שֶׁכֵּן חוֹבַת כָּל הַיְצוּרִים, לְפָנֶיךָ ה' אֱלֹ-ינוּ וֵאלֹ-י אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, לְהוֹדוֹת לְהַלֵּל לְשַׁבֵּחַ לְפָאֵר לְרוֹמֵם לְהַדֵּר לְבָרֵךְ לְעַלֵּה וּלְקַלֵּס

“For this is the obligation of all created beings before You, Hashem our G-d and G-d of our forefathers: to thank, to praise, to glorify, to honor, to bless and to elevate, You.”  

Why does the posuk specify all created beings? Shouldn’t it simply say that everyone should praise Hashem? 

The Ramban famously writes at the end of Parshas Bo that the purpose of all mitzvos, and of creation itself, is that a person should recognize Hashem, וְנוֹדֶה אֵלָיו, and thank Him.

Gratitude is not just one mitzvah among many. Recognizing Hashem and praising Him is the underlying purpose of existence itself.

That is the explanation behind the wording here: חוֹבַת כָּל הַיְצוּרִים — the obligation of everything that was created.

Sometimes it can be difficult to thank Hashem. A person may look at their life and think: “What exactly do I have to thank Hashem for?”

But no matter what a person feels they are lacking, there is one thing every single one of us has: We were created.

We were given life. A נשמה. A place in this world.

And if the very purpose of creation is to recognize Hashem and thank Him, then simply being here is a reason  לְהוֹדוֹת, לְהַלֵּל, לְשַׁבֵּחַ— to praise Him with every fiber of our being.