Thank God I was able to crank out this last-minute article in under two hours. Pardon the shoddiness of the writing, recording, and art. But hey - it's a dvar Torah on Thanksgiving AND the parashah!
Kudos for combining Thanksgiving with the parsha! Shadal's comment is in a similar vein, but is a little more naturalistic than the midrash. In an article in Bikkurei ha-Ittim, he says: “At the birth of the first
son, she said, ‘Yes, the Lord has seen my misery. Yes, now my husband will love
me.’ Now this is a kindness of which it cannot be said that she was undeserving,
for any good wife deserves to have her husband love her. Similarly, at the birth of
the second son, she said, ‘Yes, the Lord has observed that I am neglected, so He
gave me this one also,’ and this, too, was not a gratuitous kindness. So also at the
birth of the third, she said, ‘Now finally my husband will live with me,’ and this,
too, was something of which she was not undeserving. However, when she gave
birth to a fourth son, after having been given everything that she could have asked
for by right, she saw that this was nothing but a gratuitous gift, and she said,
‘Finally I will render homage [odeh] to the Lord—I will humble myself before
Him, for I am unworthy of all His beneficence.’” Shadal adds that the “thank
offering” [korban todah] was a sacrifice brought by one who acknowledged
Thanks! I'm sure I've read that Shadal, but I had forgotten it! Rav Hirsch gives a similarly naturalistic explanation. I personally like that better, but I'm fine relying on the Rashba's approach for the sake of his idea.
Kudos for combining Thanksgiving with the parsha! Shadal's comment is in a similar vein, but is a little more naturalistic than the midrash. In an article in Bikkurei ha-Ittim, he says: “At the birth of the first
son, she said, ‘Yes, the Lord has seen my misery. Yes, now my husband will love
me.’ Now this is a kindness of which it cannot be said that she was undeserving,
for any good wife deserves to have her husband love her. Similarly, at the birth of
the second son, she said, ‘Yes, the Lord has observed that I am neglected, so He
gave me this one also,’ and this, too, was not a gratuitous kindness. So also at the
birth of the third, she said, ‘Now finally my husband will live with me,’ and this,
too, was something of which she was not undeserving. However, when she gave
birth to a fourth son, after having been given everything that she could have asked
for by right, she saw that this was nothing but a gratuitous gift, and she said,
‘Finally I will render homage [odeh] to the Lord—I will humble myself before
Him, for I am unworthy of all His beneficence.’” Shadal adds that the “thank
offering” [korban todah] was a sacrifice brought by one who acknowledged
having received an undeserved kindness from God.
Thanks! I'm sure I've read that Shadal, but I had forgotten it! Rav Hirsch gives a similarly naturalistic explanation. I personally like that better, but I'm fine relying on the Rashba's approach for the sake of his idea.