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A Prayer Upon Arising

By Aaron Eby | Comments (2)
March 1, 2007

When should one begin the morning prayers?

According to Jewish tradition, we begin our prayers sometime after we gain consciousness in the morning, but before we open our eyes. A day in Jewish life begins with a blessing of the Creator, a prayer known as Modeh Ani:

I give thanks before You, living and enduring King, that You have returned my soul to me in compassion; great is Your faithfulness.

In essence, we thank God that we did not die in our sleep. Sleep itself is a form or shadow of death: our cognitive functions cease, and our body is paralyzed. Everything that enables us to serve and worship God is disabled. Those functions are what is meant by "soul" (neshamah נשמה) in this prayer.

It is God who enables us to rise from our slumber. By speaking of sleep in terms of death (and thus drawing a comparison between the two), this short prayer is actually an affirmation of faith in the resurrection of the dead. In a sense, it is saying, "Father just as You have raised me from my sleep, which is a form of death, so I can trust You to raise me from the dead in the time to come."

In the same way, Yeshua and the Apostles repeatedly speak of sleep as a metaphor for death in order to express faith in resurrection. So it was with the daughter of the synagogue official Jairus (Luke 8:52 and parallel texts) and also with Lazarus (John 11:11). And so Paul encouraged the Thessalonians by saying, "For if we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Yeshua," (1 Thessalonians 4:14).

Saying Modeh Ani upon awaking is a difficult habit to form, but it is very rewarding to start one's day by acknowledging that it is only by the grace of our Maker that we continue to live. It sets a tone of thankfulness and reverence for the rest of the day. One way to help form this habit is by finding a recording of the prayer and putting it in your CD or MP3 alarm clock. That way you can sing along with the artist as you are gently awakened. (Need a suggestion? The Brazilian singer Fortuna has a beautiful version of it on her album A Collection of Ladino Songs)

In ancient times, the prayer that began the day was Elohai Neshamah, in which the resurrection imagery was more direct. At some point, this prayer was moved into the synagogue service instead and replaced with Modeh Ani. The prayer reads:

My God, the soul that You placed within me is pure. You created it, You formed it, You breathed it into me, You protect it within me, and in time You will remove it from me, and then return it to me in the future to come. While the soul remains within me, I give thanks before You, O LORD my God and God of my fathers, Great One over all works, Master of all souls. Blessed are You, O LORD, who returns souls to dead bodies.

When the time comes for the dead to arise at the dawn of the Messianic era, some will awaken in a confused stupor. Others--out of pure habit--will join a chorus of thousands who will thank God for life and resurrection with their very first new breath! May you and I be among them!

Aaron Eby
11 Adar 5767

About the Author: Aaron Eby writes for messiah magazine and other FFOZ publications. He is also the author of the forthcoming Siddur, as well as the recently published Hebrew lesson DVD.

Visitor Feedback:

Shalom Aaron,
I would like to know if there are other types of siddurs, or is it just one complete siddur only. I am asking this because I found a siddur mainly for women, and I was just wondering if there is one mainly for men.
In the women's siddur, there is a specific prayer to pray for a mate. I would like to know if the men's siddur also carries a specific prayer to pray for a wife? Is there a prayer for a man to pray for a wife? This would really help a friend of mine. thanks - Laura

Hi Laura,

There are different siddur editions that different publishers have put together for different people and situations. Some are designed with children or youth in mind, some are for women, some for people who are grieving, etc. I don't believe a specific men-only siddur has been published since most siddurim are made with primarily men in mind.

Some prayers for a man to find a wife probably have been written, although I am not certain exactly where you might find them. That type of prayer might be found in the book called Aneni published by Feldheim, which is not a siddur but more of a compilation of miscellaneous prayers for special occasions.

As I am certain you are aware, that type of prayer should not be treated as a magic formula. Nor is it necessary to use a pre-written prayer for that type of purpose. However, it can be helpful to as a tool to put one's feelings into words and to keep the right attitude and focus.

Peace
Aaron

Laura | March 5, 2007 8:08 PM

I just want to encourage you about these blogs on prayer and let you know how much they bless me. If you don't get replies, its because I am busy reading and praying! I loved the visual of the last line: "Others—out of pure habit—will join a chorus of thousands who will thank God for life and resurrection with their very first new breath! May you and I be among them!" I agree! I know of a pastor who teaches the thought in a similar way, he says that we should live such a godly life here on earth, that when we step into heaven it will be "Yep, just like I expected!"

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