A song for Shabbat: It is good to praise the ETERNAL, to sing hymns to Your name, O Most High, to proclaim Your steadfast love at daybreak, Your faithfulness each night! (Psalm 92:1-3)
מִזְמ֥וֹר שִׁ֗יר לְי֣וֹם הַשַּׁבָּֽת׃ ט֗וֹב לְהֹד֥וֹת לַיהֹוָ֑ה וּלְזַמֵּ֖ר לְשִׁמְךָ֣ עֶלְיֽוֹן׃ לְהַגִּ֣יד בַּבֹּ֣קֶר חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ וֶ֝אֱמ֥וּנָתְךָ֗ בַּלֵּילֽוֹת׃
Psalm 92 is a weekly reminder to give thanks. Giving thanks, instructs the Psalmist, is good: every Shabbat to be sure but also, as verse 3 instructs, every morning and every evening.
Yesterday I shared research from Harvard Medical School from the field of positive psychology that demonstrates how gratitude can be beneficial to our mental and physical well-being. We’d be wise to ask: if gratitude can be so helpful to us, how can we learn to be more grateful? One idea that psychologists share is keeping a gratitude journal—writing down or sharing with loved ones our personal reflections about the gifts we receive each day.
As we prepare to welcome Shabbat, I invite you to do just that. Take a few moments before Shabbat comes to write down at least one gift that you experience today. Maybe it’s a phone call from a friend that reminds you just how important they are to you. Maybe it’s the strength you find today to go for a walk or exercise. Maybe it’s the ability you have to read or work or create. If we take the time to reflect, if we take a few moments to search, I’m sure that each of us can find at least one thing and probably many, many things for which we should be grateful. (And remember, when appropriate, to share those words of thanks with those you love—they’ll thank you for it!)
It’s good to give thanks—on Shabbat, every morning, and every evening as well.
Shabbat shalom,
— Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
