December 17, 2017 · 00:04:50
Tehilim: Chanukah Special, Seeing God in a Thank You Welcome to NachDaily, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, sharing words of chizuk and emunah as they relate to Tehilim, tefilah, and Chanukah. The days of Chanukah are days of hoda’ah- gratitude. We give thanks to Hashem for all He’s done for us both as a collective nation and as specific individuals. During the Haneros Halalu prayer immediately after lighting the menorah, we say that the eight days of Chanukah were established k’dey lahodos u’lahallel es Shimcha hagadol - to express gratitude and thanks to God’s great Name. Rebbe Nachman explains, in his sefer Lekutei Maran, that the more you give thanks to someone, the closer you are to that person. By recognizing and appreciating the goodness that person did for you, the closer the relationship becomes. When we give hoda’a to Hashem, the Master of the world, therefore, the closer we become to Him. The more you recognize Him, the more you can feel His Presence. Expressing your feelings of gratitude for all that God has done for you has the power to lift you up and allow you to feel a taste of the pleasure of Olam Haba, the World to Come. The more you thank Hashem, the closer you become to Him and His Divine light. Olam Haba is when we’ll truly recognize Hashem and bask in His Divine Splendor, feel the true pleasure of His goodness, and feel the healing rays of His Light. By thanking Hashem for everything therefore, no matter how small,