We’re focusing on one bracha each month, learning what it means and how to recite it, when it’s appropriate to use, and anything more that it can teach us. Then, of course, it’s up to you to make space for that bracha in the broader scheme of your life.

For this month of Tishrei, the bracha is שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ shehecheyyanu, the one we recite at moments, at events, of positive energy.
Naming a new baby? shehecheyyanu.
Major festival? shehecheyyanu.
Grandchild b’mitzvah? Wedding? shehecheyyanu.
Arriving in Israel? shehecheyyanu. (Join us next year for a Shirat Hayam trip!)
Sold the house and moved into a condo? shehecheyyanu!

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱ’לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הַעוֹלָם
שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה
baruch atta adonai eloheinu melech ha’olam shehecheyyanu v’kiy’manu v’higi’anu laz’man hazeh.(click here for an audio file)

Thank you Adonai our God, sovereign of the universe, for granting us life, for sustaining us, and for helping us reach this day (i.e., for enabling me to be here at this time).

This morning, I spoke with someone who appreciates that the challenges in her life have changed, and, for the moment, everything is a little (very little) easier. She asked if our tradition has anything to mark this small step.
I suggested that shehecheyyanu — usually reserved for major occasions — is appropriate for any notable event, even if just a baby step on a long road to a more comprehensive recovery.

On Simchat Torah, Ellie and I had a shehecheyyanu moment at our daughter’s shul in Worcester, Massachusetts. All of our ambulatory grandchildren were with us (while the new one’s mothers were getting some much-needed private time with him), and they joined us under a large tallit for an aliyah to Torah. I could barely finish the Torah blessing because of my joyful tears!

Jews have been marking meaningful times with shehecheyyanu for about 1500 years. Let’s continue expressing gratitude for being here* (something we should be doing…always?!) for special moments by reciting shehecheyyanu when we feel it’s the right time.

(*The scientist Lewi Thomas wrote: “Statistically, the probability of any one of us being here is so small that you’d think the mere fact of existing would keep us all in a contented dazzlement of surprise.”)