Can You Give Me A Lift?

I have a friend who likes to encourage, “When you say thanks, be specific.” I love this idea. Especially now, in this season when we’re getting ready to repent and repair. Just like you should get your new refrigerator serviced periodically or give the car you leased a tune-up, now’s the time for inner tune-ups. 

What’s it like to itemize gratitude? Instead of saying, “Thanks so much” you say “Remember that afternoon when I was down and you told me you believed in me. That gave me the lift I needed. You’re so good at giving lifts.”

Being thankful helps make this season more fruitful. And this week’s portion of Torah offers a helpful tip for getting to gratitude. It contains a fascinating confession. It’s not a confession of wrongs you did. It’s a confession of the good you did. “I have provided for the needs of the Levite, the stranger, the widow and the orphan…I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God and done what you have commanded me” (Deut. 26:13-14). Why confess about what you’ve done right? Maybe to remind you of your better-you. 

I find the timing of this personal-reunion with your better self to be telling. It always shows up in Elul. When we’re examining our faults. 

Rav Kook, a founder of religious-Zionism, used to say: “If you want to know who you really are, think of the moments when you were at your best.” 

This is another reason why being specific when you thank somebody comes in handy. It can remind you of yourself when you were at your best. Not merely your personal best. Also your best at giving somebody else a lift.

Take a moment this weekend to send a grateful message to somebody who doesn’t expect to hear from you. Then note how helping them rise gives you a lift as well.