001 - סידור ברכות השחר, תפלת השחר עם מקורות

Modeh Ani

Siddur of the Alter Rebbe

As soon as he wakes from his sleep, so that he will not go back to sleep, he should accustom himself to reflect immediately before Whom he is lying: before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written: "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" etc. Were he lying before a king of flesh and blood, he would be risking his life, etc.

It is good to accustom oneself to say this text immediately upon waking: "I offer thanks to You, living and eternal King, for You have restored my soul within me with compassion; great is Your faithfulness." Through this he will remember G‑d, who stands over him, and will rise with alacrity.

I offer thanks to You, living and eternal King, for You have restored my soul within me with compassion; great is Your faithfulness.

[Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe, second edition, section 1

6 It is good to accustom oneself to say immediately upon waking from sleep ("I offer thanks to You, living and eternal King, for You have restored my soul within me with compassion; great is Your faithfulness"), and through this he will remember G‑d, who stands over him, and will rise with alacrity. Since this text does not contain any of the seven Divine Names that may not be erased, it is not forbidden to say it before washing the hands, even if he slept on his bed unclothed and his hands presumably touched soiled places on his body.

Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe, first edition, section 1

5 It is good to say immediately upon waking from sleep: "I offer thanks to You, living and eternal King, for You have restored my soul within me with compassion; great is Your faithfulness." Washing the hands is not required for this, even if the hands are soiled, since the words of this text have no sanctity, as it contains none of the Divine Names that may not be erased.

The Source

The "Modeh Ani" prayer is a late prayer; it is not mentioned in the Talmud, nor in the siddurim of the Geonim or in the Rambam. It is first mentioned in the book Seder HaYom by Rabbi Moshe ben Machir. (Rabbi Moshe ben Machir, or Moshe ben Yehudah HaMachiri, was one of the Kabbalists of the city of Tzefas in the 16th century; he headed a yeshivah in Ein Zeisim and authored the book Seder HaYom.)

The theme of the prayer is thanksgiving for the fact that in the morning, when a person wakes from sleep, his soul returns to him after he has been without consciousness throughout the night's sleep. This prayer does not include G‑d's Name, and therefore it is said upon waking, before washing the hands, which must be done before praying or reciting a blessing in a text that includes G‑d's Name.

The idea that a person entrusts his soul into the hands of the Creator when he lies down to sleep, and receives it back from Him in the morning fresh and renewed, is also alluded to in the verse "Into Your hand I entrust my spirit" in Tehillim 31:6.

Midrash Tehillim expounds the verse in a way that recalls "Modeh Ani":

Midrash Tehillim (Buber), Psalm 25

..."Into Your hand I entrust my spirit" (Tehillim 31:6)

In the way of the world, when deposits are entrusted to a person, he mixes up one person's with another's and another's with this one's, because he does not recognize them. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so; rather, "the L‑rd is a G‑d of truth." Has anyone ever risen [in the morning], sought his soul and not found it? Or found his soul in someone else's hand? Or someone else's soul in his own hand? Therefore it is said: "You have redeemed me, L‑rd, G‑d of truth" (Tehillim 31).

Rabbi Alexandri said: With a human being, new things are deposited with him and stay with him, and he returns them worn out and old. But with the Holy One, blessed be He, worn-out and threadbare things are deposited with Him, and He returns them new. Know that this is so: for a laborer works all day long, and his soul is weary and worn out from it; and when he sleeps, he is weary and surrenders his soul, and it is deposited in the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He; and in the morning it returns to his body as a new creation, as it is said: "They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Eichah 3:23).

Rabbi Shimon said in the name of Rabbi Simon: From the fact that You renew us every morning, we believe and recognize [that You will return our souls to us at the Resurrection of the Dead].

Rabbi Alexandri says: From the fact that You renew us in the mornings of the exiles, we know that Your faithfulness is great to redeem us.

The Midrash likens the return of the soul to the body at dawn to the morning of the Redemption. Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Alexandri compare the morning of the Redemption to the morning of every day: from the daily revival we believe in the revival at the end of the generations. And from the fact that we survive in exile and rise each day to a new morning ["from the fact that You renew us in the mornings of the exiles"], we know that You are faithful to bring us, at the end of days, the complete Redemption.

