26 Mar PARSHAS TZAV: “HODA’AH” AND “THANK YOU!”

Double Entendre
in the Word
“Hoda’ah”
Among the
Korbanos mentioned
in this
week’s parsha is the Korban Todah.
The Medrash says that in the future all
the Korbanos will be nullified except
the Korban Todah — because there is
always a need to give thanks.
Rav Hutner z”tl, makes a very
interesting point. “Todah” [thanks]
comes from the word “Hoda’ah,”
meaning giving thanks. However, the
word “Hoda’ah” also means to admit
(as in the expression Hoda’as ba’al din
k’meah edim dami – an admission of a
litigant is like one hundred witnesses).
Rav Hutner says that it is no coincidence
that the word for thanking and the word
for admitting are one and the same. In

order for a person to give thanks, he
must be able to admit that he needed
help. The first step in being grateful to
someone for doing something for you is
the admission that you needed help and
that you are not all powerful. Therefore,
the Hebrew word for thanks and for
admission are the same.
How do we know whether an
occurrence of the word “Hoda’ah”
means admission or thanks? Rav Hutner
says that we need to look at the
preposition that comes after the word.
The word “Hoda’ah” — meaning
admission — is always followed by the
Hebrew preposition ‘”sheh…” [that].
The word “Hoda’ah” — meaning
thanks — is always followed by the
Hebrew word “al …” [for].
In davening, there is a Blessing
of Modim, called the Blessing of
“Hoda’ah”. How does it read? “Modim
anachnu lach sheh…” This indicates

that the first thing we must do is
not thank G-d, but admit
to G-d that we are dependent on
Him. Once we come to that
understanding, then we are ready
for the end of the blessing where
we say “Nodeh lecha… …al…”
— We thank You for… Birkas
HaHoda’ah is thus a two-stage
blessing. It begins with
a Hoda’ah of admission and then
climaxes with a Hoda’ah of
thanking at the end.
We Can’t Appoint an Agent to Say
‘Thank-You’
I recently saw a beautiful insight in the
Avudraham. When
the Chazan says Modim, the
congregation recites a prayer known as
“The Rabbis’ Modim”. Why is that? We
listen silently during most of the
repetition of Shmoneh Esrei. Why
is Modim different? The Avudraham

says that for all blessings in the Shmoneh
Esrei we can use the services of an
agent. ‘Heal Us’ and ‘Bless Us with a
Good Year’, and so forth have
messengers — the Shliach Tzibbur can
say the blessing for us. However, there
is one thing that nobody else can say for
us. We must say it for ourselves. That
one thing is “Thank You”. Hoda’ah needs
to come from ourselves. No one can be
our agent to say ‘Thank You’.