Hakarat HaTov

The following source sheet was created by Danielle Kranjec, Associate Vice President for Jewish Education at Hillel International, during her Fellowship in the American Jewish Civics Seminar, a cohort of leading Jewish scholars and educators convened in 2025 by A More Perfect Union and the Shalom Hartman Institute to nurture the emergence of a new field: American Jewish Civics.

This is part of a collection of source sheets on key Jewish themes outlining the Principles of American Jewish Civics, a framework and foundation to inspire and guide civic learning for American Jews.

Gratitude
הכרת הטוב

Against the backdrop of millennia of Jewish diaspora, the American Jewish experience is exceptional. Jewish life in America has been far from perfect, yet the religious freedom afforded by American liberal democracy has made possible the flourishing of Jewish life here. American Jews have engaged almost seamlessly – and at the highest levels – in the full range of American institutions and culture. American Jews have created thriving Jewish communities across this country; launched a diverse array of Jewish movements; built and sustained a set of communal, spiritual, and educational institutions that are the envy of other minority groups; served as elected and appointed officials in many of the highest offices of the land; and generated Jewish learning and thought that rivals almost any other era in Jewish history.

The principle of hakarat hatov reminds us to acknowledge and appreciate the extrinsic benefits – received from the government, the land, and the other people with whom we share this country – that make thriving American Jewish life possible. Even as we acknowledge the challenges that confront Jewish life in America, we continue to reflect on remarkable past achievements and acknowledge the significant power and resources we can bring to bear to shape our future. Acknowledging the good of America is not a self-serving excuse to freeload; rather it undergirds the Jewish obligation to participate in democracy by shaping its norms, protecting its institutions, and pulling its levers according to constitutional standards.

Discussion Questions:

How can we practice hakarat hatov not just as individuals, but as a community?
Are there aspects of American society that we take for granted, and how might recognizing those blessings change our behavior?
What responsibilities, if any, emerge from acknowledging that gratitude?
What’s one new action you might take—small or large—that stems from a sense of gratitude for what you’ve received in your civic life?

דברים ח׳:י׳

(י) וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ֙ אֶת־יהוה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַטֹּבָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לָֽךְ׃

Deuteronomy 8:10

(10) When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to your God יהוה for the good land given to you.

Discussion Questions:

What is the relationship between physical satisfaction (eating and being full) and spiritual or moral obligations (blessing and gratitude)?
How might this verse apply to American Jews who live in relative comfort and security? Does material well-being increase our obligation for gratitude—or for action?

תרגום יונתן על בראשית כ״ט:ל״ה

(לה) וְאִתְעַבָּרַת תּוּב וִילֵידַת בַּר וַאֲמָרַת הָדָא זִמְנָא אוֹדֵי קֳדָם יהוה דְמִן בְּרִי דֵין עָתִיד לְמֵיפַּק מַלְכִין וּמִינֵיהּ יִפּוֹק דָוִד מַלְכָּא דְעָתִיד לְאוֹדוּיֵי קֳדָם יהוה בְּגִין כֵּן קְרָת שְׁמֵיהּ יְהוּדָה וְקָמַת מִלְמֵילַד

Targum Jonathan on Genesis 29:35

(35) And she conceived again, and bare a son, and said, This time will I give praise before the Lord; for from this my son kings shall come forth, and from him shall spring David the king, who shall offer praise before the Lord; therefore she called his name Jehudah. And she ceased to bear.

Discussion Questions:

Why do you think the Targum adds the interpretation about kings and David to Leah’s words of praise?

What does this expanded interpretation teach about the ripple effects of gratitude across generations and institutions?

ברכות נ״ד ב

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: אַרְבָּעָה צְרִיכִין לְהוֹדוֹת: יוֹרְדֵי הַיָּם, הוֹלְכֵי מִדְבָּרוֹת, וּמִי שֶׁהָיָה חוֹלֶה וְנִתְרַפֵּא, וּמִי שֶׁהָיָה חָבוּשׁ בְּבֵית הָאֲסוּרִים וְיָצָא.

Berakhot 54b

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Four must offer thanks to God with a thanks-offering and a special blessing. They are: Seafarers, those who walk in the desert, and one who was ill and recovered, and one who was incarcerated in prison and went out. All of these appear in the verses of a psalm (Psalms 107).

Discussion Questions:

This Talmudic teaching names four categories of people who must give thanks. What do these categories have in common?
In modern terms, who are today’s “seafarers,” “desert travelers,” the sick who are healed, or those freed from confinement?
Can we apply this framework to collective Jewish experiences in America, and what might those be?

ברכות נ״ח א

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: הָרוֹאֶה אוּכְלוּסֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, אוֹמֵר: ״בָּרוּךְ … חֲכַם הָרָזִים״ — שֶׁאֵין דַּעְתָּם דּוֹמָה זֶה לָזֶה, וְאֵין פַּרְצוּפֵיהֶן דּוֹמִים זֶה לָזֶה. בֶּן זוֹמָא רָאָה אוּכְלוּסָא עַל גַּב מַעֲלָה בְּהַר הַבַּיִת, אָמַר: ״בָּרוּךְ … חֲכַם הָרָזִים וּבָרוּךְ … שֶׁבָּרָא כׇּל אֵלּוּ לְשַׁמְּשֵׁנִי״.

