This Time I Will Thank Hashem
When Leah Imeinu gave birth to her fourth son, she named him “Yehuda.” This name comes from the Hebrew word l’hodos, to give thanks. “This time I will thank Hashem,” Lea declared. (29:35).
Rashi explains Leah’s intention: She and Rachel knew that Yaakov was destined to father 12 sons, each of whom would go on to found one of the 12 holy tribes of Yisrael. This meant that as one of Yaakov’s four wives, Leah could expect three sons. Now that she gave birth to a fourth son, she received more than her share. For this she said, “this time, I will thank Hashem.”
The Sages (Brachos 7b) make a remarkable comment on Leah’s thanks: “From the creation of the world until Leah’s time, no one ever thanked Hashem.”
No one had ever thanked Hashem before Leah? She was the first person to thank Him? We know that Adam Harishon authored the chapter of Tehilim that begins: “It is good to thank Hashem…” (Bereishis Rabba 23:13). Malchi Tzedek thanked Hashem following Avraham’s victory over the foreign kings (Bereishis 14:20), and Avraham Avinu would regularly feed people and then instruct them to thank the One who spoke and the world came into existence (Sotah 10b). Why do the Sages say that Leah was the first to thank Hashem?
Rav Yerucham Levovitz answers, based on Chovos Halevavos (Avodas Elokim 6), that when a person receives special assistance from Hashem, this requires that he make an additional expression of thanks, over and above what is normal for him. Of course, Adam and Malchi Tzedek thanked Hashem, and Leah had done so before as well. Only now, Leah recognized that she had merited an extra form of divine assistance, and she therefore gave a greater expression of thanks, by giving a name that embodies the very concept of thanks–Yehuda.
This should be a rule for life: Whenever we merit special assistance from Hashem, this should elicit from us an outpouring of thanks to Hashem. The more unique the assistance, the more intense our thanks should be.
If so, asks Rav Shlomo Wolbe, how many times have we received extra divine assistance and not given Hashem thanks? Did we ever recover from an illness or surgery? Did we receive the job we were hoping for or get accepted into the yeshiva or seminary of our choice? If so, did we make a special expression of thanks to Hashem for that?
Particularly for those of us who are able to study Torah, no amount of thanks can suffice! And certainly those of us who merit to spend our days in the yeshiva!
Rav Moshe Sternbuch offers a different explanation of what made Leah’s thanks unique: Leah did not thank Hashem for this child alone. Her thanks for Yehuda aroused within her a deeper sense of gratitude for all the good she had received throughout her life. She thanked Hashem for having merited to marry Yaakov Avinu,
for meriting her first three sons, and felt that all that had happened to her throughout her life had come from Him.
Rav Chaim Friedlander notes that when we foster a sense of gratitude, making the effort to think about how Hashem has helped us, examining every detail as Leah did, our eyes become opened to a new world full of expressions of Hashem’s kindness. The more we develop in this way, the greater our love for Hashem becomes. Rav Friedlander sees this principle in our morning prayers, where we praise Hashem that we are able “to thank You and proclaim Your oneness with love.” Seeing Hashem’s oneness means recognizing that everything in the world comes directly from Him. If we resolve to make thanking Hashem a daily project, we will begin recognizing more and more of His kindness, and go on to greater love of Him.
Rav Dovid Hofstadter adds that Leah recognized that all the difficult times in her life had in fact brought her to this great moment. It was clear to her that her hardships — such as feeling hated by Yaakov — had fueled her heartfelt, tear-laden prayers, elevating her to a level of closeness to Hashem she would never have reached without this. When she thanked Hashem this time, she had in mind even the sufferings she had undergone.
This idea is supported by the names Leah gave her first three sons. Particularly “Shimon” — Hashem has heard my cries (Bereishis 29:33), and “Levi” — at last (after feeling secondary to Rachel) my husband will be with me (ibid, 34). These names still mentioned the sufferings of the past. With Yehuda, however, she gave a name that expressed only thanks, without a trace of sadness.
In Brachos (54a), the Sages instruct that “one must bless Hashem for the bad in the same way that he blesses Him for the good.” In his commentary on the Mishna, the Rambam writes that to accomplish this, we must always fortify ourselves in the knowledge that whatever Hashem does is for the best, and for our own good. We should never become angry if things are not “going our way.” Perhaps sooner, perhaps later, perhaps only in the next world, the time will come when we will see the good that came out of our present situation. Therefore, we should bless Hashem for it right now.
Once, a couple that had been childless for 9 years realized that if they did not take steps to lift themselves up out of their state of sadness, they would slip into depression. They resolved to make note of every good thing that happened to them, even though the pain of childlessness, particularly in a neighborhood full of children, made this a constant struggle.
The wife, in particular, resolved to keep a notebook on hand and record every good thing that happened. It was a painstaking process, but as the notebook began filling up, and then a second and a third notebook, she realized that the sense of anguish she had felt before was going away. She was even able to think to herself: “I’m sure that Hashem has a reason for why we are still childless, and it is surely a very good reason.”
More years went by, but the couple kept at their project, filling notebooks full of examples of Hashem’s kindness to them. They scheduled times when they reviewed together what they had written, as well. As time went on, the mood in the home become more and more cheerful. Five years later, they merited to have a son.
May we be zoche to thank Hashem for everything!