Sept. 1, 2023

Shkoyach! An Exploration of Jewish Gratitude and its Cultural Significance

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Season 5

Have you ever wondered about the evolution of the famous Jewish jargon Shkoiach? Get ready to unravel this seemingly simple phrase's etymology and deep cultural significance. We'll lead you through the journey from its original form, Yasher Koach, to the now commonly used Shkoiach. You'll discover how this expression of thanks or encouragement has endured through changes in pronunciation and usage. 

Now, imagine a man, grateful to Hashem for his newfound wealth, engaged in a thanksgiving ceremony. This narrative becomes our guide as we explore the deeper facets of gratitude, its cultural expressions, and emotional profundity. We question whether merely saying Shkoiach is enough or aiming for a more heartfelt and nuanced word of thanks. How does giving context and expressing joy amplify feelings of gratitude? Please tune in to this enlightening exploration of a common phrase and its implications for expressing gratitude.

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Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com



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It's basic Jewish jargon.

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You gotta know the phrase.

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It's actually a phrase so prevalent, so common, so versatile.

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You may have already used it some time today.

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You may have overheard it from friends outside on the street, or maybe out of the mouth of someone righteous inside of a base-mentorish.

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Maybe it was from a man, maybe you overheard a woman, maybe it came from a child.

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This slang term, and at times holy colloquialism, may be endowed upon a chasenef to be finished on the holy day of Rosh Hashanah.

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Or you just said this after somebody passed you the chips at some party.

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But I fear, ladies and gentlemen, the word, the lingo has gone too far and it's time we stop the madness.

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What is the word?

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You ask Shkoiach.

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You know that word Now.

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Shkoiach is kind of like saying thank you, like good job.

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But according to Oxford's etymological dictionary of Jewish jargon, it is actually a mash-up and compound word of two other words that stand for yasharkochacha, which means your strength, should endure, it should go forth straight, which.

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So it's kind of like saying keep up the good work.

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But over time people couldn't say the chz and it was yasharkochacha turned into yasharkoa.

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If you say it fast a lot, it goes yashkoyach, yashkoyach, yashkoyach, yashkoyach Anyway, we're kind of back to the original problem of saying the chz, but shkoyach it's popular, but when you come to Parshashki Sabo and you start to get involved in the laws of gratitude and you meet this fellow who has walked down into his garden and he's now commanded to bring b'kour in first fruits, it may make you think twice about the word shkoyach.

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You see, in order for him to fulfill his obligation of giving thanks to Hashem for his new found wealth, his parnas at the beginning of his crop, he ties a cord around it, grabs his friends, he puts it inside of a basket, he brings it up to the Harabayas.

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He goes and finds the kohayn that is available in his days.

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They start to wave it.

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There's song, there's joy, there's musical instruments.

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He must jump and leap into this verbal, audible declaration of a brief summary of Jewish history.

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There was a guy named Laban, and he tried to kill my grandfather, and then we went down to Egypt and don't ask me about that, that was a whole thing and then God saved us, though, and now we're here and all of a sudden, I got these beautiful figs.

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But Anis of Amar, the gratitude, the halakos of b'kourim are that.

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It must be audible.

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We also see from here, says Rabir Uchum, that at times you give context to what exactly the person did for you.

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You held the door open for me, but really I was late to a meeting, so you don't even know how much gratitude, how thankful I am towards you.

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Now I got the job and you give some background information.

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All the way back to Laban is where we're going just for these figs, and you do it with Simcha.

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The grandparents always ask to see footage of their grandkids smiling when they're using the Chanukah present that they just bought for them, because the excitement and the Simcha that you give to somebody when you're delivering a thank you message to them further delivers what you're really feeling in your heart.

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So, with the abundance of phrases to use to bestow gratitude upon the chazen, upon your friend, upon anybody that has done something good for you, and you are recognizing the good that is truly impossible to ever be repaid.

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Is it sufficient just to say shkaya?