What was the sin of Adam and Hava in Gan Eden? That they disobeyed the Lord's command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? That they lied, denying what they had done and blaming another?
That they overstepped the boundaries set for them and rebelled? That they let their desires run away with them? All these answers have been offered through the ages, by Jewish and Christian theologians alike.
Here is an interpretation that I find evocative: the root of Adam and Hava's alienation from God, which sprouted into their lies, rebellion, and unchecked desire, was their lack of trust in and gratitude to the Giver of Every Good Gift.
They forgot to give thanks for the beauty and bounty and love and wholeness that had been so generously given them.
Prayer as thanksgiving can train our hearts and eyes to see our lives in new ways. It can help us become aware of the gifts that are already ours and help us develop what one of my friends calls "an attitude of gratitude." Gratitude is one of the core values of Jewish life. It is exemplified for me in these words of the Hasidic master Yehiel Mikhal of Zlotchov, whose very life had become a constant prayer of thanksgiving: "My life was blessed, because I never knew I needed anything until I had it." (Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim I: 156)
During Elul and the Days of Awe, try praying daily in the form of a litany of thanksgiving, silent or spoken, for the many gifts that sustain and enrich your life. It can transform your life.
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