(א) מיד כשיעור משנתו, בעודו על משכבו, יאמר:
(ב) מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶֽיךָ מֶֽלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם שֶׁהֶחֱזַֽרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶֽךָ:
(1) Upon waking in the morning, even before washing your hands, say:
(2) I give thanks to You living and everlasting King for You have restored my soul with mercy. Great is Your faithfulness.
With the first phrase of the prayer (Modah ah-nee lifanecha), I open to the miracle embedded in the day that is being given to me. For the second phrase (Ru-ach chai v’kayam), I substitute Ru-ach (Spirit) for the traditional Melech (King). I acknowledge that although my whole world is in flux, there is a Great Spirit — eternal and enduring, moving through all of it.
With the third phrase (she-hechezarta bee nishma-tee b’chemlah), I become receptive to the gift of consciousness from the Compassionate One and I open to the sense of being seen, known, loved and fully accepted by the Great Mystery that embraces me this very day.
The last phrase of the prayer (rabbah emunatecha) is taken from Eicha, the Book of Lamentations3:23. When I experience God’s faith in me, I receive a glimpse of the widest, longest perspective. In that glimpse, I am calmed. I relax my frantic grip. I stop trying to figure it out. I begin to trust the flow of inexorable change.
Gratefulness connects us up to the great flow of receptivity and generosity. When we begin the day in gratefulness, we step on to the path of love.
(א) יִגְדַּל אֱלהִים חַי וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח, נִמְצָא וְאֵין עֵת אֶל מְצִיאוּתו. אֶחָד וְאֵין יָחִיד כְּיִחוּדו, נֶעְלָם וְגַם אֵין סוף לְאַחְדוּתו. אֵין לו דְמוּת הַגּוּף וְאֵינו גוּף, לא נַעֲרךְ אֵלָיו קְדֻשָּׁתו. קַדְמון לְכָל דָּבָר אֲשֶׁר נִבְרָא, רִאשׁון וְאֵין רֵאשִׁית לְרֵאשִׁיתו. הִנּו אֲדון עולָם לְכָל נוצָר, יורֶה גְדֻלָּתו וּמַלְכוּתו. שֶׁפַע נְבוּאָתו נְתָנו, אֶל אַנְשֵׁי סְגֻלָּתו וְתִפְאַרְתּו. לא קָם בְּיִשרָאֵל כְּמשֶׁה עוד, נָבִיא וּמַבִּיט אֶת תְּמוּנָתו. תּורַת אֱמֶת נָתַן לְעַמּו אֵל, עַל יַד נְבִיאו נֶאֱמַן בֵּיתו. לא יַחֲלִיף הָאֵל וְלא יָמִיר דָּתו, לְעולָמִים לְזוּלָתו. צופֶה וְיודֵעַ סְתָרֵינוּ, מַבִּיט לְסוף דָּבָר בְְַּקַדְמָתו. גּומֵל לְאִישׁ חֶסֶד כְּמִפְעָלו, נותֵן לְרָשָׁע רַע כְּרִשְׁעָתו. יִשְׁלַח לְקֵץ הַיָּמִין מְשִׁיחֵנוּ, לִפְדּות מְחַכֵּי קֵץ יְשׁוּעָתו. מֵתִים יְחַיֶּה אֵל בְּרב חַסְדּו, בָּרוּךְ עֲדֵי עַד שֵׁם תְּהִלָּתו:
Yigdal Prayer was composed by Rabbi Daniel bar Judah, and is based on the “Thirteen Principles of Faith” described by Maimonides in his book, Commentary on the Mishnah.
Yigdal restates the first two commandments of the Ten Commandments — “I am the Lord thy God” and “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” Yigdal is a powerful hymn reminding the Jewish people of the power of God.
Exalted be the Living G-d and praised, He exists - unbounded by time in His existence. He is One - and there is no unity like His Oneness. Inscrutable and infinite is His Oneness. He has no semblance of a body nor is He corporeal; nor has His holiness any comparison. He preceded every being that was created - the First, and nothing preceded His precedence. Behold! He is Master of the universe to every creature, He demonstrates His greatness and His sovereignty. He granted His flow of prophecy to His treasured splendrous people. In Yisrael none like Moshe arose again - a prophet who perceived His vision clearly. G-d gave His people a Torah of truth, by means of His prophet, the most trusted of His household. G-d will never amend nor exchange His law for any other one, for all eternity. He scrutinizes and knows our hiddenmost secrets; He perceives a matter's outcome at its inception. He recompenses man with kindness according to his deed; He places evil on the wicked according to his wickedness. By the End of Days He will send our Mashiach, to redeem those longing for His final salvation. G-d will revive the dead in His abundant kindness - Blessed forever is His praised Name.
