Attitiude of Gratitude - Rabbi Eitiel Goldwicht

my wife and i always try to teach our children to say thank you you say thank you to the bus driver you say thank you to the security guard but we've never told them to say thank you to the park that they plane in the afternoon why not because the park doesn't have any feelings can't say thank you to the park but yet we find in this week's torah portion when moshe was commanded to turn the nile into blood that he didn't do to himself rather he asked his brother aro to turn the nile into blood why because he had appreciation for the nile the nile was the one that saved him when he was a little boy when he was a little baby in a basket that's how he was saved and therefore he could not be the one who turned it into blood what does that mean denial doesn't have any feelings doesn't remember that he once saved him and now you have to appreciate him and therefore don't turn it into blood but here judaism is telling us a very important lesson and what does appreciation really mean what is exactly real gratitude see saying thank you to somebody is not so that the other person knows that you appreciate what they did for it but it's also and maybe first and foremost for yourself that you should be a person who has an attitude of gratitude that knows how to appreciate the blessings in his life saying thank you is important to the other person but it's also important to us and yes maybe we won't say thank you to the park but if you really have gratitude and appreciate that you have a park that you have this blessing in your life you'll look out for it you'll make sure that people don't litter it the people don't ruin it so that is the lesson of appreciation appreciate what you have and then you'll take good care of it shabbat shalom from yerushalayim [Music] you