As we begin to bring closure to the Amidah after a long list of requests, we acknowledge that it is truly befitting that we only give thanks to God and never complain. We remind ourselves that God is always in control—He is the Good, the Compassionate and His kindness is never ending. He forever loves us and only seeks our best interest. Although we have prayed for what’s missing, we now affirm our trust in God and express our gratitude. We know that our lives are filled with constant miracles, and that the opportunity to simply call God’s name is itself the greatest wonder, the highest good. As previously explained, the Amidah empowers us to stand before God and enjoy a loving relationship with Him. With every request we experience an increased sense of inner strength and Divine significance; we become more and more confident and assertive. After growing in stature in God’s presence and standing more and more erect through seventeen blessings, we finally bow again. We had hit our peak when we prayed for God and asked that He take pleasure in us and return to Zion from His exile. And we asserted that we want to see Him, no less, with our very eyes and receive His presence within our midst. However, at this point we must balance out the possible dangerous side-effect of the boldness we just expressed and humbly bow to nullify any trace of arrogance. The goal of the Amidah is to stand confidently yet also humbly before God. The Amidah reflects the paradox of Jewish life. Throughout our history, we have called out to God for help and yet trusted that everything is fine. We must continue to balance our ambitious efforts to affect change with a humble acceptance and trust in God. Life is a dialectical dance between assertion and surrender. The thanksgiving blessing reflects the paradox of Jewish life. Here we affirm, “Yes, God, we have asked for many things, but we also know that everything in life is exactly on target and completely good. Thank You.” (Bow) We thank You (lach) using the feminine form of “You” indicating that You are receptive to and affected by our prayers but because You are really He, God, You are ultimately the one who affects, and we are the affected recipients of your blessings. Even our power to affect Your presence in our lives through our prayers comes from You. You are the Rock of our lives, upon whom we are completely dependent, and yet You are also the Shield of our salvation, protecting us from losing our sense of personal significance for You are He, from generation to generation. [This is the place to create triggers that will make these words viscerally meaningful. Try to feel the gratitude you once felt during a moment when you felt totally dependent upon God, and picture a real situation when you literally felt that God was your shield and protected your sense of self. Below, identify each phrase with vivid joyous moments and events in your life. Remember a time when your life was in danger and you truly felt that God saved you. Vividly imagine a time when you were spiritually at risk and had a spiritual salvation in which you felt that your soul was in God’s charge. Contemplate a small miracle or a wondrous event that happens everyday in your life, like seeing, hearing, feeling etc.] We thank You and we speak Your praises, for our lives are in Your hands and our souls are in Your charge, and for all Your miracles that are with us daily, and for Your wonders and Your goodness in every time—morning, evening and afternoon. [You are] the Good, because Your compassion has never ended, and the Compassionate, because Your kindness has never ended. We have always put our hope in You. And above all, may Your name be blessed and exalted, our King, forever and ever. May all the wonders and miracles in our lives not only fill us with gratitude but always inspire us towards greater awareness of Your name; may we always remember that we can readily call to You and You are always here for us. And may all life thank You forever and genuinely praise Your name. We hope that that the whole world acknowledge and thank You, that everyone join us in genuine praise of Your name and receive the joyous gift of Your presence in their lives Almighty, who is our salvation and our help. Just to feel Your presence is “our salvation and help.” (Bow) Blessed are You … O how bountiful and abundantly present You are in our lives. O what an ever-flowing wellspring of blessings You are to us, YHVH, Timeless Ultimate Reality, the Good is Your name. The very ability to call out to You and feel Your presence in our lives is the real goodness and it is a pleasure and befitting to thank You. To recognize our dependence on You and Your involvement in our lives brings us the greatest pleasure. Despite the fact that in our prayer we asked for things we felt were missing in our lives, we know that in truth it is befitting that we only and always thank you. In fact, we should be grateful for whatever we lack. The more we believe and acknowledge that just to call God’s name is the ultimate good, and the more we sincerely want to feel His presence, the more God's presence is manifest in our lives.