The fact that you have eyes that can see is something to be grateful for every single day. The bracha of pokei'ach ivrim in birchas hashachar mentions just that - that Hashem opens the eyes of the blind. Every morning, when you wake up and are able to see, you should realize how lucky you are to have a pair of eyes that work so perfectly! They work better than any digital camera you will ever find! They can see in all directions, have a panoramic view and you don't have to wait even an extra second from the moment you see an image - to press buttons, review the picture or develop it, because your eyes work with such incredible speed that you see something, your brain interprets what it sees and then the right messages are sent to you so that you comprehend whatever it is that you just saw! And you don't just have one eye-you have two such priceless cameras that work perfectly! So thank Hashem for it every single day!!
I once heard a great and practical suggestion for bringing this appreciation for your eyesight directly to your heart. Right before you say the bracha of pokei'ach ivrim in the morning, close your eyes for five seconds and let yourself see black. Then, open your eyes, look around at what you see in the room you are in - and then you can fully appreciate the gift of sight, the fact that you can see so clearly and perfectly.
A few summers ago, I was in a bungalow colony for Shabbos. We were in middle of the meal on Friday night when all of a sudden the entire place became dark-there was a blackout. All you could see was the shabbos candles from the windows of each bungalow. (It was actually quite cool! The bungalows were in a circular setup so when we looked out the window, we saw the flickering candles of the entire bungalow colony!) We didn't know how long it would take until we would get power again and so we continued our meal in the dark. Let me tell you, the food did not taste the same! It is something I never realized until I experienced it. The ability to see the food you are about to eat adds so much to your appetite and the enjoyment of your meal! Imagine eating chicken and kugel that you cannot see. Will you enjoy it the same way as when you can see the food?
The lights went back on while we were in middle of the main course. I cannot tell you what a difference it made when we were able to see the food we were in middle of eating. It tasted so much better!
Think about it. How much food would you consume if you ate in the dark? (Maybe it's a good diet idea because then you'd eat a lot less!) How many times do you eat food, not because you are hungry but because you see the food is in front of you and it looks so good?! We have so much to appreciate!!
The lights went back on while we were in middle of the main course. I cannot tell you what a difference it made when we were able to see the food we were in middle of eating. It tasted so much better!
Think about it. How much food would you consume if you ate in the dark? (Maybe it's a good diet idea because then you'd eat a lot less!) How many times do you eat food, not because you are hungry but because you see the food is in front of you and it looks so good?! We have so much to appreciate!!
Imagine if the entire world was black and white. How much more boring would life be? The world is so colorful! We don't just have the colors of the rainbow, there are so many colors that are a combination of two or more colors mixed together. Why do we have so much? Just so we can remember who it comes from and turn to Him and say thank you. How easy is that?
So try to spend some time each day (maybe while saying the bracha of pokei'ach ivrim) appreciating the gift you have been given-the gift of sight!
Our lives without eyesight would not be anything near the way it is now. The ability to see in it of itself is such an AMAZING tool! Imagine you cannot fall asleep at night, and you are so bored, all you have to do is pick up a book, and silently read it with your eyes! How would we ever be able to appreciate a gorgeous sunset?
ReplyDeleteThey say about great gedolim that you can see the light shining from their faces. And we have eyelids too, to protect our eyes! Its so awesome! We not only see colors, but can also percieve distances. Just by studying the eye- we can surely come to recognize that there MUST be a Creator of this world!!
luv-yes, that's so true! Our lives would not be the same without our eyesight. Learning about how amazing it is to have a pair of eyes and how they work so well will surely make any person realize that there MUST be a creator! Something so complex and so small cannot be replicated by scientists no matter how hard they try! It must have been created by Someone much greater than us.
ReplyDeletewow thanx i never looked at it that way i luv the idea of closing ur eyes b4 the bracha i think im gonna try
ReplyDeleteAnon-thanks. I hope this helps you increase your appreciation for this amazing ability you have-the ability to see! I think it's so important to make our tefillos practical and personal. Closing your eyes before saying the bracha of pokei'ach ivrim really helps!
ReplyDeleteDevorah-
ReplyDeletei think its realy funny about the blackout, it just so happens to be that happend to me at least once a yr.-if not 2 or even 3!
i had a friend who last year did a science project on see, smell and taste, she had a few drinks and the first cup was that we are able to detect what it was, then she put eye folds and few of us were able to detect it -through our sence of smell, then she put a nose thingy on, so that we cant smell-and girls thought that the coke, was water-and that gingeral was seltzer-it was realy funny because we realy had no clue all we felt was some sort of liquid in our mouth with a bunch of bubbles!
every sence we have we should appreshiate-for without it we wouldnt have any appetite at all!how lucky are we to have these things-unlike others...
i went to ohr nava b4(happens to be that i saw Chaya Sara there)and there was a guest speaker there-a blind inteligent(bli ain hara) man, who ssaid that he was going to be a doctor, when he lost his eye sight. He knows that everything is for a reason in this world and that when Hashem made him blind, he felt Hashem much closer to him than ever before!1 never knows when we wont be here anymore nor cho v'shalom lose our eye sight, so i think we should always appreshiate Hashem as if we wont have whatever it is-because then we dont just say it lazily-like thanx 4 giving it to me-have a good day-and thats it-we shoud say thank you Hashem for all the beutiful things you do for us everday-giving back OUR nishamote and not others, letting me stand up and be health;and not retarted for letting me run,jump,walk, skip;and not having to be in a wheelchair, for letting me grow everyday spiritualy and phisicaly! and much much more-this list can go on and on and on and on...so everyday i think even for ten min. trying to thank Hashem-makes us more aware of our purpose on this earth, how much Hashem does for us-and just being more appreshiative...
Liat
Liat-that sounds like such a good idea to help you appreciate all the senses so much more! And that speech by the blind man must have made everyone walk out in awe by how lucky they are to have a pair of eyes that work so perfectly! Wow, thanks for sharing that!!
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