The Order of Washing

Siddur of the Alter Rebbe: The Order of Washing

Laws of Morning Washing

Since this text [Modeh Ani] does not contain any of the seven Divine Names that may not be erased, it is not forbidden to say it before washing the hands, while the hands are not yet clean. But to mention G‑d's Name in blessings, or to utter words of Torah, is forbidden until he cleans his hands. To think about words of Torah is permitted.

One who slept in his clothes, since it is possible that his hands did not touch the covered places of his body which are always kept covered, these hands of his are presumed fit, according to the law of the Talmud, for mentioning G‑d's Name in blessings and for speaking words of Torah. And needless to say, he may touch his clothes before washing, even though an evil spirit rests upon them.

However, the Zohar is very stringent not to mention G‑d's Name in blessings, nor to study, nor to touch one's clothes, nor to walk four cubits, while the spirit of impurity rests upon the hands, before the morning washing of the hands.

He should be careful not to touch the eye, the ear, the nose or the mouth; and likewise he should be careful not to touch the water inside the vessel and make it impure. All the more so he must be very careful not to touch any food or drink, so as not to make it impure. Women in particular should be cautioned about this, for most of the preparation of food is in their hands.
The Order of Washing.

Preferably, he should take a vessel full of water in his right hand and pass it from his right hand to his left, and then pour from the left hand onto the right. He should be very careful, even to the point of it being essential, to wash alternately; for so the Kabbalists received, that the spirit of impurity does not depart entirely until one washes three times alternately. Also, he should wash the entire hand up to the joint where it meets the arm, for the impurity spreads over the hands up to there.

He must be careful, even to the point of it being essential, that the water be fit for washing the hands for a meal; that it come upon his hands from the force of a vessel and from human force; and also not to touch, with his washed hand, the moisture on the rim of the vessel, which became impure through contact with the unwashed hand. Likewise he must beware of anything that forms an interposition, and of anything that disqualifies the washing of the hands for a meal.

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the washing of the hands. (Amen)

[Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe, second edition, section 1

7 One who slept in his clothes, since it is possible that his hands did not touch soiled places on his body, these hands of his are presumed fit for mentioning G‑d's Name in blessings and for speaking words of Torah, according to the law of the Talmud and the halachic authorities (as will be explained in section 4). And needless to say, he may touch his clothes before washing the hands, even though an evil spirit rests upon them; only he should not touch food and drink, as will be explained there.

However, the Zohar is very stringent not to recite a blessing, nor to study, nor to touch one's clothes, nor to walk four cubits, while the spirit of impurity rests upon the hands, before the morning washing of the hands. And one who walks four cubits is liable to death; for by letting this impurity rest upon his hands he has desecrated the holiness of G‑d that is upon him, as upon all the servants of G‑d who are sanctified with the holiness of the Omnipresent, blessed be He, and of His holy Torah, with a holiness and purity beyond the purity of the multitude who have not reached this level.

Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe, section 4

4 Laws of Washing the Hands, containing 21 paragraphs:

1 Every person who rises from his bed in the morning, whether or not he has relieved himself, must wash his hands with a revi'is of a log of water from a vessel, even if he does not intend to pray until several hours later. For every person, when the Holy One, blessed be He, returns his soul to him, becomes like a new creation, as it is written, "They are new every morning," etc. For a person entrusts his soul weary, and the Holy One, blessed be He, returns it to him new and at rest, so that he may serve G‑d, blessed be He, with all his ability and minister to Him all day long, for this is the whole of man. Therefore we must sanctify ourselves with His holiness and wash our hands from a vessel, in order to perform His service and minister to Him, like a Kohen, who would sanctify his hands from the laver every day before his service. And since one must wash his hands specifically from a vessel, he therefore recites the blessing "concerning the washing (netilas) of the hands" and not "concerning the rinsing of the hands"; because the vessel from which one washes the hands is called a "natla" in the language of our Sages. Therefore they instituted in this blessing the word "netilah," to indicate that a vessel is required.

