The patient tells the doctor after he took care of him from a potentially serious situation: Since we have become such close friends, I will not pay you. I don’t want to insult you by offering payment. But I want you to know, that as a sign of deep gratitude, I did put you in my will for after my death.
“That is so kind of you,” said the doctor. “But give me that prescription I just gave you; I’d like to make a little change in it.”
In our portion Vaeira the first plague, of the 10 plagues that befell Egypt the waters of Egypt turned into blood. In order to generate the miraculous event Moses’ staff struck the waters. Moses, however, did not strike the water. He was instructed by G-d that his brother Aaron should do the smiting.
Why could Moses not strike the water by himself? The sages tell us, that this was because as a three-month-old infant the waters of the Nile were Moses’ refuge as he was hidden in a reed basket from Pharaoh's soldiers who were drowning all Jewish male children. It would not be fitting for one who was saved by the water to strike it.
Let us think about it: Do water have feelings? Would they know the difference if they were struck and who was doing the striking? Yet Moses was still instructed by G-d not to strike them because they were “there for him” in his life.
This gives us an incredible lesson on the importance of gratitude. If we ought to show gratitude to water, how much more so to human beings who have been there for us in our lives. I want you to think of a person who has been there for you, Have you shown them gratitude? Did you say thank you?
Rabbi Eliyahu raised funds for his Yeshiva in England. He once visited one of England's wealthiest Jews. The man was known to contribute to any Yeshiva or Rabbi who asked. The man himself, however, was not the least bit observant. Other than his adoration of Rabbis and support of Yeshivot, the philanthropist had hardly a connection with anything Jewish.
Upon arriving at the opulent mansion, The Rabbi was greeted warmly, offered hot tea, and was shown to a place in the man's living room. The Rabbi decided to ask the question many people had: "I see that you are not an observant Jew. However, your magnanimity to Yeshivot, is remarkable. Tell me, please, why?"
The man settled back and began his tale. "My parents were very wealthy and equally very religious. I was very rebellious. These were the early years of the 20th century, between the Two World Wars, when many Jewish youth left the bosom of Judaism. My parents wanted me to go to the yeshiva of the famed Chofetz Chaim, in the Polish city of Radin. I was not in the least bit interested, but I agreed to take an examination. I failed with flying colors and was happy for that. But I had one request. It was getting late and I had to sleep over. I asked if I could sleep in the dormitory of the yeshiva for the evening. The Rabbi who had interviewed me did not know how to respond. “He thus consulted with the Chofetz Chaim what to do with me, in my presence.
"The Chofetz Chaim said to us both, 'a boy that cannot be in the dorm for a year cannot be there for a night. But that does not mean he cannot stay in my own home.'
"The Chofetz Chaim took me to his home. He fed me as if I was his child. He made a bed for me and made sure I went to sleep. A few hours later, in the middle of the night, I heard the door of the tiny room open. The old man was muttering. 'Oy, it's too cold in here.’ With that he took off his long rabbinic coat and put it on top of me and tucked it in.
“I left the next day and I never looked back. I left the path of Judaism completely. But I will tell you one thing: “That coat the old Rabbi placed on me during that chilly night, still gives me warmth!”
Yet there is something even deeper about this episode with Moses and the Nile. The Nile did not go out of its way in the slightest to do anything special for Moshe. It just did what it has been doing since the beginning of time.
And yet, even in such a situation, Moses felt compelled to give gratitude.
When someone gains something from someone else, the beneficiary has a responsibility to recognize the favor and show gratitude. The proof is the Nile River. It merely did what water does and yet Moses was eternally grateful to it.
We say thank you!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky