Thanks!

The Medrash tells us that in the times of Moshiach, all of the offerings will cease to be made except for the Thanks Offering.[1] Rav Shalom Cohen notes that the Thanks Offering was made by those who had been saved from a dangerous situation or a serious illness[2]which will not be relevant in the times of Moshiach; therefore, asks Rav Cohen, what is the additional thanks that we will be offering in the times of Moshiach?

Rav Cohen initially explains that in the times of Moshiach, the struggles of our past will be revealed and where we saw suffering and destruction we will now see kindness and salvation. However, if that is the case, then there is no reason why the Thanks Offering would be permitted continuously; rather, there should be an initial time period when everyone recognizes the good done for them, and then bring a Thanks Offering, but after that, there is not further need for it.

Therefore, the complete answer is that while we will indeed be making a Thanks Offering for everything that we originally thought was bad and harmful, the more we experience Hashem and come to understand His ways in the time of Moshiach, the more we will be able to look back and see how good and kind His ways were. At each new level of understanding and appreciation, we will once again feel obliged to bring a new Thanks Offering. Thus, it shall be around forever.

Although it is true that in the future our eyes will be opened to Hashem’s kindness throughout the generations, it does not mean that we should remain blind to the good that He does for us today. The message we learn from the Thanks Offering never being abolished is that we should always look for Hashem’s kindness in our lives and express our thanks. And once we have done that, as our situation develops and we consider additional ways that Hashem helped us, we should thank Him again and again. For just as Hashem’s kindness continues forever, so too should our thanks.[3]