Modeh Ani: Waking With Gratitude And Inner Wholeness

13:40

Modeh Ani: Waking With Gratitude And Inner Wholeness

by Rabbi Yisroel Bernath

Rated

5

Type

guided

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

14

Begin your day with the sacred words of Modeh Ani, the traditional Jewish morning prayer of gratitude. This guided meditation helps you awaken gently, settle the body, reconnect with your soul, and remember that your worth is deeper than yesterday’s mistakes or today’s responsibilities. Through breath awareness, body relaxation, prayer, visualization, and Kabbalistic reflection, this practice explores the soul’s unbroken connection with Hashem and the compassion expressed in receiving another day of life. It can support morning grounding, spiritual connection, self-compassion, emotional renewal, gratitude, inner peace, and a stronger sense of purpose.

Gratitude Meditation Prayer Jewish Spirituality Breath Awareness Self Compassion Divine Connection Self Acceptance Inner Peace Spiritual Connection Jewish Meditation Gratitude Practice

Meet your Teacher

Rabbi Yisroel Bernath

Montreal, QC, Canada

Meet your Teacher

Rabbi Yisroel Bernath

Montreal, QC, Canada

Transcript

Welcome. I'm Rabbi Yisroel Bernath, And before we begin, I want to invite you to create a little space. Not a perfect space. You don't need candles or a mountaintop somewhere. You don't even need the house to be quiet. Just find a place where for the next few minutes. . . You can allow yourself to be here. If you're able. Put your phone aside. You can turn it off or on vibrate even better. And let your body become comfortable. You can sit, You can lie down, Close your eyes, Or just soften your gaze. And I'm inviting you to notice something. We so rarely notice. For the next few moments. There's nowhere else you need to be. Nothing else you need to accomplish. No one you need to impress Nothing about yourself that you need to fix just space. Space to breathe Space to notice. And space to meet yourself beneath all the noise. Jewish meditation is not. About escaping the world. It's about becoming. Present enough to discover the holiness that was already here. This meditation. That we'll do today. Begins with. . . Perhaps the simplest and most profound prayer. In Jewish life. The Mozen Ani Prayer. Traditionally, This prayer is spoken. The very first moments after waking, Before we've done anything, Before we've earned anything, Before the world has had a chance to tell us who we're supposed to be. It's the soul's first statement. I am still here. My soul has been returned to me. And there's something for me to do in this world. So, Wherever you're listening from. I invite you to allow this to become. A small sanctuary in time. And I invite you to take a slow breath in. Through the nose. And then release it through the mouth. Once again, A slow breath in through the nose and then release it. I'm going to start today with the prayer in Hebrew and then the prayer in English. And then we'll begin the meditation. Modze ani. Lefanecha. Melech chai v'kayam. Shechechezarta. Be Nishmati. B'chem l'rabba emunatecha. I thankfully acknowledge you. Living. And enduring king. For you have compassionately restored my soul within me. Great is your faithfulness. I invite you to allow your body to settle to feel the surface beneath you supporting your weight You don't have to hold yourself up entirely on your own And once again, Take a slow breath in. And gently release it. Again, Breathe in through the nose. And breathe out. Before you accomplish anything today. Before you solved a problem, Helped another person. Before you proved your worth. You were given something priceless. You were given back your life. Because God believes. That your story is not finished. These words Moza'ani. Are not. What do I need to do? Or not, What did I do wrong yesterday? They're not even what kind of mood am I in. The first word is modè. I acknowledge. I am here. Maudet, I acknowledge. I am here. You are here. This moment is a gift. I invite you to gently become aware of the breath entering your body. You didn't command this breath to arrive. You receive it. And now another breath. Received again. Moda'ani is the prayer of the deepest part of our soul, What is called in Kabbalah the Yechidah, The place within you that is never separated from God. There are parts of us that become tired. Parts that become distracted. There are parts of us that make mistakes. Parts that become frightened. Defensive. Resentful, Parts that become numb. Beneath all those layers is a place that remains whole. A place that no failure can erase. A place that no painful experience can contaminate. A place that still remembers where it comes from. And I invite you to rest your attention there. You don't need to find it through force. Simply. Imagine. That beneath the noise of your mind beneath the pressure to perform. Beneath the stories that you carry about yourself, There's a small, Beautiful, Steady flame. Your flame has never gone out. It was never extinguished. And I invite you to remind yourself that there's a part of you that remains whole. There's a part of me that remains whole. There's a part of me that remains whole. This beautiful prayer of Moda Ani. Does not contain one of God's sacred names. Not because God is absent from the prayer. But because this connection is deeper than any name. A name describes. A name defines. But this moment is beyond definition. It's the essence of my soul. Meeting the essence of God. I don't have to understand it. I don't have to explain it. I am simply connected. Now I invite you to bring to mind one part of yourself that you've been judging. Maybe you felt disappointed in yourself. Maybe you've been carrying regret. Maybe you're wondering why you're not further along. And I invite you not to argue with that feeling. Don't push it away. Simply place it gently beside the next words of the prayer. Shechezarta b'nishmati b'chemla. You have restored my soul within me with compassion. God, You did not return my soul angrily. God, You did not return my soul reluctantly. God, You returned it with chemla, With tenderness, With compassion. Can I allow myself to be held with that same tenderness? Now I invite you to hear the final words. RABBAH Emunatecha. Great. Is your faithfulness. Usually we think religion begins with our faith in God. But this prayer tells us. Something even more astonishing. The morning begins with God's faith in us. You have entrusted me with another day. You've entrusted me with another conversation. With another mitzvah. Another opportunity to repair what needs repairing. And reveal. What is waiting? To be revealed. My awakening this morning is God saying, I still believe. In the light you can bring. I still believe. In the light you can bring. Now I invite you to take a slow breath in has. You breathe out, Release the need. To have the whole day figured out. You only need to receive this moment and I invite you to join me in reminding yourself. My soul is still whole. My soul is still whole. My life has been returned with compassion. My life has been returned with compassion. God believes there's something only I can bring into this day. God believes there is something only I can bring into this day. Mote Ani. Lefanecha. Melech chai v'kayam. Shechechezarta bi nishmati. Bichem l'rabba emunatecha. I thankfully did. Acknowledge you. Living and enduring king. For you have compassionately restored my soul within me. Great is your faithfulness. Or Dhani. I am grateful. I acknowledge. I am here. I am grateful. I acknowledge. I am here. I am grateful. I acknowledge. I am here. I am grateful. I acknowledge. I am here. I am grateful. I acknowledge. Here. And whenever you're ready, You can open your eyes and rejoin us. Thank you for spending this time with me. I hope to see you soon.