It happened once that three rabbis were having a conversation. One of them said, “When it is time to offer the prayer of thanks for a meal, I ask the Almighty to accept my gratitude not only for my own sustenance but also on behalf of all who are at the table with me, since there may be someone among them who does not yet know the value of this prayer.”

The second rabbi said, “Yes, very wise. I do the same, but I do not stop at those who are the table with me. I ask that my thanks be accepted on behalf of all the members of the twelve tribes, past, present and those who will be born someday in the future till the seventh generation, by His Grace.”

There was a silence, and finally one of them asked the third rabbi, “And you?”

The third rabbi said, “As I consider myself very ignorant on the subject, I humbly ask the Lord to someday teach me the meaning of thanks.”