28 Mar PARASHAT TSAV: DOUBLE GRATITUDE

One of the sacrifices
discussed in Parashat
Sav is the Korban
Toda, or thanksgiving
offering. A person
who emerged safely
from certain dangerous
situations – illness, captivity, desert travel
or an overseas trip – was required to bring
this sacrifice to express his gratitude to
the Almighty for helping him survive the
perilous situation.
David Hamelech writes in the Book of
Tehillim (50:23) that G-d declares, “One
who offers a Toda gives Me honor.” In
formulating this verse, David employs an
unusual term – “Yechabedaneni” (“gives Me
honor”). According to the normal rules of
grammatical conjugation, this word should
read, “Yechabedani.” David, however, adds
an extra letter “Nun,” yielding the seemingly
peculiar term, “Yechabedaneni.”
It has been explained that David added an
extra “Nun” to allude to the double feelings
of gratitude that one should feel upon being
rescued from a dangerous situation. Firstly,
and far more obviously, one should feel
grateful for being saved. But in addition, one
must thank the Almighty for putting him in the
situation that required salvation. Upon being
cured from a serious illness, for example,
one might instinctively think, “Why did G-d
put me in this situation to begin with? Why
should I thank Him for rescuing me – He
was the one who brought the danger upon me
in the first place!” David therefore instructs
us that we must not only feel grateful, but
feel grateful on both accounts – for both the
original crisis, and for the salvation.
Why should we feel grateful to G-d for
putting us in a situation of crisis?
G-d loves each and every Jew like a parent
loves a child. Just as a parent will not do
anything to harm a child, similarly, G-d will
not do anything to harm us. He might punish
us, as a parent must occasionally punish a
child, but this, too, is done out of love and
concern – just as a parent punishes a child
out of love. In fact, G-d’s punishments are
even a greater expression of love than those
of parents. When a parent punishes, it might
be motivated by anger, frustration or anxiety,
and is not always purely out of concern for
the child. When G-d punishes us, however,
we can be certain that it is out of love, and for
no other reason.
We say in our prayer service before the
Shema recitation, “Ahabat Olam Ahabtanu”
– “You have loved us with eternal love.”
G-d’s love for Am Yisrael is eternal; it is
not dependent or contingent upon anything.
Anything He does that affects us must
therefore be attributed to His love for us.
Even if it seems harsh, it is undoubtedly for

our benefit.
For this reason, we must thank Him for
everything – both for the salvation, and for
the crisis that preceded it. Even if we cannot
understand how, the crisis was for our benefit

and in our best interests. We thus express
to G-d double gratitude – not only for
helping us get through the hard times,
but also for bringing the hard times upon

us in the first place.