Hakaras Hatov: The Life-Transforming Power of Recognizing Good

Rabbi Zweig analyzes the perplexing requirement for Moshe to have Aharon perform the first three plagues rather than doing them himself. Rashi (רש"י) explains that Moshe couldn't strike the water or soil because they had protected him - the Nile when he was placed in a basket as a baby, and the earth when he buried the Egyptian. This raises the obvious question: what does it mean to show gratitude to inanimate objects that cannot feel or benefit from appreciation? The rabbi introduces an even more puzzling teaching from the Midrash about Moshe at the well in Midyan. When Yisro's daughters thanked Moshe for saving them, he redirected their gratitude to the Egyptian he had killed in Egypt, saying that Egyptian was truly responsible for his being there to help them. The Midrash compares this to someone bitten by a snake who runs to water for healing, saves a drowning person, and tells them to thank the snake. These examples seem absurd on their surface.