Berakhot 58a

The Sages taught in a Tosefta: One who sees multitudes of Israel recites: Blessed…Who knows all secrets. Why is this? He sees a whole nation whose minds are unlike each other and whose faces are unlike each other, and He Who knows all secrets, God, knows what is in each of their hearts. The Gemara relates: Ben Zoma once saw a multitude [okhlosa] of Israel while standing on a stair on the Temple Mount. He immediately recited: Blessed…Who knows all secrets and Blessed…Who created all these to serve me.Explaining his custom, he would say: How much effort did Adam the first man exert before he found bread to eat: He plowed, sowed, reaped, sheaved, threshed, winnowed in the wind, separated the grain from the chaff, ground the grain into flour, sifted, kneaded, and baked and only thereafter he ate. And I, on the other hand, wake up and find all of these prepared for me. Human society employs a division of labor, and each individual benefits from the service of the entire world. Similarly, how much effort did Adam the first man exert before he found a garment to wear? He sheared, laundered, combed, spun and wove, and only thereafter he found a garment to wear. And I, on the other hand, wake up and find all of these prepared for me. Members of all nations, merchants and craftsmen, diligently come to the entrance of my home, and I wake up and find all of these before me.

Discussion Questions:

Ben Zoma expresses wonder and gratitude at the benefits of living in a functioning society. What does this teach about interdependence?
In your own life, what systems or people do you benefit from but rarely think to thank?
How might civic engagement—like voting, advocacy, service, or community organizing—serve as a form of hakarat hatov?

משנה תורה, הלכות תפילה וברכת כהנים ז׳:י״ד

(יד) חַיָּב אָדָם לְבָרֵךְ מֵאָה בְּרָכוֹת בֵּין הַיּוֹם וְהַלַּיְלָה. וּמַה הֵן מֵאָה בְּרָכוֹת אֵלּוּ. כ״ג בְּרָכוֹת שֶׁמָּנִינוּ בְּפֶרֶק זֶה. וְשֶׁבַע בְּרָכוֹת שֶׁל קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע שֶׁל שַׁחֲרִית וְעַרְבִית לְפָנֶיהָ וּלְאַחֲרֶיהָ. וּכְשֶׁמִּתְעַטֵּף בַּצִּיצִית מְבָרֵךְ בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ׳‎ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לְהִתְעַטֵּף בְּצִיצִית. וּכְשֶׁלּוֹבֵשׁ תְּפִלִּין מְבָרֵךְ בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ׳‎ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לְהָנִיחַ תְּפִלִּין. וְשָׁלֹשׁ תְּפִלּוֹת שֶׁבְּכָל תְּפִלָּה מֵהֶן שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה בְּרָכוֹת הֲרֵי שְׁמוֹנִים וְשֵׁשׁ בְּרָכוֹת. וּכְשֶׁהוּא אוֹכֵל שְׁתֵּי סְעֻדּוֹת שֶׁל יוֹם וְהַלַּיְלָה מְבָרֵךְ אַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֵה בְּרָכוֹת. שֶׁבַע בְּכָל סְעֻדָּה. אַחַת כְּשֶׁיִּטּל יָדָיו תְּחִלָּה. וְעַל הַמָּזוֹן אַחַת בַּתְּחִלָּה וְשָׁלֹשׁ בַּסּוֹף וְעַל הַיַּיִן לְפָנָיו וּלְאַחֲרָיו הֲרֵי שֶׁבַע בְּרָכוֹת הֲרֵי מֵאָה בְּרָכוֹת בֵּין הַכּל:

Mishneh Torah, Prayer and the Priestly Blessing 7:14

(14) A person is obligated to recite 100 blessings [in the period of one] day and night. What are these 100 blessings? The twenty-three blessings that we have counted in this chapter, the seven blessings before and after Kri'at Shema in the morning and in the evening; When one wraps himself in tzitzit, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to wrap ourselves in tzitzit. When he puts on his Tefilin, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to put on Tefilin. [One recites] three Amidot, each of which contains eighteen blessings. Behold, this is 86 blessings. When one eats two meals, [one] during the day and [one] at night, one recites 14 blessings, seven for each meal: one when he washes his hands before eating, and, on the food itself, one before and three afterwards, on the wine, one before and one afterwards, [a total] of seven. Thus, there are 100 blessings all told.

Discussion Questions:

Rambam teaches that one should recite 100 blessings daily. What spiritual or ethical habit is created by this daily practice?
How might cultivating daily gratitude affect how we interact with our neighbors, communities, and civic institutions?
What might be the civic equivalent of “100 blessings”—small, regular acts of awareness or participation that build a culture of gratitude?