Our Morning Prayer

Modeh Ahnee

Every night when our soul ascends to Heaven it takes with it a witness and a prosecutor. That is our own evil inclination. It ascends with us and testifies to all of the evil actions we did during this day. Then as prosecutor it makes a plan to "assist" us in becoming the most that we can be. It asks Hashem the judge to accept his plan as a last request. The earlier requests is DO NOT SEND US BACK TO OUR BODIES.

When we weather that process and are returned to our bodies, the Kabbalists have given us a sequence that awakens appreciation for Hashem's Mercy in returning us to our bodies. This appreciation strenghtens and protects all the Blessings that we will receive during this day ahead.

We say this sequence of Hebrew Letters called Moden Ani not to thank the Creator but to strenghten our connection between body and soul. We also do this for ourselves not for the Creator.

When we sleep, our soul is cleansed of the effects of the physical world. Not completely. When our soul returns to our body, there is a process of reintegrating our soul parts with our body parts.

To assist that process and to allow that process to proceed in a balanced way, our Sages have written this Hebrew sequence, we call Modeh Ahnee. We are instructed to say this while lying in bed prior to standing up.

The Halacha in the Shulchan Aruch teaches us to arise like the Lion. WITH A ROAR of THANKFULNESS. That is how to say the Modeh Ani every morning. Say it in bed without even getting up.

If we forget to say it and find ourselves having arisen and are standing, we can say this at any moment during the day or night. There is no limitations. It assists us in returning to a balanced state.

Here is an example recording of Modeh Ani.

  • Recording of Modesh Ahnee by chanoch recorded 4 26 2012
  • Men say:

    מודה אני לפניך מלך חי וקים שח׀החזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה רבה אמונתך

    Transliteration

    Modeh Anee Lefanecha Melech Chai Vekayam Shehechezarta Bi Nishmati Bechemla Rabah Emunatecha.

    Women say:

    מודה אני לפניך מלך חי וקים שח׀החזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה רבה אמונתך

    Transliteration

    Modah Anee Lefanecha Melech Chai Vekayam Shehechezarta Bi Nishmati Bechemla Rabah Emunatecha.

    Translation for both Men and Womenfrom Beraishit Raba chapter 68

    I give thanks before you, Living and Existing King, for restoring my soul to me, compassionately. Great is your Trustworthy.

    Admonition to be said immediately after Modeh Ani

    Say what is appropriate for you. What are your goals for the Day? Realize that your soul is not yet settled in your body, yet your words have power and will manifest. The first words that you say sets the consciousness of your day.

    This is my admonition

    I will be Happy today! I will do all of my actions to reveal Light and to help bring Mashiach. Through the revelation of this Light i will connect to greater and greater Certainty.

    I can tell you from personal experience that this admonition does work.

    Kavenah and Alternative meaning to the Hebrew word Modeh and Modah.

    From (Mem) Zeir Anpin (Heaven) (Vav), through the doorway (Dalet) to the physical world (Hay)

    Kavenah for the word Anee

    Anee is spelled Alef Nun Yood. It is a word that connects to our ego which is what separates us from the Creator. The Creator uses the word Anoki by adding a letter Caf and changing the vowel with the Caf to be a Vav. Together they have the gematria of 26 which is the gematria of the Tetragramaton the most powerful word (for lack of a better description) in the Hebrew Language. The Vav never appears in the written scroll in this Name. What does it mean to add a Caf to your identity "I". The represents the Palm of the hand as that is the meaning of the word Caf. Your Palm is identified with your hand which is how we do actions in our physical world. Therefore "I" becomes strengthened to do Greater things for God.

    An alternative or additonal Kavenah relating to Ani is to use the same letters in a different order. Ani becomes Ain as in Nothingness. This word is spelled in Hebrew Alef Yood Nun Sofit. They are the same letters so the same Gematria of 61. When we transform the "I" into something not important to my happiness (meaning my desires are not the important goal) we have eliminated our "I" and connected to the Ain which is the Light of Hashem.

    Additional Kavenah for Ahnee

    These are the same letters for the 37th Name of God and also the 37th Name from the Tzadikim. These are Names connected to the first 5 days of Tishrai and so include Rosh Hashana and the Fast of Gedalia plus 2 of the days of Tshuvah.

    Kavenah for the word Lephanecha

    Lephanecha means in front of or before. I put your desires before my own Hashem

    Additional Kavenah

    The gematria of Phanecha is the sum of the Names of God dealing with Binah -63; Zeir Anpin - 45; Malchut - 52; 63+45+52 = 160 = Pey-80 + Nun-50 + Yood-10 + Caf-20.

