Today, November 27, 2025 is our official Thanksgiving Day. But while we have one official day, we should practice giving thanks and praise to God every day. Like so much in our tradition, giving God the thanks and praise he so richly deserves from us was brought down to us by our friends, the Jews, who practiced it and preserved it so that when the Messiah came into the world, the world was set up to receive Him.
So, it is fitting that the best Thanksgiving message today comes from Yael Eckstein in an article at Townhall.com entitled Hineni: Thanksgiving's Answer to Ayeka. As we learn in Eckstein's article, "Ayeka: means "where are you?" and "hineni" means "here I am" in Hebrew. But knowing this doesn't convey the full spiritual meaning. That you only get by first having an attitude of gratitude.
This Thanksgiving, my heart turns again to the quiet strength that comes from gratitude, not for what we wish we had, but for the blessings God has already placed in our lives.
In a world of constant comparison and societal pressures, it is easy to forget this spiritual truth. In the Jewish tradition, we observe gratitude not only as a feeling, but as a response to a sacred question.
That question is Ayeka? Where are you?
It is the first question God poses to humanity in the Garden of Eden, and it continues to echo through the generations. It is not a request for an exact location. It is a calling: Where are you in this moment? What do you decide to stand for when the world around you feels uncertain, frightening, or unfair? Who are you choosing to be?
And the answer our tradition gives us is the answer of our forefather Abraham: Hineni. Here I am.
Hineni reminds us that everyone can do something. Everyone is empowered. Hineni is the language of faith in action, even in the hardest times. It is the courage to step forward even when the path ahead is uncertain. When there's nowhere left to go but to jump into the abyss of the unknown. It is answering God’s call not because life is easy, but because we know He walks with us, especially during the tough times.
Seen through the lens of Hineni, Thanksgiving is not just a holiday on the calendar that comes around once a year. It is part of a daily spiritual practice – a way of standing before God with presence, purpose and an open heart. And it is often in the moments when gratitude feels the hardest to find that we need it the most.
Before you have your family gathering, your turkey and ham, and sit down to watch football, I urge gentle readers to read Eckstein's article and consider all the many blessings he has given us, and how we might bless others as a result.
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