A noted lecturer once presented his audience with a white sheet of paper that had a black dot in the center. He asked the crowd what they saw. Without exception they responded, “A black dot.” He asked: “Why do you choose to focus on the insignificant speck of black in the middle of a page, when its overwhelming majority contains white space?”

The secret to thanksgiving is recognizing and dwelling on the vast amount of “white” or goodness in our lives, beginning with the greatest gift of all: life itself. To help us with our “white-scouting,” our sages instituted the Modeh Ani prayer of gratitude, to be said first thing in the morning, in which we say, “I offer thanks to You, living and eternal King, for You have restored my soul within me; Your faithfulness is great.”

Before getting out of bed and beginning a day that will include work, acquisition, and the pursuit of external things and relationships, we say a prayer that emphasizes the gift of being. This helps us lead lives focused less on having the things we want than on wanting the things we have.

Here’s to a Shabbat of thanksgiving!

Mendel Kalmenson,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team

P.S. “Four thousand rabbis sit down at the dinner table . . .” Sounds like the start of a joke, but it is going to happen in Brooklyn. Watch our live streaming of the International Conference of Chabad Emissaries at 5:30 PM (EST) this coming Sunday.