    No of Words:

    12

    No of Letters:

    50

    See below for explanations for these numbers

    Kabbalistic Permutations

    מא למח חוש בנ ברא

    "from unity"; "to brain"; "gut feeling"; son; "create"

    Interpretation of the above combination of words

    This son (of the Creator) (is given another chance) to unify the Head and the Emotions (by acting as a) Creator

    There are 12 words and 50 Letters. This teaches us that this sequence is connecting the level of Binah (where the soul was cleansed last night) to the phsyical world. This comes from 12 being a number that connects to the physical world through the idea of the 12 Tribes. 50 connects to the 50 Gates of Binah - a term that refers to the spherah of binah.

    Meditation

    As you say each of the 12 words think of the Tribes one after the other. Here is their order: Yehudah - Shimon - Levi -Reuven - Dan - Naphtali - Gad - Asher - Issachar - Zevulan - Joseph - Benjamin.

    Meditation

    Most people do not take the time to do this one.

    As you see each of the 50 letters think of the 50 days between Pesach and Shavuot which we count during the omer period. Count the Sephirot involved starting with malchut shebe malchut and rising to Chesed She be Chesed.

    below are items from the Midrash that we are taught relate to the Modeh Anee although it is quite difficult to understand the connection.

    Midrash Rabbah - Genesis VIII:8 8. R. Samuel b. Nahman said in R. Jonathan's name: When Moses was engaged in writing the Torah, he had to write the work of each day. When he came to the verse, AND GOD SAID: LET US MAKE MAN, etc., he said: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Why dost Thou furnish an excuse to heretics?’1 ‘Write,’ replied He; ' Whoever wishes to err may err.’ ' Moses,’ said the Lord to him, ‘this man that I have created-do I not cause men both great and small to spring from Him? Now if a great man comes to obtain permission [for a proposed action] from one that is less than he, he may say, " Why should I ask permission from my inferior!" Then they will answer him, " Learn from thy Creator, who created all that is above and below, yet when He came to create man He took counsel with the ministering angels.’" R. Hila1 said: There is no taking counsel here, but it may be compared to a king who was strolling at the door of his palace when he saw a clod lying about. Said he, ‘What shall we do with it?’ "Some answered: ' [Use it in building] public baths’; others answered: ‘private baths.’ ‘I will make a statue of it,’ declared the king. Who then can hinder him? Gen. 68 Midrash Rabbah - Genesis IX:10 10. R. Samuel b. R. Isaac said: BEHOLD, IT WAS VERY GOOD alludes to the angel of life; AND BEHOLD, IT WAS VERY GOOD, to the angel of death. Is then the angel of death very good? Imagine a king who made a feast, invited the guests, and set a dish filled with all good things before them: ' Whoever will eat and bless the king,’ said he, ' let him eat and enjoy it; but he who would eat and not bless the king, let him be decapitated with a sword.’ Similarly, for him who lays up precepts and good deeds, lo! there is the angel of life; while for him who does not lay up precepts and good deeds, lo! there is the angel of death. Midrash Rabbah - Genesis IX:11 11. R. Simeon b. Abba said: BEHOLD, IT WAS VERY GOOD alludes to the dispensation of good; AND BEHOLD, IT WAS VERY GOOD, to the dispensation of punishment. Is then the dispensation of punishment very good? It means that He considered well how to bring it.1 R. Simon said in R. Simeon b. Abba's name: All measures have ceased,2 yet the rule of measure for measure3 has not ceased. R. Huna said in R. Jose's name4: From the very beginning of the world's creation the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that man will receive measure for measure; therefore Scripture said, AND, BEHOLD, IT WAS VERY GOOD, meaning, behold, there is a fitting dispensation. ____________________ (1) God took good care that the Temple should be destroyed and the Jews be deported to Babylon in summer and not in winter, for they would never have survived the rigours and hardships of that long journey in winter. Mah.: He was anxious how to make the punishment fit the wrongs committed so that the victims, recognising this, would be led to repentance. Others: He caused the Temple to be destroyed two years before its time (translating: He hastened to bring the punishment), for had He waited longer, Israel's sins would have condemned them to complete destruction. V. Lam. R. on I, 14 (¤ 42); Sanh. 38a. (2) The phrase is somewhat obscure. In Sot. 8b a very similar phrase is explained as referring to the four modes of execution. (3) I.e. punishment befitting the crime; v. Sot. ad loc. (4) I.e. the teacher known in the Babylonian Talmud as R. Joseph (not R. Jose the Tanna).