At the words, We are thankful, bend forward; at Adonoy return to an upright position.
We are thankful to You48Here you should bow in gratitude, as if standing before the Divine Presence, and say, “We are thankful to You.” The Jews always bowed when they perceived the Divine Presence..—Kuzari that You Adonoy are our God and the God of our fathers forever; Rock of our lives, You are the Shield of our deliverance in every generation. We will give thanks to You and recount Your praise, for our lives which are committed into Your hand, and for our souls which are entrusted to You,49Here we thank God for returning our souls each morning, after having “entrusted” them to Him all night.—Eitz Yosef and for Your miracles of every day with us, and for Your wonders and benefactions at all times— evening, morning and noon.50This phrase concludes the earlier declaration, “We will give thanks to You and recount Your praise ... evening, morning, and noon .”—Iyun Tefillalh (You are) The Beneficent One— for Your compassion is never withheld; And (You are) the Merciful One— for Your kindliness never ceases; we have always placed our hope in You.
(When the Chazzan repeats the Shemoneh Esrei and says, “Who returns His Divine Presence to Zion”, the congregation responds by saying “Amein” and then the following prayer.51This prayer was ordained by Rav and his colleagues. It is an abstract of several prayers recited by various Rabbis [=Rabanan], and for this reason it is called Modim D’Rabanan.)
We are thankful to You, that You Adonoy are our God, and God of our fathers, God of all flesh, Our Creator, Creator of the Beginning. Blessings and thanksgivings to Your great and holy Name for keeping us alive, and sustaining us; so may You always keep us alive and sustain us, and gather our exiles to the Courtyards of Your Sanctuary to observe Your statutes, and to do Your will, and to serve You wholeheartedly, for we are thankful to You. Blessed is the Almighty to Whom all thanks are due.
(On Chanukah and Purim the following prayer is added. If you omitted it, you need not repeat the Shemoneh Esrei. If, however, you became aware of your omission before concluding the blessing, you should say it at that time, and conclude by saying, “וְעַל כֻּלָּם, and for all the foregoing.”)
[We thank You] for the miracles, for the redemption, for the mighty deeds, for the deliverances and for the wars that You performed for our fathers in those days at this season.
On Chanukah: In the days of Matisyahu, son of Yochanan the High Priest, the Hasmonean and his sons, when the evil Greek kingdom rose up against Your people Israel to make them forget Your Torah52This refers to rationally conceived laws. S.R. Hirsch comments: The Greeks knew that the key to the Jewish religion is the Torah. If Torah were forgotten, the decline of ritual observance would be inevitable and rapid. Thus, they concentrated first on causing Torah to be forgotten, knowing that the deterioration of religious observance would swiftly follow. and to turn them away from the statutes of Your will— You, in Your abundant mercy, stood by them in their time of distress, You defended their cause, You judged their grievances, You avenged them. You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, many into the hands of the few, defiled people into the hands of the undefiled, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent [sinners] into the hands of diligent students of Your Torah. And You made Yourself a great and sanctified name in Your world. And for Your people, Israel, You performed a great deliverance and redemption unto this very day. Afterwards, Your sons entered the Holy of Holies of Your Abode, cleaned Your Temple, purified Your Sanctuary, and kindled lights in the Courtyards of Your Sanctuary, and designated these eight days of Chanukah to thank and praise Your great Name.
On Purim: In the days of Mordechai and Esther in Shushan the Capital [of Persia], when the evil Haman rose up against them, he sought to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their wealth53The usual procedure of those times was that all the wealth of executed people reverted to the monarch. In contrast to the norm, Haman decreed that Jewish possessions would be free for all to enjoy. He did this to provide added incentive to the populace who might have hesitated to kill Jews if they had nothing to gain.— And You, in Your abundant mercy, annulled his counsel, frustrated his intention, and brought his evil plan upon his own head, and they hanged him and his sons upon the gallows. And You made a miracle and a wonder for them, and we are thankful to Your great name forever.
And for all the foregoing may Your Name, our King, constantly be blessed and extolled, forever and ever.
During the Ten Days of Penitence, add: Inscribe for a good life all the children of Your covenant.
If you forget to say this, you need not go back and repeat it. If you became aware of the omission before concluding the blessing, you can say it at that time.
And all the living shall thank You forever and praise Your Name with sincerity — the Almighty, Who is our deliverance and our help forever. Blessed are You, Adonoy; Your Name is The Beneficent and You it is fitting to praise.