מוֹדֶה/מוֹדָה אֲנִי לְפָנֶֽיךָ
מֶֽלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם
שֶׁהֶחֱזַֽרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה,
רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶֽךָ:
Modeh/modah ani l'fanecha,
Melech chai v'kayam,
Shehechezarta bi nishmati b'chemla
Rabbah emunatecha.
I give thanks to You,
living and everlasting Ruler,
for You have returned my soul to me with mercy.
Great is Your faithfulness.
Questions:
- First impressions/thoughts? If this is a blessing (like HaMotzi), what is missing from this blessing that you'd expect to see?
Facilitator notes:
- Formula for a blessing: giving thanks To WHOM? For WHAT? (give example here of hamotzi?)
- Giving thanks: ("modeh ani lefanecha"), To whom: praise to G-d with epithets ("melech chai v'kayam"), For what: returning my soul.
- Focusing here on the last part, restoring/returning my soul with mercy.
In Judaism, there's an idea that when we are sleeping, our soul hovers over our bodies (SOURCE?). We also have lots of different names for the soul: the nefesh, the ruach, and the neshama (נשמה). These don't really have English translations - we'd just call them the "soul." The Modeh Ani prayer invokes the neshama as being "returned" to us upon waking. Where does this come from?
(4) Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When God יהוה made earth and heaven— (5) when no shrub of the field was yet on earth and no grasses of the field had yet sprouted, because God יהוה had not sent rain upon the earth and there were no human beings to till the soil, (6) but a flow would well up from the ground and water the whole surface of the earth.
וַיִּ֩יצֶר֩ יהוה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃
—
(7) God יהוה formed the Human from the soil’s humus, blowing into his nostrils the breath of life (נשמת חי):
the Human became a living being. (8) God יהוה planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the Human who had been fashioned. (9) And from the ground God יהוה caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and bad.
What's happening here? Who are the characters, and what are they doing?
What does this source say about the importance of breath?
How does this source relate to the other sources we've looked at so far?
Why do you think the Modeh Ani prayer evokes this meaning of the "soul?"
Source: dialecticalbehavioraltherapy.com
“Mindfulness is about taking control back and focusing on what is happening now - without judgment. Focusing on the present helps you shift attention away from anxiety-inducing thoughts, which are usually rooted in the past or future.”
- How can the ideas presented help us focus back on the present moment?
-What kinds of experiences have you had relating to mindfulness, if any? Good or bad?
וְגַם בְּשָׁכְבוֹ עַל מִשְׁכָּבוֹ, יֵדַע לִפְנֵי מִי הוּא שׁוֹכֵב. וּמִיָּד כְּשֶׁיֵּעוֹר מִשְּׁנָתוֹ יִזְכֹּר חַסְדֵי יהוה, יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה עִמּוֹ שֶׁהֶחֱזִיר לוֹ אֶת נִשְׁמָתוֹ אֲשֶׁר הִפְקִידָהּ אֶצְלוֹ עֲיֵפָה, וְהֶחֱזִירָהּ לוֹ חֲדָשָׁה וּרְגוּעָה כְּדֵי לַעֲבֹד עֲבוֹדָתוֹ יִתְבָרַךְ שְׁמוֹ בְּכָל יְכָלְתּוֹ וּלְשָׁרְתוֹ כָּל הַיּוֹם, כִּי זֶה כָּל הָאָדָם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב, חֲדָשִׁים לַבְּקָרִים רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ, פֵּרוּשׁ, בְּכָל בֹּקֶר נַעֲשֶׂה הָאָדָם בְּרִיָּה חֲדָשָׁה. וְיוֹדֶה בְּכָל בֹּקֶר לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ עַל זֹאת. וּבְעוֹדוֹ עַל מִשְׁכָּבוֹ, יֹאמַר, מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם שֶׁהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ (וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁעֲדַיִן אֵין יָדָיו נְקִיּוֹת, יָכוֹל לוֹמַר זֹאת, כֵּיוָן שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ שֵׁם). וְיַפְסִיק מְעַט בֵּין תֵּבַת בְּחֶמְלָה לְתֵבַת רַבָּה (שם ובמגן אברהם ויד אפרים סוֹף סִימָן ד).
Note: the Kitzur Shuchan Aruch is a book of practical Jewish law from the 1860s.
Also, while lying in bed you should realize before Whom you lay and as soon as you awaken you should remember the kindnesses of Hashem, Blessed be His Name, that were granted to you; that He returned your soul to you. You committed it to Him faint and weary and it was returned to you new and refreshed, enabling you to worship Hashem, Blessed be His Name, with all of your capacity and serve Him the entire day; because this is the essence of Man, as it is said in Scripture: "They are new every morning how great is Your faithfulness." This verse teaches that every morning a person becomes a new creation, and he should give thanks with all his heart to Hashem, Blessed be His Name, for this (good fortune). While still in bed you should recite: I give thanks to You, living and everlasting King for You have restored my soul with mercy. Great is Your faithfulness. (Even though your hands are not yet clean, you may say this, since the name of Hashem is not mentioned.) You should pause slightly between the word chemlah "with mercy," and the word, rabbah "great."
In your own words, what is this text saying?
How does it relate to our definition of mindfulness?
Do these "instructions" for saying Modeh Ani resonate with you? Why or why not?