You’ll read these words just before Giving Tuesday, the bottom side of that sandwich topped by Thanksgiving and filled with the days of indulgent consumerism termed Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday is the slice of bread that balances the richness, redirecting our attention from material acquisition toward generosity and community responsibility.
You might not be aware that Giving Tuesday originated in 2012 at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan before becoming a global phenomenon. That should come as no surprise, because at its core, Judaism calls its adherents to action. Our tradition teaches that deeds (Mitzvot) are placed on a higher level than beliefs — acts over faith, rather than faith over acts.
I’m struck by the words of Abraham Joshua Heschel who said: “Gratefulness is not a passive state. It is an active response…gratitude is a form of living, an energy to live in such a way that our life becomes a gift to God in return.” [i] His words are echoed beautifully by the brilliant scholar Nechama Leibowitz who wrote: “The command to bless after eating is not merely about thanking God for the food. It teaches us that awareness of what we have received must be expressed in deeds — in loyalty to God’s covenant and in moral conduct toward others.” [ii]
Gratitude is widely recognized as a core virtue. We teach our children to say “thank you” when a kindness is extended to them. Perhaps you even gathered around your own Thanksgiving table and invited your guests to reflect on their own gratitude. One of our central prayers in every worship service begins Modim anachunu lach Adonai Eloheinu – we are grateful to you, Adonai our God. Recognizing the gifts of our lives, the world’s goodness, our families, health, and wellbeing, we pause to acknowledge that so much of it is a gift of grace — given freely, without our having earned it. Even our personal accomplishments usually rest upon foundations provided by others.
The wisdom of Jewish tradition, elevated to international prominence by the 92nd Street Y’s Giving Tuesday, teaches that gratitude alone is incomplete. Gratitude must lead to action. Giving thanks for the world’s abundance must be coupled directly, without hesitation or equivocation, with the giving of gifts back to the world. The great sage, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, made that idea abundantly clear in his own writings: “Thankfulness leads to responsibility. If what we have is given to us, we must use it to make the world better for others.”
Where and how will you show your gratitude from this Thanksgiving to the next? Will you give the gifts of your hands through volunteer service? Will you help sustain others by supporting organizations that care for those in need? Will you teach your children and grandchildren to be grateful by involving them in acts of charitable giving? We take that responsibility seriously at Wise through our Center for Tikkun Olam and place before you opportunities to express your gratitude with action. I hope you will join me and so many others as we turn our gratitude into action.
[i] Heschel, Abraham Joshua. God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism. Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1955.
[ii] Leibowitz, Nehama. Studies in Devarim (Deuteronomy): In the Context of Ancient and Modern Jewish Bible Commentary. Translated and adapted from the Hebrew by Aryeh Newman. Jerusalem: World Zionist Organization, Department for Torah Education and Culture, [1980 or 1982].