![]() So we begin the day with the admission that no matter who we have been up until now, today is a new opportunity to be that much more. Our focus needs to be on the present, on today. This is why the Hebrew word for the past, avar, shares the same root as aveira, which means “sin.” Living in the past, relying on the past, focusing on the past, whether good or bad, is unhealthy. The opposite approach is problematic as well: If yesterday was amazingly positive and productive, we may rest on our laurels and fail to take responsibility for making today even better. With that mindset, it’s hard to motivate to even try. Often we allow our past to determine our present: If we messed up yesterday, chances are today we will again. Nonetheless, we were given another chance to transform our reality. When we take an honest look at ourselves, we must admit that we have made mistakes. And another day means another opportunity to figure out why we are here and what we are supposed to be doing.Īdmit is the acknowledgment and verbalization of our gratitude. The word modeh can mean “thank,” but it can also mean “admit” or “surrender.” So we want to ensure that we never forget to have the foundation of our day be “Thank You.” Only after that has been said, do we mention ourselves.īut Modeh Ani is about much more than gratitude. We often spend the rest of our waking day focused on ourselves, our needs, our work. Grammatically, it would be correct to say Ani modeh - “I thank You.” Yet, the words are in the reverse order, which translates literally as “Thank You, I.” The point is that the very first word that comes out of our mouths should be one of gratitude. The wording of Modeh Ani also offers a powerful lesson. It’s both ironic and unfortunate that so many of us groan in annoyance that we have to get up, without recognizing the incredible blessing that we are able to. We are by no means guaranteed to wake up in the morning, so when we do, it’s only proper that we take a moment to express gratitude for another day, for another opportunity to live our lives. There’s a concept in Jewish mysticism that sleep is 1/60 of death. Most translations render Modeh Ani as some version of “I thank you.” And rightly so. I thank You, living and enduring King, for You have graciously returned my soul within me. ![]() Modeh ani l’fanecha, melech chai v’kayam, shehechezarta bi nishmati b’chemla, raba emunatecha And this is specifically why there is a prayer to be recited at the very moment we wake up, before we do or say anything else. ![]() Unless you’re a real morning person, getting out of a warm bed and starting your day is tough to do. What’s the very first thing you do in the morning? Hit the snooze button? Check email? Head straight for the coffee? As Rabbi Hillel said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” However, God's “crowning Israel with splendor” means that the Jewish people must show mercy and compassion to all of God’s children.My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help Donateīe honest. One interpretation of God's “girding Israel with strength” is that the Jewish people must not hesitate to defend itself when the need arises. Just as God buried the dead-by personally attending to the burial of Moses at the very end of the Torah-so must we see to the needs of the deceased (see Eilu Devarim). Just as God clothed the naked (see above)-by providing garments for Adam and Eve at the very beginning of the Torah-so must we provide clothing for the naked. The ancient rabbis interpreted “image of God” as meaning not that we look like God, but rather that it is incumbent upon us to act like God. The Torah tells us that human beings are created in the image of God. Traditional sidurim tend to be more masculine-centered and parochial they include, for example, prayers that thank God for “not having made me a woman” and for “not having made me a gentile.” Contemporary sidurim, by contrast, tend to be more egalitarian and universalistic. Various sidurim differ as to the text of birchot ha-shahar. In its contracted form (as here, in “the blessings of the dawn”), berachot becomes birchot. The shoresh of the word beracha (blessing) is b r ch “knee.” In the ancient world-as well as in some religions today-respect for God was shown by kneeling. ![]() These prayers of gratitude for God’s daily miracles are known as birchot ha-shahar, “Dawn Blessings.” Like all the prayers that precede them, they are usually recited in private, as we wait for the congregation of worshippers to assemble. Who spread out the earth above the waters. Who has created me as a free human being. Who has created me as a descendant of Israel. Praised are you, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, Praised are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe,
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