Five Fingers

(Picture courtesy of talkingtree.com)

In order to reinforce the concept of being sameach b'chelko (being happy with one's lot), I devised a bedtime ritual for my two older children before they say Shema. I sit on the edge of their beds and each night we play a game where we recount at least five things that we are grateful for. As an example, my oldest daughter might say, "Thank you Hashem for the ice cream sandwiches we had for dessert" or "Thank you Hashem that I got to play with my friends today."

While sometimes we may come up with more than five things, I explained to my daughter that we must come up with at least five things to thank Hashem for to correspond with the five fingers on our right hand. Once we have a thank you for each finger we can then place this hand over our eyes and say Shema before going to sleep.

I also explained to her that at times that she was sad or frustrated about something, all she needed to do was look down at the fingers on her hand. They would be a reminder that not all is lost and that she always has at least five things for which she can thank Hashem.