![the Open Siddur Project [logo]](https://opensiddur.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Open-Siddur-Project-Logo-2016.svg){kind=logo}
I have difficulty with the idea of thanking God for “returning my soul to me” sheheḥezarta bi nishmati when I’m getting up with an awareness of trying to stay in touch with my dreams. It’s not my soul that’s been missing through the night; I’m returning to experience my body. So I much prefer what I heard someone suggest, that instead of saying nishmati (my soul), to say instead ha-[hitgalmut shel] nishmati (the embodiment of my soul). I thank God for returning me to my body — my soul was never missing! In the words of my Sufi teacher Murat Yagan, “I am a soul, and I have a body.” –Ya’qub ibn Yusuf
| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
|
מוֹדָה|מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ
מֶֽלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם שֶׁהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי הַהִתְגַּלְּמוּת שֶׁל נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ׃ |
So thankful am I before you, Living and enduring Majesty, for you have returned to me the embodiment of my soul with compassion. So great is your faith! |
Modeh Ani first appeared as an addendum in Seder ha-Yom (1599) by Moshe ibn Makhir of Safed. Around February 2012, I was sitting with Ya’qub ibn Yusuf in his bookstore, Olam Qatan (then at 54 Emek Refaim in South Jerusalem), asking if he might share some useful practice that I might share through the Open Siddur Project. He offered this thought which he had heard from someone else. (Unfortunately, Ya’qub could not remember who taught this insight. If you know its origin, please contact us or share in the comments.) The Hebrew adaptation and translation I’ve offered is based upon Ya’qub’s teaching. Read more on Modeh Ani from Shmuel Gonzales at Hardcore Mesorah. –Aharon Varady
“מוֹדה אֲנִי | Returning the body to the soul: an adaptation of Modeh Ani by Moshe ibn Makhir” is shared by the living contributor(s) with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
Stable Link:
Associated Image:
I don’t Like Being Woken Up (Credit: Mac_NZ, license: CC-BY 2.0)(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in category lists and in shared links on social media.)Terms of Use:
Please reciprocate for any adaptation or redistribution of this work by (1) properly attributing the work to Aharon N. Varady (translation), Ya'qub Ibn Yusuf and Mosheh ben Yehudah ibn Makhir, (2) clearly indicating the date you accessed the resource and whether any changes have been made (and if so, please be in touch with us and leave a comment below so that we might note your adaptation or improvement), (3) providing a link back to this source, and (4) specifying the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license under which this work was shared.
Support this work:
The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libré Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture. If you like what you've found here, please help keep our project alive and online with your financial contribution.
This work was prepared and presented through the effort of Aharon Varady. Please consider supporting his work on this project through your patronage.
ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established."–Psalms 90:17
PDF (or Print) |
Copyleft
Very interesting. In Chinese Medicine, the Hun, or spiritual aspect of the Liver, releases from the body during sleep to soar high in the universe. When the Hun returns, the person awakes. (this is just a brief summary)