Do you feel blessed?

One of the beautiful parts of Judaism is a prayer that sometimes gets overlooked. We call this prayer, “the morning blessings.” Besides being a peaceful moment at the start of our day, it also guides us to a mind shifting perspective. Some of these blessings are so seemingly simple and usually taken for granted.

In these blessings we thank G-d for being able to open our eyes, to stand up, to be clothed, to be free etc. Those who say these blessings will feel more blessed throughout their day.

In the fascinating episode of this weeks Parsha we find that BIilam wanted to curse the Jewish people with G-d’s permission?! Not surprisingly G-d turned down the offer. But then Bilaam said, “can I at least bless your people?” To this G-d replied, “They are (already) blessed.”

What a beautiful reply, and indeed a reply that we can all think about. We are already blessed. Blessed with so much good.

One the blessings that stand out, is the blessing of מתיר אסורים, expressing our gratitude to Hashem for freeing those that are tied or imprisoned. We can take a moment in our morning to pray for the hostages. So they too can experience the freedom and safety we have.

We consistently pray for the remaining hostages, for their immediate release to be reunited safely with their families. We also pray for our brave soldiers that Hashem should protect them, as they protect the Jewish people.

Shabbat Shalom