בְּרָכוֹת וְהוֹדָאוֹת לְשִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל וְהַקָּדוֹש מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם

Blessings and gratitude to Your great and holy Name.

From beginning to end our tefillos are filled with praises to Hashem.

בָּרוּךְ שֶׁאָמַר וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם

 יְהִי כְבוֹד ה׳ לְעוֹלָם

 יִשְׁתַּבַּח שִׁמְךָ לָעַד.

Nishmas alone has paragraph after paragraph of praise, gratitude, and awe.

We all know people who love recognition. Yet even they can only tolerate so much of it. Why does Hashem need so much praise?

Dr. Howard Leibowitz once shared a story from his years as an emergency room physician.

A woman was brought in in cardiac arrest. The team worked desperately to revive her — but after forty-five exhausting minutes, they were ready to stop. 

One by one, the staff left the room, until Dr. Leibowitz was left alone, still trying.

And then, after endless minutes in which it seemed like all hope was lost, he found a pulse, saving her life.

Weeks later, just before this woman was discharged, she looked at him and said: "How could I ever thank you? Every milestone I live to see — every birthday, every anniversary, every ordinary moment in my kitchen with my family — I'll think of you. I'll never stop thanking you."

As Dr. Leibowitz recounted, those words never left him. A non-Jewish woman in a hospital gown, had just taught him a priceless lesson in gratitude. 

Every step we take. Every breath we inhale. Every ordinary moment of our lives is a reason to say Thank You, Hashem.

"Thank you" is not about politeness. It is a demonstration of our awareness  of the meaning and holiness woven into every moment of existence. 

Every feeling. Every encounter. Every sunrise, every snowfall, every living thing — all of it is a manifestation of Hashem's infinite presence in this world. 

These 40 days of נִשְׁמַת have been an incredible gift — 40 days to slow down, notice, and connect. 40 days of recognizing that הוֹדָאָה is not just something we offer to Hashem; it is one of the deepest ways we experience Him.

May every נִשְׁמַת and every word of הוֹדָאָה be a source of bracha for all of כְּלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל.

And may we soon be זוֹכֶה to sing together once again, very soon.

חֲזַק חֲזַק וְנִתְחַזֵּק.