Beshalach, Be Grateful

The Torah reading that is recited in synagogues this Shabbat is parashat Beshalach. This lengthy narrative, taken from the Book of Shemot (Exodus) tracks the story of the Children of Israel as they head away from Egypt, are shielded from their pursuing former slave-masters, dramatically cross the Reed Sea, witness the destruction of the Egyptian host, sing a song of triumph that was subsequently incorporated into the daily Jewish prayer service, receive water from a rock and bread from Heaven, then survive, aided by Divine inspiration, a sudden and unexpected attack by the Amalekites.

The state of mind of the Children of Israel throughout is clearly described in the Torah. They were afraid, they were critical of Moses’ leadership, they complained. Only when they sang their shirah, their spontaneous anthem on the shore of the sea, did their mood of fear and anger lift: they praised God’s might, describing Him as a “Man of War”.  

There is one thing missing from the narrative in Beshalach: we find no explicit record of the Children of Israel saying “thank you” or employing any other verbal formula that expresses gratitude for what either God or their leaders had done for them.

Like this parashah, Pirkei Avot also contains no express guidance or advice to us that we should articulate our gratitude by saying “thank you”. But that does not mean that we should not do so. Ben Zoma (Avot 4:1) describes the person who is rich as one who rejoices in what he has, while the person who wants more, especially in terms of honour or material or bodily desires, is accounted as being in spiritual self-destruction mode (Avot 4:28). Being happy with one’s lot and accepting who one is are among the 48 things that go towards a person’s being able to acquire Torah. Saying “thank you” and feeling grateful towards God and fellow humans is a way in which one can comply with the advice that we should know what our lot is and be grateful for it.

Against that, we see that a failure to express gratitude is not enumerated among the seven signs that a person is a golem, not a chacham (i.e. an uncultivated person, not a wise one: Avot 5:8), and the status of someone who says “what’s mine is mine, what’s yours is yours”—a statement that we should all be content to accept our respective portions in life—is equivocal: this person is either perfectly ordinary or displays the qualities of Sodom (Avot 5:13).

The concept of gratitude is far from unknown in Jewish source materials. Examples of hakarat hatov (recognition of the good that one has received) can easily be found in Tanach and in Midrash. The same applied to the giving of thanks, particularly to God. This all makes me wonder why the need to feel and express one’s gratitude doesn’t get a mention in Avot. Could it be that this very human response to another’s action is so basic that it didn’t need to be spelled out? Or that the need for it is so well covered elsewhere that it would be superfluous to teach it here?

If anyone can provide this group with a good explanation or an insightful comment, I shall not only feel gratitude but will be happy to express it in writing!