Prayer · Jewish practice
Modeh Ani
I give thanks before You, living and enduring Sovereign, who has returned my soul to me with compassion; great is Your faithfulness
מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם, שֶׁהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ
Modeh ani lefanekha melekh ḥai vekayam, sheheḥezarta bi nishmati beḥemlah, rabbah emunatekha
The first words on waking, said before rising and before washing. It is short for a specific reason: it contains no Divine Name, so it may be said before the hands have been washed.
Source: Siddur, morning blessings
Traditionally said once, rather than counted on beads.
Not counted on beads
How many times
Traditionally said once.
Japa counts this one without a mala: a plain daily number rather than a ring of beads, with the words kept in view while you say them. Counting is unlimited and free.
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What the words say
Modeh ani lefanekha — I give thanks before You. Modeh is the masculine form; a woman says modah. Sheheḥezarta bi nishmati beḥemlah — that You have returned my soul to me with compassion; sleep is treated here as a small death and waking as a restoration. Rabbah emunatekha — great is Your faithfulness, a phrase taken from Lamentations 3:23.
Where it comes from
The prayer appears in Seder HaYom by Moses ben Machir, published in 1599, and is included in later siddurim. It contains no Divine Name and can be recited immediately on waking, before washing the hands.
How it is practised
Said once, immediately on waking, lying or sitting up, before anything else.
References
- Siddur, morning blessings
- Lamentations 3:23
Keep it, and count it every day.
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