“If the only prayer you say throughout your life is “Thank You,” then that will be enough.”

• Elie Wiesel

“Whenever someone tells you that you’re supposed to hate the other - let your response be love. Only love.” 

• Rabbi Sarah Bassin 

“Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.”

• Mary Oliver 

“When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.”

- Abraham Joshua Heschel

Blessed God of our ancestors,

beginning the chain of work,

we give thanks:

For the portion of dough we take off the challah

before we bake it in order to sustain

high priests, artists and those who are in need;

For the seed and the earth and the rain

and the sun and the farmer and the picker

and the miller and the baker

and the trucker and the packager

and the store owner and the grocery checker

and the shopper and the cook

and the waiter and waitress

and those who will clean up after us,

for those who brought us this food that we bless together;

For the scientists and activists

and the teachers and the learners

and the new farmers and the leaders

who work to help us heal this earth, our home;

For all those who work to sustain us

For all those who work for sustainability.

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu

Melech Ha’olam Brucha at Shechina,

Ruach Ha’olam

Blessed One-ness,

HaMotzi Lechem Min HaEretz.

Amen

Thanksgiving Prayer by Rabbi Naomi Levy

For the laughter of the children,

For my own life breath,

For the abundance of food on this table,

For the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast,

For the roof over our heads,

The clothes on our backs,

For our health,

And our wealth of blessings,

For this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends,

For the freedom to pray these words

Without fear,

In any language,

In any faith,

In this great country,

Whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants.

Thank You, God, for giving us all these. Amen.

Our Jewish tradition invites us to find moments of gratitude everywhere. From the mundane but powerful experiences of eating and of waking up each morning, to witnessing the wonders of nature, reaching milestones and surviving difficult moments - there’s a Jewish way to reflect.

The following clips are sourced from: My Jewish Learning, Reform Judaism, and Sefaria (compiled)

Some people find writing what they are grateful for in a journal helps them to be more mindful of where they can express their thanks in their daily lives. 

Here are a few questions to get you started:

• What is one simple joy or pleasure you have experienced in the past week? 
• Who is a person in your life that you are grateful for?
• What is something you are proud of? 
• Look out your door or window, what in nature makes you smile? 
• What is a tradition that has been supportive for you?

had you-i been given but seconds
in this unreal reality,
and the ten-thousand things not made themselves
known to me-you, daiyenu,

had the ten-thousand things made themselves
known to me-you, and your-my blood not thudded
circuitously, stubbornly, daiyenu,

had your-my blood thudded
circuitously, stubbornly,
and these atoms not stayed gathered
into matter as me-you, daiyenu,

had these atoms stayed gathered into matter
as me-you, and you-i not been born
earthly entity, daiyenu,

had you-i been born earthly entity, and these lungs
not breathed me-you, daiyenu,

had these lungs breathed me-you,
and you-i not strengthened
from struggling, daiyenu,

had you-i strengthened from struggling, and the
time-space web not caught me-you, daiyenu,

had the time-space web caught me-you,
and you-i not made manifest
believed-in possibility, daiyenu,

had you-i made manifest
believed-in possibility, and never felt faith
inside me-you, daiyenu,

had you-i felt faith inside me-you,
and not lost ego-identity, daiyenu,

had you-i lost ego-identity, and not detached from a
conceptually separate me-you, daiyenu,

had you-i detached from a
conceptually separate me-you,
and never found inner tranquility, daiyenu,

had you-i found inner tranquility, and never let
angel-death tongue-kiss me-you, daiyenu,

had you-i let angel-death tongue-kiss me-you, and
not answered with reciprocity, daiyenu,

had you-i answered with reciprocity,
and not still vibrated energy for eternity,
had you-i been given but seconds in this unreal
reality, had it all been arbitrary,
had it all been but a word,

a breath,
a blink,
a touch,
a grace,
a pulse,
a truth,
daiyenu,
daiyenu,
Daiyenu.

There is an eternal essence that persists in time and space —

and this is our prayer to make it part of our awareness 

by affirming its persistence and pledging ourselves 

to act to advance the promise it holds of a better world; 

may it be soon and in our days. Amen.

Let the great essence be blessed through all our actions!

Whether it be blessed or praised or honored or exalted, 

we affirm that it is far beyond any expression which we use to describe it — 

prayer or song, prose or poem — and we say: Amen

We express our hopes for peace and for life upon us and upon all people. Amen.

May the harmony we experience as we gaze toward heaven 

be reflected in a harmony between all who dwell on the planet: 

Israelite, Ishmaelite, and all creatures upon this holy earth, and we say: Amen.

-by Rabbi David Cooper

Clip source: The Shomer Collective