4 The Sages said: Whoever sleeps at night for sixty breaths, since his soul has departed from him, a spirit of impurity comes and rests upon his body. As soon as he wakes from his sleep, the spirit of impurity departs from his entire body, except from his hands; for the spirit of impurity does not depart from them until he pours water on his hands three times on each hand separately. And he should not pour on one hand three times in succession, but once on the right and once on the left, and so he should do three times.

5 Before he washes them in the manner explained, he should not touch his mouth with his hands, lest he become mute; nor his ears, lest he become deaf; nor his eyes, lest he become blind; nor his nose or his mouth, lest he be afflicted with polypus, that is, a foul odor of the nose and mouth.

6 Likewise he should not touch any food or drink, so as not to make it impure.

7 He need wash only the fingers; however, it is good to wash them up to the wrist joint.

10 When he washes his hands, he must wash his right hand first. And since it is good that the water come onto his hands from the right hand to purify them, for the reason explained in the Zohar, he should therefore take a vessel of water in his right hand and pass it to his left, so that he will pour water on his right hand first.

The source for the morning washing of the hands is as stated in the Gemara, Berachos 60b: "When he washes his hands, let him say, 'Blessed... who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the washing of the hands.'"

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has formed man with wisdom, and created in him many orifices and cavities. It is revealed and known before the Throne of Your glory that if one of them were to be blocked, or one of them were to be opened, it would be impossible to exist even for a short while. Blessed are You, L‑rd, who heals all flesh and performs wonders. (Amen)

My G‑d, the soul which You have given within me is pure. You have created it, You have formed it, You have breathed it into me, You preserve it within me, and You will take it from me and restore it within me

in the time to come.

As long as the soul is within me, I offer thanks to You, L‑rd my G‑d and G‑d of my fathers, Master of all works, Sovereign of all souls.

Blessed are You, L‑rd, who restores souls to dead bodies. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who gives the heart understanding to distinguish between day and night. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who opens the eyes of the blind. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who releases the bound. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who straightens the bowed. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who clothes the naked. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who gives strength to the weary. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who spreads forth the earth above the waters. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who directs the steps of man. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has provided me with all my needs. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who girds Israel with might. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who crowns Israel with glory. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has not made me a gentile. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has not made me a slave. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has not made me a woman. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who removes sleep from my eyes and slumber from my eyelids.

And may it be Your will, L‑rd our G‑d and G‑d of our fathers, to accustom us to study Your Torah, and to cleave to Your commandments. Do not bring us into sin, nor into transgression and iniquity, nor into temptation, nor into disgrace; and let not the evil inclination have mastery over us. Keep us far from an evil man and an evil companion. Make us cleave to the good inclination and to good deeds, and compel our inclination to be subservient to You. Grant us this day and every day grace, kindness and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who behold us, and bestow bountiful kindness upon us. Blessed are You, L‑rd, who bestows bountiful kindness upon His people Israel. (Amen)

May it be Your will, L‑rd my G‑d and G‑d of my fathers, to protect me this day and every day from insolent men and from insolence; from an evil man, an evil companion, an evil neighbor, and an evil mishap; from an evil eye, from slander, from informing, from false testimony, from people's hatred, from libel, from unnatural death, from evil diseases and from evil occurrences, and from the destructive adversary; from a harsh trial and from a harsh opponent, whether he is a member of the covenant or not a member of the covenant; and from the judgment of Gehinnom.

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the words of Torah. (Amen)

L‑rd our G‑d, make the words of Your Torah pleasant in our mouth and in the mouth of all Your people, the House of Israel, so that we, our descendants, and the descendants of all Your people the House of Israel, may all be knowers of Your Name and students of Your Torah for its own sake.

Blessed are You, L‑rd, who teaches the Torah to His people Israel. (Amen)

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has chosen us from among all the nations and given us His Torah.

Blessed are You, L‑rd, who gives the Torah. (Amen)

The L‑rd spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: Thus shall you bless the children of Israel; say to them:

May the L‑rd bless you and guard you. (Amen)

May the L‑rd make His countenance shine upon you and be gracious to you. (Amen)

May the L‑rd turn His countenance toward you and grant you peace. (Amen)

And they shall place My Name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them. (Amen)

These are the things for which no fixed measure is prescribed:

the corner of the field, the first fruits, the pilgrimage offering, acts of kindness, and the study of Torah.

