Some moments in the Halel of Sukkot seem made for a moment like the one we just lived through with the Flydubai plane.
There are four points in Halel where we wave the lulav (na’anu’im): once at Hodu at the beginning, twice at Ana, and once more at Hodu at the end. With them we thank God for our prosperity and ask Him to protect it from the enemies who want to snatch it away.
GRATITUDE FIRST
The first is when we say the famous verse HODU LAHASHEM KI TOV, KI LE’OLAM CHASDO (Tehilim 118:1): “Let us thank HaShem for His blessings [when we are well and prosperous].” “His favor is always with us [the Jewish people].”
Then we wave the Arba’at HaMinim twice on another very special verse: ANA HASHEM HOSHI’A NA (Tehilim 118:25), “Please, HaShem, save us, deliver us [from our enemies, who envy us and try to take our blessings away].”
At the end we say HODU LAHASHEM KI TOV once more (Tehilim 118:29).
These are two very short verses, but very powerful, and their meaning is very clear. We start by giving thanks. Hodu LaHashem ki tov is the classic verse of thanksgiving. It is the biblical, more solemn way of saying BARUKH HASHEM, or “Thank God.” It is the Jewish formula of gratitude par excellence, and it appears several times in Tehilim.
ASKING FOR HELP
The other verse, ANA HASHEM HOSHI’A NA, is one of the shortest. It is a plea to God: the cry of a people that knows that, as the chosen people, it is always exposed to the jealousy of nations that try to destroy it because it enjoys God’s blessing, prosperity and security.
Throughout our history, Am Israel has said these words when facing enemies who seemed stronger than us, or were, or in situations where, humanly speaking, there seemed to be no way out. To be clear, hoshi’a na does not mean we ask God to act while we sit and wait for a miracle. Judaism teaches that a person must act, fight, run, rescue, and do everything in his power, while knowing that the outcome is in the hands of Heaven.
ANY RESEMBLANCE TO REALITY…
I think these two pesukim describe exactly what happened on Wednesday on Flydubai flight FZ1073. The Israeli passengers, with God’s help, foiled their enemies’ sinister plan, regained control of the situation and, miraculously, were saved. It was as if HaShem were listening to the prayer of the entire Jewish people, who were saying that very day: Ana HaShem, hoshi’a na. HaShem, save us.
And then comes the second phrase:
הוֹד֣וּ לַה׳ כִּי־ט֑וֹב כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ
Hodu LaHashem ki tov, ki le’olam chasdo, “Give thanks to HaShem, for He is good; His kindness endures forever” (Tehilim 118:1).
Thank You, HaShem, for being with us once again. Because when the danger passes, when the plane lands, when the operation goes well, when the soldier comes home, or when what we feared never happens, we have to know how to say “THANK YOU” with the same intensity and passion with which we so often say “PLEASE” to God.
