Shavuah Tov
As we move through the month of Elul and look toward Rosh Hashanah, I find myself thinking about one of the most beautiful values in Jewish tradition: Hakarat HaTov the recognition of the good.
Hakarat HaTov is often translated simply as gratitude, but its meaning is deeper. It asks us not only to feel grateful, but to intentionally recognize the good to notice the people, moments, blessings, and acts of kindness that can too easily become part of the background of our lives.
Pirkei Avot asks:
“Eizehu ashir? HaSameach b’chelko.”
“Who is rich? One who rejoices in what they have.”
—Pirkei Avot 4:1
Gratitude begins with noticing. And when I look at the Tucson J and the community we are privileged to serve, there is so much good to recognize.
The project of building community is never the work of one person. It is best done shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand. I am grateful for the wisdom and leadership of our Board; for the extraordinary work, commitment, and heart of our staff; for the countless hours and talents shared by our volunteers; and for the incredible generosity of our donors and community partners.
Each of you helps make the Tucson J what we aspire for it to be: a town square where people gather, relationships are built, Jewish life flourishes, and everyone can find a place of belonging.
Psalm 92 teaches:
“Tov l’hodot laAdonai.”
“It is good to give thanks.”
Perhaps gratitude is described as good because it changes not only the person receiving our thanks, but also the person offering it. Hakarat HaTov trains us to see abundance rather than absence, possibility rather than limitation, and the contributions of others rather than simply our own efforts.
That feels particularly meaningful during Elul.
Elul is our season of cheshbon hanefesh, an accounting of the soul. As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah, we are invited to look backward and forward at the same time. We celebrate what went well, acknowledge what did not go as planned, and ask where we missed the mark. Most importantly, we ask what we have learned and how those lessons can help us return teshuvah to our best intentions and our best selves.
Hakarat HaTov does not require us to pretend that everything has been perfect. We can be grateful for all we have accomplished while remaining honest about the places where we can do better. We can learn from disappointment without being defined by it. And then we move forward with renewed passion and purpose.
During Elul, we hear the shofar each morning. Maimonides understood its call as a spiritual alarm: “Awake, you sleepers, from your sleep.”
The shofar asks us to pay attention.
Perhaps this year we can hear within its call two questions:
What am I being called to be thankful for?
And what am I being called to do?
Those questions belong to each of us individually, but they also belong to us collectively. Where are we being called to show up, to listen more carefully, to serve more deeply, to repair what needs repairing, and to build what has yet to be built?
The prayer Modeh Ani offers a powerful starting point. Before we begin the work of the day, Jewish tradition teaches us to begin with gratitude: Modeh ani lefanecha I give thanks before You. Imagine what might happen if we approached our communal work the same way: beginning with gratitude for one another and then asking what more we can accomplish together.
That spirit of possibility also brings to mind Stephen Sondheim’s Our Time from Merrily We Roll Along. The song looks toward a future waiting to be created a future shaped by people willing to dream it and build it.
Elul asks us to look back, but Judaism never asks us to remain there. We look back so that we can learn and then move forward. We recognize our successes with gratitude, acknowledge our disappointments with humility, and carry the lessons of both into what comes next.
The Tucson J is here as your town square to serve you, bring us together, and help create more vibrant Jewish life and a stronger community. A town square becomes a community because of the people who fill it with their ideas, passion, generosity, relationships, and willingness to participate.
As the shofar calls us toward a new year, may we hear within it a call to gratitude, reflection, and action. May we recognize the good that surrounds us, learn from the moments when we missed the mark, and answer the call to build the future together.
Shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand, this is our time and together, we can rise to great heights.
With deep gratitude for all that you do and excitement for all that lies ahead
Cochenu b’Achduteynu | כחינו באחדותינו | Our strength is in our unity.
Am Yisrael Chai | עם ישראל חי
Todd Rockoff
President + CEO, Tucson J
