“She (Leah) conceived again, and bore a son and said, “This time I will give thanks to G-d”; therefore she called his name Judah” (Genesis 29:35)
“From the day that the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world there was no person that thanked the Holy One, blessed be He, until Leah came and thanked Him. For it is said: ‘This time I will give thanks to G-d.” (Talmud Berachos 7b)
How can the Talmud assert that Leah was the first person to give thanks to G-d, if the Torah already recorded Noah, Malchizedek king of Salem (Shem the son of Noah), and Eliezer the slave of Abraham as having thanked G-d? (Gen. 9:26, 14:20, 24:27)
Rashi explains that Leah knew Jacob would father twelve sons from four wives (with the assumption that each wife would bear three sons), so her first three sons were expected blessings; however the fourth son was a special gift, because she received more than her fair share. (See Sfas Emes who understands that Leah knew by way of prophesy, however Maharsha argues that the name giving was divinely inspired, despite her lack of prophesy) Accordingly, prior to Leah, thanksgiving was not a result of receiving an extra bestowal of goodness; it was an appreciation for a perceived just share. Therefore all previous praise was just a thank you blessing. Leah forged new ground by inaugurating a new level of thanks called “hoda’ah”. This entails giving something back to G-d. She accomplished this by naming her child Judah, a name which contains the Tetragamatron (the four letter name of G-d). Leah was emphasizing the dedication of Judah to the Almighty. In fact Judah counts among his descendants King David, King Solomon, and ultimately the Messiah, all paradigmatic devotees to G-d. This was the highest level of thanks possible. (Magid Taalumos, Beis Ginzei H-shem)
These two levels of thanks are indicated by the two mandated thanksgiving expressions, the thanksgiving blessing and the thanksgiving sacrificial offering. (See Rashi Leviticus 7:12, and Talmud Berachos 54b) There is lip service and the physical service. Although the Midrash maintains that all sin sacrifices will cease in the final days due to a lack of sin, the requirement to bring the thanksgiving offering will always remain in place. The requirement to express gratitude will never dissipate. When a baby is born the custom is to recite a thanksgiving blessing. The higher level of thanks occurs eight days later at the Bris according to the Zohar (Lech Lecha p.94b) who understands a Bris as an offering to G-d. Leah brought this new level into existence and we must perpetuate it.
There is an additional understanding of Leah’s novelty in thanksgiving. Rabbi Moshe Alshich (1508 - 1593, Safed), explains Psalm 32:7 as follows: The beginning of the verse states, “You are a shelter for me, from distress You preserve me”, meaning that people do not view the natural course of life as a miracle. They may realize G-d’s role in the natural course of things, but it is viewed as nature running its course. The second part of the verse reads, “With glad song of rescue you envelop me, Sela”, meaning that everything is essentially a miracle. The Talmud (Shabbos 32a) takes this principle to mean that whenever somebody ventures outdoors, they should be extremely thankful that they made it out alive! There are so many dangers lurking outdoors, and if not for G-d’s hidden miracles which are disguised as natural occurrences, nobody would survive. Rabbi Menachem Tzvi Taksin (Ohr Yekaros Berachos 7b) therefore explains that Leah was the first to recognize everyday nature as miracle. Many woman bore four children before Leah came around, but Leah was the first to acknowledge it as miracle from G-d. That type of thanks is true gratitude. The Talmud (Taanis 25b) relates how Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa’s wife had no oil remaining for Shabbos lamps, so he told her to light vinegar. He explained that the same G-d who makes the miracle of flammable oil could make vinegar flammable as well. She lit the vinegar and it remained lit throughout Shabbos. Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa internalized the reality that every fiber of existence only subsists through a miracle. For him there was no difference between oil and vinegar notwithstanding their chemical compositions.
We have just entered the month of Chanukah. We celebrate eight days of Chanukah because the priests found one jar of oil that is meant to last for only one day, yet it lasted for eight days. Why do we celebrate all eight days if only the last seven days were miraculous? There are many explanations (See sefer ner lemeah for one hundred answers!), however a number of commentaries explain that the last seven days commemorates the open miracle of the oil lasting longer than usual. The first day however, is celebrated as the miracle of oil being able to burn in the first place! Once we experienced the open miracle, we can now recognize the hidden miracle of the first day. Chanuka is the holiday of both open miracles and hidden miracles.
Leah taught us the message not to take any of our blessings for granted. The Jewish modus operandi is gratefulness. In fact our very identity as a “Jew” behooves us to remember this. For “Jew” is a derivative of “Yehudi”, the name that Leah gave to Judah; meaning that the very essence of a Jew is being grateful.
