{"id":45175,"date":"2018-10-05T00:02:33","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T06:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=45175"},"modified":"2018-10-05T00:02:33","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T06:02:33","slug":"off-the-pulpit-thanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/off-the-pulpit-thanks\/","title":{"rendered":"Off the Pulpit: Thanks"},"content":{"rendered":"

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE<\/p>\n

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Kipling wrote back, \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first words tradition asks us to say in the morning are words of gratitude \u2013 modeh ani. We should be grateful for the privilege of each new day that we are able to experience the variety and wonder of this life. If we have eaten, we should be grateful. If we can see the sky, or hear the birds, or greet a friend, we should be grateful. There have always been things wrong in people\u2019s lives, and there is much that needs changing. But to wish for what might be is not to slight the blessing of what is. Modeh Ani, how grateful I am for the sacrifices of those before me, the goodness of those around me, and the God who makes possible the astounding richness of our world. <\/em><\/p>\n

(Rabbi David Wolpe is the senior rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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