(א) בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת־הָאָדָם בְּחָכְמָה וּבָֽרָא בוֹ נְקָבִים נְקָבִים חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים גָּלוּי וְיָדֽוּעַ לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶֽךָ שֶׁאִם יִפָּתֵֽחַ אֶחָד מֵהֶם אוֹ יִסָּתֵם אֶחָד מֵהֶם אִי אֶפְשַׁר לְהִתְקַיֵּם וְלַעֲמֹד לְפָנֶֽיךָ אֲפִילוּ שָׁעָה אֶחָת. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה רוֹפֵא כָל־בָּשָׂר וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת:
(1) Blessed are You, Adonoy our God, King of the Universe, Who formed man with wisdom3This may mean either that man was formed by God’s wisdom, or that God formed man and endowed him with wisdom. and created within him openings and hollows. It is obvious and known in the presence of Your glorious throne4In refutation of those who claim that God is not concerned with earthly matters, we declare that even in the presence of His glorious throne, where He is surrounded by myriads of angels, He is aware of the mundane needs of each individual.—Vilna Gaon that if one of them were ruptured, or if one of them were blocked, it would be impossible to exist and stand in Your Presence even for a short while. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Who heals all flesh and performs wonders.
There are six mitzvos that Jews are instructed to fulfill at all times and in all places. These are called the six Mitzvos Temidios or “Constant Mitzvos.”
Mitzvos are generally classified into two categories, time-bound and not time-bound. Time-bound mitzvos can only be fulfilled at certain times, such as eating matzah on Pesach or shaking a lulav on Succos. Even most mitzvos that are not time-bound cannot be fulfilled all the time. For example, one cannot fulfill the mitzvah of mezuzah if one doesn’t have a door. There are, however, six mitzvos that Jews are instructed to fulfill at all times and in all places. Riding the bus? You can fulfill six mitzvos. Laid up in bed with a bad cold? You can do these. These are called the six Mitzvos Temidios or “Constant Mitzvos.”
1. To Know There is a God
I am Hashem your God who brought you out of Egypt. (Exodus 20:2)
The first of the Six Constant Mitzvos is also the first of the Ten Commandments; it is the mitzvah to recognize that Hashem exists. We must acknowledge not only that He created the world, but that He continues to be involved in its day-to-day operations and our personal lives. We should not just believe in God; we should go out and look at all the evidence so that we know there’s a God.
2. Not to Believe in Any Other “Gods”
Do not recognize any other “gods” in My presence. (Exodus 20:3)
Any place one could possibly go is in God’s presence; accordingly, there are no other powers! One must not even believe that Hashem created the world but then turned control over to an angel or other servant. We must recognize that no being created by Hashem can thwart His will.
3. To Know That God is One
Listen, Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem is One. (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Aside from constantly recognizing Hashem’s unity, it is also a mitzvah to recite this verse, the Shema, both in the morning and at night. Recognizing Hashem’s unity means knowing that He is unique, He has no partners, components or divisions, and that He exists outside of time and space. Hashem is the only source of life and existence.
4. To Love God
You shall love Hashem your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your ability. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
Loving Hashem should be the natural result of recognizing His existence; if we truly understand all that Hashem does for us, how could we help but appreciate and love Him for it? Studying Torah enables us to become more aware of Hashem and to become even closer to Him. We should also be prepared to give of our time, our resources and more for the sake of Hashem.
5. To Be in Awe of God
You must revere Hashem your God; Him you shall serve. (Deuteronomy 10:20)
Similarly, if we are aware that there’s a God, we couldn’t help but be in awe of Him. To revere God means to recognize that our actions have consequences. Just as becoming sick is a consequence of drinking poison, there are spiritual consequences, both positive and negative, to our actions. Knowing that there’s a God and a system of spiritual checks and balances helps keep us on the right path.
6. Not to Be Led Astray by Our Desires
Don’t follow your heart or your eyes, after which one can go astray. (Numbers 15:39)
“Heart” refers to heretical thoughts and “eyes” refers to physical temptations, both of which can distract a person from what’s really important in life. We have to keep our “eyes on the prize,” that is, on Torah and its reward. We must not be led astray by philosophies that are not compatible with Torah or by physical desires.
These six mitzvos can be fulfilled with thoughts alone, regardless of a person’s physical abilities. All Jews can use these mitzvos to get to know, love and respect our Creator better, as well as to become better people.