These are the things the fruits of which man enjoys in this world, while the principal remains for him in the World to Come. They are:

honoring one's father and mother, acts of kindness, early attendance at the house of study morning and evening, hospitality to guests, visiting the sick, dowering the bride, escorting the dead, concentration in prayer, and making peace between man and his fellow and between husband and wife; and the study of Torah is equal to them all.

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the mitzvah of tzitzis. (Amen)

I hereby take upon myself the positive commandment, "Love your fellow as yourself." (Leviticus 19:18) [Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe 46:11]

How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!

And I, through Your abundant kindness, shall come into Your House; I shall bow down toward Your holy Sanctuary in awe of You. (Psalms 5:8) [Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe 46:11]

As for me, may my prayer to You, L‑rd, be at a favorable time; G‑d, in Your abundant kindness, answer me with the truth of Your salvation. (Psalms 69:14)

Master of the world, who reigned before anything was created.

At the time when by His will all things were made, then was His Name proclaimed King.

And after all things shall cease to be, the Awesome One will reign alone.

He was, He is, and He shall be in glory.

He is One, and there is no other to compare to Him, to consort with Him.

Without beginning, without end, His is the power and dominion.

He is my G‑d and my ever-living Redeemer, the strength of my lot in time of distress.

He is my banner and my refuge, my portion on the day I call.

Into His hand I entrust my spirit when I sleep and when I wake.

And with my soul, my body too; the L‑rd is with me, I shall not fear.

When Tachanun is not said the following piece is omitted

Our G‑d and G‑d of our fathers, remember us with a favorable remembrance before You, and be mindful of us with a decree of salvation and mercy from the primeval, most high heavens. Remember in our favor, L‑rd our G‑d, the love of the ancients, Avraham, Yitzchak and Israel, Your servants; the covenant, the kindness, and the oath which You swore to Avraham our father on Mount Moriah, and the Akeidah, when he bound his son Yitzchak upon the altar, as it is written in Your Torah:

And it came to pass after these events that G‑d tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham," and he answered, "Here I am."

And He said, "Take now your son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you."

And Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took his two young men with him, and Isaac his son; he split the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose and went to the place of which G‑d had told him.

On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.

And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder; we will prostrate ourselves and return to you."

And Abraham took the wood for the burnt-offering and placed it upon Isaac his son; he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and the two of them went together.

And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt-offering?"

Avraham said, “G‑d will see to the lamb for the burnt-offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

And they came to the place of which G‑d had told him, and Abraham built the altar there, arranged the wood, bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

And an angel of the L‑rd called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

And he said, "Do not lay your hand upon the lad, nor do anything to him; for now I know that you are a G‑d-fearing man, since you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me."

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold,

a ram, after that, caught in the thicket by its horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering in place of his son.

And Abraham named that place "The L‑rd will see," as it is said to this day: "On the mount where the L‑rd is seen."

And an angel of the L‑rd called to Abraham a second time from heaven,

and said, "By Myself I swear, says the L‑rd, that because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only one,

I will surely bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens and as the sand on the seashore; and your descendants shall inherit the gates of their enemies.

And through your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have hearkened to My voice."

Then Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beer-Sheva; and Abraham dwelt in Beer-Sheva.

When Tachanun is not said the following piece is omitted

Master of the world, just as Avraham our father suppressed his compassion for his only son in order to do Your will wholeheartedly, so may Your mercy suppress Your anger from upon us, and may Your mercy prevail over Your attributes.

Deal with us, L‑rd our G‑d, with the attribute of kindness and the attribute of mercy, and go beyond the strict line of judgment for us. In Your great goodness, may Your fierce anger turn away from Your people, from Your city, from Your land and from Your heritage. Fulfill for us, L‑rd our G‑d, the word You promised us in Your Torah through Moshe Your servant, from the mouth of Your glory, as it is said:

"I will remember My covenant with Yaakov, and also My covenant with Yitzchak, and also My covenant with Avraham I will remember; and I will remember the land."

