Q:
There is a statement in the seforim that even for one gift from Hashem we must serve Him forever. Why is this is so?
A:
So we’ll take a real example so that it shouldn’t be an abstraction. The possuk (Tehillim 150:6) says כל הנשמה תהלל י-ה – Every neshama should praise Hashem. So the medrash (Bereishis Rabbah 19:4) says that the word neshama here means a breath, like neshima, and the possuk is saying that על כל נשימה ונשימה תהלל י-ה – for every breath you take have to praise Hashem.
I was once in Slabodka when this was being spoken about and one of my rebbis zichrono livracha said, “Think about how many breaths we took since we were born. And you have to say Hallel for each one so you see we are behind in Hallels. We owe Hashem a lot of Hallels yet.”
So you’ll say why is this so? Let’s suppose a man needed that one breath and he couldn’t take it. As I illustrated many times here – it’s an experiment anybody can carry out at home. Take a bucket full of water and put your head into it and keep it there for about for three minutes. And then after a few minutes, before you pull up your head, think how good it would be just to breathe one breath – don’t breathe under the water though. Then you pull your head out. Ahhh! That’s a pleasure! A real taanug!
So for every breath you owe a Hallel because each breath is really that. It’s only because you have so many breaths so they become cheap to you and therefore you begin ignoring them.
And every one of Hakodosh Boruch Hu’s gifts, everything that He gives you is essential to you only you don’t realize it. Let’s say, suppose you walk out into the street one bright morning and as you are on your way to the subway you discover that one shoelace is ripped. Now the shoelace is ripped so the shoe starts becoming loose and you have to walk very slowly because if you run across the street you will leave your shoe in the street. So now you’re limping and you’re thinking, “Where can I get a shoelace?” You see big stores on the street but nobody sells shoelaces. Fruit stores, stores that sell radios, videos, everything, but you want a shoelace. “Oh, I’d give everything now for one shoelace!” That’s how important a shoelace is. It’s only because it’s so cheap to us we don’t recognize the blessings of Hashem.
And everything in the world is like that. It’s because it’s available that we disregard it.
But if we didn’t have it then we would realize how necessary it is for our existence. And therefore when Hakodosh Boruch Hu gives anything, it’s not just gomel chassodim, that He’s giving kindness – He’s gomel chassodim tovim! He’s giving good kindliness. It’s only because we are obtuse, because we are spoiled from habit and ingratitude, that we fail to notice them. And therefore for every benefit a person should practice feeling gratitude without end.
TAPE # 511
