to come to this night.  Some of you are here, some are far away, some are even in Heaven.

All of us have special ones who have loved us into being.  Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are.  Those who have cared about you and wanted what was best for you in life.  Ten seconds of silence. I’ll watch the time.

[10 Sec Pause]

Whomever you’ve been thinking about, how pleased they must be to know the difference you feel they’ve made. You know they’re the kind of people television does well to offer our world.  Special thanks to my family and friends, and to my co-workers in Public Broadcasting, Family Communications, and this Academy for encouraging me, allowing me, all these years to be your neighbor.  May God be with you.  Thank you very much.

It was a most impactful moment with a number of people in the audience tearing up.

We begin our days with "Modeh ani - I am thankful." Three times a day, we say "Modim anachnu lach - We are grateful to You."  Jews are yehudim, which means we have gratitude built into our very beings.  These days, we all have legitimate reasons to be upset.  Many lives have been upended, and many people have lost so much.  Nevertheless, there is always a reason to be grateful. 

Take ten seconds of silence for gratitude.  I'll watch the time...

And the Winner Is...

While we await the final results of the Presidential Election (and we may have a long time to wait), I’d like to share who will emerge victorious in this process.  This is not the winner on the ballot.  There is a clear winner who will emerge victorious from a process that has been full of anger, anxiety, and angst.

אֵיזֶהוּ גִבּוֹר, הַכּוֹבֵשׁ אֶת יִצְרוֹ

Who is a gibbor? One who controls his yeitzer.

Gibbor is usually translated as hero.  Yeitzer is usually translated as inclination.

I think we can interpret this expression to mean: Who is the winner?  One who can control one’s passion.  Or impatience.  Or rage.  Or hyper-partisanship.

I love a good election as much as the next guy.  The volume, however, has gotten out of hand.  I feel like the old, fuddy-duddy parents wishing their kids would just lower the music!

The 2020 election will be decided.  Some people will be happy.  Some people will be upset.  The winners will be those who can move forward with a positive attitude and a feeling that we are all in this together.

One of my favorite teachings is why we follow Beit Hillel instead of Beit Shammai.  The Talmud (Eruvin 13b) explains that Beit Hillel would study and teach both their opinion and that of Beit Shammai, and, moreover, they would teach the view of Beit Shammai before their own.

We should absolutely remain committed to our principles and our candidates.  We are winners when we remember there is another side.  We win when we tune out the noise and the anger and the disappointment.  We win when we want the best for ourselves and also for those with whom we disagree.  It worked for Beit Hillel, and it can work for us.

Mazal tov, winners!