Seeing the Good

An Introductory Note from Rabbi Andrea Goldstein: I conceived of this practice to cultivate gratitude after listening to numerous interviews with Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin (z”l). In these interviews, Goldberg-Polin described her first act after awakening each day of reciting the words of Modah Ani, Judaism’s prayer of gratitude. In Hebrew, the idiomatic expression for gratitude is hakarat hatov, which literally means “seeing the good.” It seemed to me that reciting Modah Ani each day was part of what helped Goldberg-Polin maintain her ability to hold onto goodness and hope – even during her darkest days. Waking each morning and praying Modah Ani was part of Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s regular spiritual practice before October 7th. In thinking about this, I began to wonder about the strength and hope a community could find together if it committed itself to this same spiritual practice.

If you do not normally begin your day with a prayer, it will take some time for this habit or spiritual practice to form. While there is no scientific evidence that we can begin or break a habit in 21 days, committing to three weeks of daily practice is a good way to know if this is a practice that can become a meaningful one for you.