Waking Up Like a Lion When I Feel More Like a Sloth (Adapted from a source sheet by Rachel Leshaw)

(א) יִתְגַּבֵּר כַּאֲרִי לַעֲמֹד בַּבֹּקֶר לַעֲבוֹדַת בּוֹרְאוֹ שֶׁיְּהֵא הוּא מְעוֹרֵר הַשַּׁחַר: הַגָּה: וְעַל כָּל פָּנִים לֹא יְאַחֵר זְמַן הַתְּפִלָּה שֶׁהַצִּבּוּר מִתְפַּלְּלִין.

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayyim 1:1

(1) One should strengthen him/herself like a lion to get up in the morning to serve their Creator, so that it is they who awakens the dawn. Rem"a (gloss or additional commentary): At least, one should not delay beyond the time when the congregation prays.

ברכות ט״ו א:ב׳-ד׳

א"ר חייא בר אבא א"ר יוחנן כל הנפנה ונוטל ידיו ומניח תפילין וקורא ק"ש ומתפלל מעלה עליו הכתוב כאלו בנה מזבח והקריב עליו קרבן דכתיב (תהלים כו, ו) ארחץ בנקיון כפי ואסובבה את מזבחך ה'

Berakhot 15a:2

Rabbi Hiyya b. Abba said in the name of Rabbi Johanan : Whoever washes his hands, lays Tefillin, reads the Shema' and offers his prayers, the Scriptures ascribe it to him as though he had erected an altar and brought a sacrifice upon it; as it is written, "I will wash my hands in cleanliness ; so will I build you an altar oh God" (Psalm 26:6).

אורח חיים ד׳:י׳

(י) נוֹטֵל כְּלִי שֶׁל מַיִם בְּיַד יְמִינוֹ, וְנוֹתְנוֹ לְיַד שְׂמֹאלוֹ כְּדֵי שֶׁיָּרִיק מַיִם עַל יְמִינוֹ תְּחִלָּה.

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayyim 4:10

(10) One should take up the vessel of water with his right hand, then transfer it to his left hand in order to pour water onto his right hand first.

אורח חיים ד׳:י״ב

(יב) אִם שִׁכְשֵׁךְ יָדָיו לְתוֹךְ כְּלִי שֶׁל מַיִם, עָלְתָה לוֹ נְטִילָה לִקְרִיאַת שְׁמַע וְלִתְפִלָּה, אֲבָל לֹא לְרוּחַ רָעָה שֶׁעֲלֵיהֶם. אִם שִׁכְשֵׁךְ יָדָיו בְּשָׁלֹשׁ מֵימוֹת מְחֻלָּפִים, יֵשׁ לְהִסְתַּפֵּק אִם עָלְתָה לוֹ לְהַעֲבִיר רוּחַ רָעָה שֶׁעֲלֵיהֶם.

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayyim 4:12

(12) If one dabbles his hands into a vessel of water, then that counts as hand-washing for the purposes of reciting the Shema and the Amidah prayer, but he has not yet removed the foul spirit from his hands. If one dabbles each of his hands alternately into three different lots of water, then it is not clear whether he has removed the foul spirit from his hands.

A certain Jew once paid Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l a visit and aired an interesting complaint. “It is so hard to be a Jew! Every action is regulated by so many halachos. There are even halachos for how to put on your shoes in the morning. First the right shoe, then the left. And the laces must be tied in opposite order, first the left then the right. And the same is true regarding every second of each day. Even the most mundane acts are required to be done specifically according to their own halachos. How can we endure so many obligations?” Rav Shlomo Zalman’s reply changed the questioner’s view towards halachah. “Why look at it like that? Why not see the positive side of halachah? Everyone must put on his shoes each day, regardless of whether he follows halachah. Instead of being part of a mindless routine, the halachic order for putting on shoes makes even this mundane action a mitzvah. And the same is true of all the rest. “In the words of the famous statement of Rav Chanayah ben Akashya: ‘Hashem wished to grant the Jewish people merits and He therefore gave us a multitude of mitzvos.’” The Nachas Hashulchan adds another dimension to this. “From the halachos which regulate the most mundane things, like how we put on our shoes and how we don our garments, we see that every action of a Jew has a deep inner meaning. If not, why make a halachah about such minutiae? It is only because of the deeper meaning that one who lives according to the Torah must be careful even regarding such seemingly minor details...” (mishnaberurayomi.org)

What are your morning rituals that help you to wake up?