Give Thanks for ‘Ordinary’ Blessings

For the first time in my entire life I got to spend the Jewish High Holy days with the Beth Judah congregation in Wildwood, the only synagogue in Cape May County. I enjoyed leading them in song and prayer and found the entire experience spiritually exhilarating. 
I also enjoyed spending time on the Jersey shore, and loved taking a leisurely walk along the boardwalk, feeling the soothing ocean breeze. During the summers in contrast to the shore I spend much of my time enjoying the natural beauty of the Poconos Mountains. This summer at my summer home I was awed by the amazing flight of the hummingbirds that regularly visited my feeder. Surely they are among God’s most wondrous creatures. On one of the clear nights I witnessed the meteor shows putting on a spectacular show.    
These experiences brought to mind Moses, one of the great Bible heroes, who was a simple shepherd boy by profession. You might recall (especially if you saw the “Ten Commandments” movie) the story of Moses seeing a burning bush that was not consumed while he was tending to his flock.
As he stared at this awesome sight, God spoke to him for the first time. Bible commentators usually explain that God used the bush as a way of attracting Moses’ attention. But suppose that you were God and could do anything you wanted, split an ocean, make the sun stand still or set up a pillar of fire. Compared to such spectacular displays, a burning bush is rather unimpressive. So why did God choose such a modest miracle?
Perhaps the bush wasn’t a miracle but a test. God wanted to determine whether Moses would be able to see the mystery in something as ordinary as a tiny bush on fire. Moses had to watch the flames long enough to realize that the branches were not being consumed and that something very special was happening. And once God saw that Moses could pay real attention, God spoke to him.
I have a very special ritual that I use to pay attention. I look for opportunities to say a blessing of praise to God in order to show my appreciation for something that I experience.
In Judaism, blessings begin with the words “Praised are You, God.” Saying a blessing can help change an experience significantly and often works to spiritualize it.
Here’s a story by Seymour Rossel that will help you better understand:
Once a boy who just finished eating lunch turned to his mother and said, “Thank you very much.” But his mother said, “You should not thank me alone, for I only prepared the food. The boy wondered, “Whom should I thank?
“He went to the grocery store and saw the grocer and saw the “Thank you, Mr. Grocer, for the fine bread that I ate.” “Oh said the grocer, you should not thank me alone. I only sell the bread, but did not bake it.”
So the boy went to the bakery and said to the baker, “I want to thank you for the wonderful bread that you bake.” The baker laughed and said, “I bake the bread but it is good because the flour is good. And the flour comes from the miller who grinds it.”  “Then I will thank the miller,” said the boy and he turned to leave.
“But the miller only grinds the wheat,” the baker said. “It is the farmer that grows the grain to make good bread.” So the boy went off in search of the farmer. He finally found the farmer and said to him: “I
want to thank you for the bread that I eat every day.” But the farmer said, “Do not thank me alone. I only plant the seed, tend the field and harvest the grain. It is sunshine and good rain and rich earth that makes
the wheat so good.” “But who is left to thank?” asked the boy, and he was very tired and hungry again, for he had walked a long way.
The farmer said: “Come inside and eat with my family and then you will feel better.” So the boy went into the farmhouse with the farmer and sat down to eat with the farmer’s family. Each person took a piece of bread and said: “Praised are You, Lord our God, Who brings bread out of the earth.”
And then the boy discovered that it was God whom he had forgotten to thank. 
I hope you will take more time to pay attention and look for blessing opportunities. In doing so you will experience many more spiritual moments, and uncover some of the wonders of our seemingly ordinary world. Don’t take life for granted. Life is too short to be missed. Don’t let the world pass you by. 
(The author is Interim Rabbi of Beth Judah Temple, Wildwood.)