Tehillim 116 - Seudat Hoda'ah - Thanksgiving Meal
Tehillim 116:12-13:
- "Mah ashiv la-Shem, kol tagmulohi alai. Kos yeshuot esa, uveshem Ha-Shem ekra"- (What shall I repay the L-rd for all His kindness to me? I will raise the cup of salvations and call upon the Name of the L-rd).
Radak explains the words of King David in his commentary: “When I prepare a (thanksgiving) feast, I will raise a cup of wine and thank the Creator in the presence of many people, and recall the salvation that He sent me.”
Maharshal writes in his book “Yam Shel Shlomo” that a thanksgiving meal is considered a Seudat Mitzvah (“commanded meal”)—a meal at which a person fulfills a mitzvah.
In the weekly Torah portion of Va'era, we are told that Abraham, wishing to thank the Creator for the birth of Isaac, prepared a great thanksgiving feast, as it is written (Bereishit 21:8): “And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.”
It follows that one should thank the Creator specifically through a meal.
How should it be conducted?
Wishing to thank the Creator, Abraham prepared a great feast. From this we can learn that it is important for many people to participate in the meal. In this way, our gratitude to the Creator and praise of Him will be increased.
King David said likewise (Tehillim 35:18): “I will thank You in the great assembly, I will praise You among the numerous people.”
Rashi writes in his commentary on the Torah that Abraham invited the great men of the generation—Shem, Ever, and Avimelech—to the feast he had prepared. From this we can draw one more conclusion: it is important for Torah scholars to be present at the meal.
(Rabbi Reuven Kuklin)