And it is said: "Yet even so, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not despise them nor reject them to destroy them, to break My covenant with them, for I am the L‑rd their G‑d."

And it is said: "I will remember for them the covenant of the forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt before the eyes of the nations, to be their G‑d; I am the L‑rd."

And it is said:

"The L‑rd your G‑d will bring back your exiles and have compassion on you; He will once again gather you from all the nations among whom the L‑rd your G‑d has scattered you.

Even if your dispersed are at the ends of the heavens, from there the L‑rd your G‑d will gather you, and from there He will take you.

The L‑rd your G‑d will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; He will do good to you and make you more numerous than your fathers."

And it is said: "L‑rd, be gracious to us; we have hoped for You. Be their strength every morning, and our salvation in time of distress."

And it is said: "It is a time of distress for Yaakov, but from it he shall be saved."

And it is said: "In all their distress He was distressed, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His compassion He redeemed them, and He bore them and carried them all the days of old."

And it is said: "Who is a G‑d like You, who pardons iniquity..."

"He will again have mercy on us, He will suppress our iniquities; and You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Grant truth to Yaakov, kindness to Avraham, as You swore to our fathers from days of old."

And it is said: "I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them rejoice in My house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted with favor on My altar, for My House shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations."

A person should always be G‑d-fearing in private as well as in public, acknowledge the truth, speak the truth in his heart, and rise early and say:

Master of all worlds! Not because of our righteous deeds do we lay our supplications before You, but because of Your abundant mercies. What are we? What is our life? What is our kindness? What is our righteousness? What is our strength? What is our might? What can we say before You, L‑rd our G‑d and G‑d of our fathers? Are not all the mighty men as nothing before You, men of renown as though they had never been, the wise as if without knowledge, and the men of understanding as if devoid of intelligence? For most of their deeds are naught, and the days of their lives are vanity before You,

the superiority of man over beast is nothing, for all is vanity.

except for the pure soul which is destined to give a judgment and accounting before the Throne of Your glory. And all the nations are as naught before You, as it is said: Behold, the nations are as a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, the islands are like the fine dust that is blown away.

But we are Your people, the children of Your covenant, the children of Avraham who loved You, to whom You swore on Mount Moriah; the descendants of Yitzchak, his only son, who was bound upon the altar; the community of Yaakov, Your firstborn son, whom, because of the love with which You loved him and the joy with which You rejoiced in him, You named Israel and Yeshurun.

Therefore it is our duty to thank You, to praise You, to glorify You, to bless, to sanctify, and to offer praise and thanksgiving to Your Name. Happy are we! How good is our portion, how pleasant our lot, and how beautiful our heritage! Happy are we who, early and late, evening and morning, twice every day, declare:

Hear, O Israel, the L‑rd is our G‑d, the L‑rd is One.

Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.

You shall love the L‑rd your G‑d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.

And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart.

You shall teach them thoroughly to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the way, when you lie down and when you rise.

You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as tefillin between your eyes.

And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.

You were the same before the world was created; You are the same since the world was created; You are the same in this world, and You are the same in the World to Come. Sanctify Your Name in Your world through the people who sanctify Your Name. Through Your salvation, our King, exalt and raise up our strength, and save us soon for the sake of Your Name. Blessed is He who sanctifies His Name among the multitudes.

You are the L‑rd our G‑d in heaven and on earth and in the highest heavens of heavens. Truly, You are the first and You are the last, and besides You there is no G‑d.

Gather the dispersed who hope in You from the four corners of the earth. Let all who come into the world recognize and know that You alone are G‑d over all the kingdoms of the earth.

You have made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them. Who among all the works of Your hands, among the celestial or the terrestrial beings, can say to You, "What are You doing? What are You making?" Our Father in heaven, who lives and endures, deal with us in charity and kindness for the sake of Your great, mighty and awesome Name which is proclaimed over us; and fulfill for us, L‑rd our G‑d, that which You have promised us through Zephaniah Your seer, as it is said:

At that time I will bring you, and at that time I will gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the nations of the earth, when I return your captivity before your eyes, says the L‑rd.