“From the day that the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world there was no person that thanked the Holy One, blessed be He, until Leah came and thanked Him. For it is said: ‘This time I will give thanks to G-d.” (Talmud Berachos 7b)
How can the Talmud assert that Leah was the first person to give thanks to G-d, if the Torah already recorded Noah, Malchizedek king of Salem (Shem the son of Noah), and Eliezer the slave of Abraham as having thanked G-d? (Gen. 9:26, 14:20, 24:27)
Rashi explains that Leah knew Jacob would father twelve sons from four wives (with the assumption that each wife would bear three sons), so her first three sons were expected blessings; however the fourth son was a special gift, because she received more than her fair share. (See Sfas Emes who understands that Leah knew by way of prophesy, however Maharsha argues that the name giving was divinely inspired, despite her lack of prophesy) Accordingly, prior to Leah, thanksgiving was not a result of receiving an extra bestowal of goodness; it was an appreciation for a perceived just share. Therefore all previous praise was just a thank you blessing. Leah forged new ground by inaugurating a new level of thanks called “hoda’ah”. This entails giving something back to G-d. She accomplished this by naming her child Judah, a name which contains the Tetragamatron (the four letter name of G-d). Leah was emphasizing the dedication of Judah to the Almighty. In fact Judah counts among his descendants King David, King Solomon, and ultimately the Messiah, all paradigmatic devotees to G-d. This was the highest level of thanks possible. (Magid Taalumos, Beis Ginzei H-shem)
These two levels of thanks are indicated by the two mandated thanksgiving expressions, the thanksgiving blessing and the thanksgiving sacrificial offering. (See Rashi Leviticus 7:12, and Talmud Berachos 54b) There is lip service and the physical service. Although the Midrash maintains that all sin sacrifices will cease in the final days due to a lack of sin, the requirement to bring the thanksgiving offering will always remain in place. The requirement to express gratitude will never dissipate. When a baby is born the custom is to recite a thanksgiving blessing. The higher level of thanks occurs eight days later at the Bris according to the Zohar (Lech Lecha p.94b) who understands a Bris as an offering to G-d. Leah brought this new level into existence and we must perpetuate it.
There is an additional understanding of Leah’s novelty in thanksgiving. Rabbi Moshe Alshich (1508 - 1593, Safed), explains Psalm 32:7 as follows: The beginning of the verse states, “You are a shelter for me, from distress You preserve me”, meaning that people do not view the natural course of life as a miracle. They may realize G-d’s role in the natural course of things, but it is viewed as nature running its course. The second part of the verse reads, “With glad song of rescue you envelop me, Sela”, meaning that everything is essentially a miracle. The Talmud (Shabbos 32a) takes this principle to mean that whenever somebody ventures outdoors, they should be extremely thankful that they made it out alive! There are so many dangers lurking outdoors, and if not for G-d’s hidden miracles which are disguised as natural occurrences, nobody would survive. Rabbi Menachem Tzvi Taksin (Ohr Yekaros Berachos 7b) therefore explains that Leah was the first to recognize everyday nature as miracle. Many woman bore four children before Leah came around, but Leah was the first to acknowledge it as miracle from G-d. That type of thanks is true gratitude. The Talmud (Taanis 25b) relates how Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa’s wife had no oil remaining for Shabbos lamps, so he told her to light vinegar. He explained that the same G-d who makes the miracle of flammable oil could make vinegar flammable as well. She lit the vinegar and it remained lit throughout Shabbos. Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa internalized the reality that every fiber of existence only subsists through a miracle. For him there was no difference between oil and vinegar notwithstanding their chemical compositions.
We have just entered the month of Chanukah. We celebrate eight days of Chanukah because the priests found one jar of oil that is meant to last for only one day, yet it lasted for eight days. Why do we celebrate all eight days if only the last seven days were miraculous? There are many explanations (See sefer ner lemeah for one hundred answers!), however a number of commentaries explain that the last seven days commemorates the open miracle of the oil lasting longer than usual. The first day however, is celebrated as the miracle of oil being able to burn in the first place! Once we experienced the open miracle, we can now recognize the hidden miracle of the first day. Chanuka is the holiday of both open miracles and hidden miracles.
Leah taught us the message not to take any of our blessings for granted. The Jewish modus operandi is gratefulness. In fact our very identity as a “Jew” behooves us to remember this. For “Jew” is a derivative of “Yehudi”, the name that Leah gave to Judah; meaning that the very essence of a Jew is being grateful.
