Shabbat Sermon: Gratitude Is Not Just a Feeling with Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz

Jon Levenson, a professor of Bible at Harvard, offers a rich hypothetical that I have shared with you before, and which I share again now because it goes to the heart of the meaning of the holiday of Thanksgiving.

Imagine you are driving to the airport on the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving.  It is  4:00, bumper to bumper traffic.  You are in the tunnel and, oh no, your car dies.  Just dies.  You turn on and off the ignition, you pray, you start sweating profusely.  People are honking, cursing at you.  It is already one of the heaviest traffic days of the year, and now it is even more jammed because your car is stuck.  You are stuck.  You have no idea what to do.  OK, you’ll call AAA.  You reach for your phone, but it is out of juice, it is one of those days, the honking gets louder and louder.  Help!!

Follow this link to view the sermon and watch the live streaming version on our website https://www.templeemanuel.com/rabbi/rabbi-wes-gardenswartz/gratitude-is-not-just-a-feeling/