Thanksgiving: Boruch Hashem!

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them —President John F. Kennedy

A few weeks ago, when I submitted my column to Malibu Patch editor Jonathan Friedman, I was asked if the B”H at the top of the page was part of the column. After I explained what it means, we decided to leave it to another time, when I could address its meaning and importance.

Thanksgiving is upon us, so what better time than now: B“H is all about acknowledging and articulating our gratitude—giving thanks. B”H is an abbreviation for two Hebrew words: Boruch Hashem. Literally, these words mean “blessed be The Name”—referring to the name of G-d.

The two words comprise an age-old Jewish response to many different questions; “How are you?” The response would be, “Boruch Hashem, (I’m) fine.”

If you take a stroll down Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, right around the time when the moms are picking up their children from school, you would hear these words so often that, if you did not know better, you might think “Boruch Hashem” is the name of some famous Israeli baseball player. Well, now you know!

Here are some other questions that elicit the “Boruch Hashem” as part of the answer: “How are you feeling?” “How was your trip?” “How are the kids?” “Were you able to get the bills paid?”

Saying Boruch Hashem is a way of taking a moment to recognize, and be grateful to, our Creator. I was taught that the act of being grateful begins from the moment we open our eyes. We need to be constantly aware of G-d’s abundant blessings to us and to express our appreciation.

As a very young child, I remember how my mother would wake my siblings and me with a prayer of gratitude to Hashem. My wife Sarah and I are delighted to carry on this tradition, that dates back thousands of years, with our children. Living in this great country, the land of the free, we are grateful that our forbearers have set aside a time, where each of us, regardless of our religious persuasion, sets aside this day, to offer our thanks, Boruch Hashem.

Consider, also, what Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, in the midst of deeply troubled times in the American Civil War, in his 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation: “To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.” That’s where you hear a statement like, Boruch Hashem!

Happy Thanksgiving, Boruch Hashem!