Thanking God in Times of Tranquility

This is the law of the peace offering that is sacrificed to God. If it is offered as a thanksgiving offering, then it must be presented along with unleavened loaves mixed with oil, flat matzahs saturated with oil  and loaves made of boiled flour mixed with oil.     Leviticus 7:11-12 Rabbi Pinḥas, Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Yoḥanan, quoting Rabbi Menaḥem, say: In the end of days all sacrifices will be abolished, except for the thanksgiving offering; all prayers will be abolished, save prayers of thanksgiving, as the verse [Jeremiah 33:11] states: "the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say: 'Give thanks to God of hosts'" this refers to (prayers of) thanksgiving, "even of those who bring offerings of thanksgiving into the house of God" refers to the thanksgiving offering. And so (King) David said [Psalms 56:13] "Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render thank-offerings unto You." The verse employs the plural (thank-offerings), referring to thanksgiving prayers and offerings.                         Midrash vaYikra Rabba, Parashat Tzav 9:7

Our Sages [Babylonian Talmud Berachot 54b] taught that "there are four (classes of people) who have to offer thanksgiving: those who have crossed the sea, those who have traversed the wilderness, one who has recovered from an illness, and a prisoner who has been set free."

My saintly teacher, Rabbi Mordechai Rogov, commented that the way of the world is that when a person is saved from danger he feels an obligation to thank God, however, when all goes well, with no  immediate difficulties, one does not feel the need to thank the Creator. However, in truth, at every moment, our very existence depends upon hidden miracles, and therefore, one should constantly express appreciation to God.

Rabbi Rogov quotes the comment of the Gaon of Vilna on the statement in the Hagaddah: "but Laban wanted to uproot everyone." The Gaon notes that the verses tell us that Laban cheated Jacob, but nowhere do we find a verse which explicitly states that "Laban wanted to uproot everyone," and comments that the Hagaddah no doubt refers to a danger of which Jacob was not even aware. When the authors of the Hagaddah tell us "Go forth and learn" (the introduction to the statement that Laban wanted to uproot everyone), they are stating that this represents the norm of Jewish history. Just as Jacob and his family were saved from Laban without even realizing that they were in danger, so it is generation after generation, the Holy One, blessed be He saves us through hidden miracles.

Based upon this, Rabbi Rogov explains the intent of the Midrash: even at times of tranquility, when there are no overt threats to our people and there appears to be no reason to give thanks to God, the requirement to give thanks to God remains. A Jew must always understand and feel that he benefits from God's providence, and that the situation of tranquility and lack of threats comes from Him.

The meaning of Jeremiah's words is that even in the situation in which "the voice of joy and the voice of gladness" precede "the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride," that is, when joy pervades life, even then "the voice of those who say: 'Give thanks to God of hosts'" will be heard as well as "those who bring offerings of thanksgiving into the house of God," since all Israel will understand and appreciate the need to offer thanks to God, as if they had crossed the sea or traversed the wilderness.