מודה אני

The first chief rabbi of Israel, Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hacohen Kook זצ״ל, made an interesting observation about the מודה אני prayer that we say every morning.

The prayer gives thanks to Hashem for restoring our souls after a night's sleep. The Rabbis say that sleep is a fraction of actual death. Therefore, we are not to take for granted that we were given the blessing of being able to wake up each morning.

Rav Kook wrote that an individual who takes this prayer seriously each day, and says it with a great deal of Kavana, is on a very high spiritual level. Before tending to his daily needs, his very first instinct when he opens his eyes is, "Thank you Hashem for letting me live another day."

His high level of spirituality prioritizes for him, his order of priorities. First acknowledge Hashem's Chesed, then go about your business of the day. This will also help a person deal with his daily challenges in the right perspective. Our dependence on G-d comes before everything else. Think about this tomorrow when you say מודה אני.