When a person has been through a dangerous and traumatic experience, they have the opportunity to give expression to their gratitude to Hashem by “bensching gomel,” that is, reciting the gomel blessing after an aliyah. It’s a very short passage: “Blessed are You Ad-nai our G-d ruler of the world, Who rewards the undeserving with goodness, and Who has rewarded me with goodness.” To which the congregation responds: “May the One who rewarded you with all goodness reward you with all goodness forever.”
The Talmud explains that this blessing should be recited after experiencing any of four dangerous situations: returning from a sea voyage, travelling through the desert, recovering from illness, or being released from prison. The list has subsequently been increased to include a whole variety of dangerous situations (for example a car accident, G-d forbid). Many say it after a plane flight, although there is a debate about this. Planes are safer than cars (especially, I might say, if you are driving in New Jersey); but still the idea of being 7 miles up in the air just doesn’t feel safe. Things, after all, fall down.
Be that as it may, it’s easy to understand why a religious person should thank
G-d for the miracle of survival. And as is typical for Judaism, such thanks are meant to be made publicly. Thus it is recommended that gomel be recited in the presence of a minyan. That is probably why it became associated with the Torah aliyah—because you wouldn’t be reading torah unless a minyan were present. And also why there is a congregational response to the blessing.
On a deeper level, we can see in the gomel blessing rabbinic wisdom and insight into the human condition. The key to understanding the blessing is the odd phrase “Who rewards the undeserving with goodness.” Why emphasize that the survivor is “undeserving?” To ask the question is to answer it. Today, 2000 after the Talmudic discussion, everybody has heard of “survivor guilt.” From soldiers, holocaust survivors, or people who have been through accidents or illness, we hear the questions, “Why me? Why did I survive when so many didn’t? Why did I deserve to live, when I am unworthy?” Instead of trying to convince them that they are worthy—an effort doomed to fail—we give them the chance to make public “confession” of their “unworthiness.” To which we respond with a public reaffirmation of the fact that their survival was G-d’s choice. The survivor may not understand it—there are many things beyond our understanding—but with the help of the community, and G-d, they may come to accept it.