Stand Tall Israel - Thank You Hashem I'm Alive - Rabbi Paysach Krohn (Hakarat Hatov) STORY

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Practice gratitude by saying "Thank you, Hashem, I'm alive" whenever you feel like complaining about something God has done, using a tangible reminder of survival. The story, told by Rabbi Paysach Krohn, centers on his aunt, who survived the August 9, 2001 Sbarro's pizza bombing in Jerusalem and kept the shoes she was given that day as her reminder.

Key Points

• The aunt was at Sbarro's with her daughter when the bombing happened; fifteen people were killed and over 130 injured.
• After the explosion, her daughter Getty carried her across the street, since she had lost her shoes and could not walk on the glass.
• A stranger from a nearby shoe store brought her a pair of shoes and told her never to think she had to return them, saying they were a gift.
• Her ritual: whenever she felt like complaining to Hashem about something He had done, she took off her shoes, went to her bedroom, put on those shoes, looked down, and said "Thank you, Hashem. Thank you."
• She had kept the shoes for about 20 years, and the Hebrew lettering of the shoe store was still visible on them when the rabbi saw them.

Details Worth Noting

• Concrete instructions: The practice the aunt followed is to keep a meaningful object from a near-death experience, and when tempted to complain about what God has done, put that object on, look down, and say "Thank you, Hashem. Thank you." The video frames this as a way to replace complaint with gratitude; it gives no further steps beyond this.
• The aunt lost part of her hearing from the explosion, according to the rabbi's recollection of her story.
• The rabbi says the aunt was a short, petite woman who had been knocked against the wall during the blast.
• The rabbi reports the aunt passed away a few months before this talk, at over 90 years old; she had been his favorite babysitter in Williamsburg, and she told him this story (the shoe part) during her final year.
• The aunt moved to Detroit, and the rabbi says he stayed with her when he spoke there year after year.

Bottom Line

Ordinary objects tied to a survival story can become lasting prompts for gratitude, and the aunt used one shoe pair for two decades to keep her complaints in check.