In each of the first two books of the Torah we are introduced to the beginnings of the Jewish people. In the first book of Breishit, the focus is on the family, the three patriarchs and their families – the striving and the bickering within the families – with husbands and wives and between siblings. The second book of Shemot begins with the emergence of the Jewish people as an entity, their rise to greatness and their perceived threat and eventual expulsion from the land. It is a story of love and hate, jealousy and adoration. Breishit in essence deals with the beginnings of the family of the Jewish people, while the book of Shmot stresses the initial stages of the formation of the great nation of Israel.
The bridge between both books is the dramatic account of Joseph and his brothers; his rise to power and his innovations in the land of Egypt. Because of his efforts, Shmot begins with the surfacing of the Jewish people as a powerful nation, and finally “there arose a new king of Egypt who did not know of Joseph, or at least he pretended that he did not know, and the persecuting of the Jews leading to their final ouster from the land.
A dominant theme in the book of Shmot is the attention to the importance of hakarat hatov, recognizing the good. The Torah references times when Pharaoh did not recognize the good that Joseph had brought upon Egypt, while at the same time spotlighting the sensitivities of our teacher Moses in refusing to punish the Egyptians with the plagues of blood, frogs and lice, for the waters saved his life when he was cast onto the Nile as a baby, and the land rescued him by providing a place to bury the Egyptian that he slew, ultimately saving his life. This theme of hakarat hatov appears in other instances in this story and brings home the lesson of the importance of this attribute in a Jew’s daily life.
My wife Dvorah, in dealing with this theme, cited an added display of the reaction of Almighty G-d when one denies hakarat hatov which can be seen in the way G-d punishes Pharaoh.
Pharaoh denies Joseph’s existence. He rejects any good or benefit that the Jews of Egypt bequeathed his land. He snubs their existence. God’s response for this obvious lack of hakarat hatov is that the land of Egypt would be inundated with plagues, each a symbol of how Egypt would have appeared had Joseph not been there during the famine to save it.
The blood represents the lack of water; this leads to the frogs and amphibians inundating the land in search for water. As a consequence of the lack of water, lice befell the people. Wild animals then ascended upon the land, for there was no food to be found and they had no alternative but to seek their sustenance within the vulnerable population of humans. Further, when there is no food, the cattle and livestock die (Dever, pestilence). All these unsanitary conditions lead to boils (Sh’chin). Finally the hail and the Locusts destroy all the remaining food leaving the land barren and in darkness, ultimately leading to the death of children, the very future of Egypt’s existence.
G-d needed to show Pharaoh how his land would have looked had Joseph and all the Jews not been there. The result was desolation and emptiness; total destruction.
In essence, this is also the cycle of Jewish history throughout the ages. Despite contributions of the Jewish people, and their work to better society, they are often taken for granted and are not given the proper hakarat hatov, recognition of the good, that they so deserve.
One has only to look at the amount of discoveries in science and medicine, the arts and in education to appreciate the vital role that the Jews have played. Yet they are constantly ridiculed and blamed for all of the world’s troubles, very often becoming the scapegoats for societies.
This is the story of the book of Exodus. And this story is the basis for all the stories of the Jewish sojourn in world history.
In each land that we visit we grace it with our knowledge and drive. We improve their society. When finally we are chased out, often the land we sojourned in is left void and empty. One need only look at the land of Israel after the destruction of the second Beit Hamikdash. Only the Jews were able to eventually return in the late 1800’s and till the land and make it fruitful and beautiful; a land flowing with milk and honey. Until then, for 2,000 years the land lay barren, uninhabitable.
The message of the importance of hakarat hatov therefore becomes apparent. Its lack is a plague which also affects Jews as well. It stems from a feeling of entitlement and the wielding of power and influence.
How many of us thank the schools that our children attend? Do we compliment them when something nice happens in the school? How many of us acknowledge their teachers, the rabbis and the people who work so hard to keep the doors of the day school or yeshiva open? And yes, how many of us thank our parents, or the simple person who performs menial tasks like cleaning the bathrooms at the airport or in our offices? A simple Thank you would go a long way!
When my wife Dvorah and I travel, she always thanks the women who clean the bathrooms. The smiles on their faces after these words of thanks are self-evident. I often tip those people as a sign of my appreciation for their performing what is in the eyes of most people, a menial and a thankless job.
For a simple thank you would bring our redemption that much closer.