One Hundred Blessings

Jewish tradition provides that every Jew must say at least 100 blessings every day. That isn’t the maximum, but rather the minimum. 
A pious person would ordinarily say many more. For instance, there is a blessing that is recited in the morning to thank God for making one free, for opening the eyes of the blind, and that God gives strength to the weary. 
There is a blessing to say thank you for the many wonders of this world. There is a special blessing for when one witnesses lightning or sees a falling star when one admires lofty mountains or the great desert.
There is a blessing on hearing thunder, at the sight of the sea, on seeing beautiful trees and animals, on seeing a rainbow (one of my personal favorites), on meeting sages distinguished for their knowledge of God’s law, or wise people distinguished for secular knowledge.
The late Israeli S.Y. Agnon, a winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, said one of these traditional prayers when he met the King of Sweden in his court.
One also is bid to recite special prayers upon eating all kinds of fruits, upon taking a drink of wine or even water. It has been said, facetiously, that the Jew drinks wine, not so much because it makes him happy, but because it gives him an opportunity to thank God for creating the fruit of the vine.
The tendency to thank God for everything is a characteristic of all religions. The psalmists are prone to sing God’s praises. Thus, in Psalm 92, the psalmist says, “It is good to give thanks to God, and to sing praises unto Your name O most High—to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness every night.
Why this multiplicity of praise and thanksgiving? Is it to flatter God, to make God feel better, or perhaps to influence God to be more generous or gracious towards us? Hardly. Flattery does not affect God the way it affects most of us.
It is my belief that the purpose of these numerous expressions of praise and thanksgiving is to inspire us with a sense of wonder and awe at the miracles and the wonders of life.
Thus, three times a day, the Jew thanks God, “for Your wonders and Your miracles which are with us daily, evening, morning and noon.”
My teacher and beloved professor, the late Abraham Joshua Heschel has defined religion, not so much as a matter of ceremony and ritual, but rather as a sense of awe and wonder at the mystery and the beauty of God’s world.
In that sense, religion plays very much the same role as does poetry. It opens our eyes to the things that we would otherwise scarcely notice.
As we thank God for the wonders of life, we are reminded of them, and they fill our hearts with wonder and thanksgiving, perhaps the two most characteristic reactions of a truly religious human being.
There is yet another reason for these prayers of thanksgiving. When we are conscious of God’s goodness, we are much less likely to overlook the many opportunities which life offers us, not only to enjoy the blessings of God’s world ourselves but also to make it possible for others to enjoy them. This feeling is the natural outgrowth of the feeling of wonder and thanksgiving.
A truly religious person will never permit hunger in the midst of God’s abundance, illness in the midst of all the life-giving provisions for health and happiness which God has given us, and ignorance of God’s world despite our God-given faculties of learning, of reasoning and of memory.
A Jew recites a blessing praising God not merely when his heart is brimming with joy. Even in the presence of death the survivor stands as his garment is cut, and he glorifies God with the blessing: “Praised are You, Adonai  our God, Ruler of the Universe, who is the true Judge.”
How many blessings have you recited today?  Wishing you a life filled with blessings and reminding you each day to look for blessing opportunities. And don’t forget to count your blessings.
Wishing you blessings of shalom — peace.
Rabbi Isaacs is rabbi at Beth Judah Temple, Wildwood. He invites questions emailed to his website, www.rabbiron.com.