We have just concluded Thanksgiving and hopefully we took a moment to think about the blessings we have received. It is easy to overlook how many things we can be grateful for, particularly in trying times. Paying attention to the good things in life is called hakarat ha tov – literally recognizing the good. But it requires attention or we can miss it.
In this week’s Torah portion, Jacob lies down to sleep in a place that looks unremarkable to him. But in the morning, after a powerful dream, he realizes, “God was in this place, and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:16).
As our prayer book Mishkan Tefillah notes, “Entrances to holiness are everywhere. The possibility of ascent is all the time, even at unlikely times and in unlikely places. There is no place on earth without the Presence.” (MIshkan Tefillah, p 145).
God, goodness and blessings are everywhere around us if we are open to seeing them. Happy Thanksgiving.
Vayetzei, Genesis 28:10-32:3, Parshat Ha Shavua for Shabbat, Saturday, November 28, 2020
November 27, 2020 by Dean Kertesz •
We have just concluded Thanksgiving and hopefully we took a moment to think about the blessings we have received. It is easy to overlook how many things we can be grateful for, particularly in trying times. Paying attention to the good things in life is called hakarat ha tov – literally recognizing the good. But it requires attention or we can miss it.
In this week’s Torah portion, Jacob lies down to sleep in a place that looks unremarkable to him. But in the morning, after a powerful dream, he realizes, “God was in this place, and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:16).
As our prayer book Mishkan Tefillah notes, “Entrances to holiness are everywhere. The possibility of ascent is all the time, even at unlikely times and in unlikely places. There is no place on earth without the Presence.” (MIshkan Tefillah, p 145).
God, goodness and blessings are everywhere around us if we are open to seeing them. Happy Thanksgiving.