Modah ani l'fonecha -- I Gratefully Acknowledge You

I was not born into a Jewish home. Quite the contrary: My family is as Italian and Catholic as they come. And that was the way I was brought up. I knew rosaries, fish on Fridays, confession and novenas. I received 'First Holy Communion;' I was confirmed; I was married at 18 in a Catholic church – to a Baptist!! “Scandalosa!!” as my grandmother would say. But, somewhere in my DNA (whether my physical or spiritual DNA, I don't know) is a Jewish gene. Something in my soul responds to things that are typically Jewish. I'm not talking about blintzes and knishes, although those are little gastronomic wonderments; or even Hanukkah and hamentaschen at Purim. I'm talking about the Jewish way of thinking about things. I've got a part of that. HOW that happened exactly, I can only speculate. Yah alone knows for sure ... But, I do have a part of that.

Here's what I mean:

One thing that is typically “Jewish” is answering a question with a question.

“How are you?”

“So, with all that is going on, how should I be?”

See what I mean? I do that. I also start reading a book from the back. I knew exactly how all those Agatha Christie mystery novels that I read as a teen would end from the start, but that's what made the rest of the book make sense to me. I could more clearly see the character development and trace the story line by knowing the end in advance. Although my Agatha Christie days are well behind me, I do the same thing with magazines and newspapers now. Drives my husband nutz.

Prayer throughout the day is another “Jewish” thing. Granted, my personal goal is not to be “Jewish” so much as it is to be conformed to the Scriptures in all areas of my life. At the risk of being offensive, I did not trade in the Pope for 10,000 rabbis who don't agree with each other. The only way to have unity and peace is in conformance with the Master Document: The Scriptures. It is the 'Owner's Manual' for life. Not what we think it said; not what we were told it said; but what it actually says. I'll give you a case in point. You know the verse about, 'life is in the blood' (Lev. 17:11) the word used for life in that instance is not chai or chaim but nefesh. Nefesh means 'breathing being' or 'soul'. The soul – the life force that gives us breath. The soul being in the blood is a more complex concept. Nefesh is spelled in Hebrew: nun, pey, shin. Each letter in Hebrew, similar to hieroglyphics, has a meaning. The letters of 'nefesh' nun נ, pey פ, shin ש mean respectively, life/activity; mouth/word/speak; and eat/consume/destroy. To put those concepts together then, it becomes: Soul: life's activity that consumes the Word. THAT is what is inherent in our blood!  (As an aside, I know that the verse I mentioned is speaking of animal sacrifices as atonement for sin. I know that animals, although they follow their own Torah - that is, you won't find a dolphin in a tree or a giraffe diving for seaweed - don't consume the word.  My focus was the word nefesh, because our concept of Scripture says is incomplete, at best.)

Upon rising each morning, the observant Jew prays,

“Modeh/Modah ani l'fonecha” I gratefully acknowledge You, (which continues on ...) O living and eternal King, for you have returned my soul within me with compassion – abundant is your faithfulness!

Imagine that! Thanking our Creator for having survived the night; thanking Him for the blessing of another day with our consciousness intact. No stroke or heart attack felled us by night. No mayhem, like falling tree limbs crashing through the window or home invaders shook our shalom/peace or injured or killed us. We slept. We awoke. We can think, breathe, move. Our bodies function as they were designed. There was no fatal hiccup. Do we celebrate these things ... or do we swat at the alarm clock and mutter obscenities? (Years ago while working the night shift, I may have come in contact with these behaviors. =)   ) Connecting with the notion that we can choose our thoughts is empowering! We do not have to be locked into behaviors of the past. We can choose, this day, who we will serve: the grumbling behavior of the past or the gratitude, appreciation and love of today.

If we had energy to go through our day with a sour start, can you imagine the energy and joy we might have if we started the day with gratitude? I say, it is certainly worth a try. What we've been doing for ages has not worked so well for us, has it? For those who are parents or have had parents, how much more did we get from our folks or do we give to our children for a simple, “Thanks, Dad” or “Thanks, Mom”? Throw in an “I love you” and we parents are over the moon with delight! Can you imagine what the Creator could do for us, could do with us or could give us, if we just remembered Him as the source of all goodness and thanked Him for each gift? Bribing the Creator of the universe are we? No, there is nothing we can do to bribe Him. But when we thank Him, when we gratefully acknowledge Him, don't you think we make Him happy? The Word says that “the joy of YHVH is our strength”. May I suggest that it is not the Joy He gives us that keeps us going; rather, it is the joy we give Him. In my mind, thanking Him for what we have tears down barriers to having more. It opens the flood-gates, if you will. Quite frankly, when we have more, we can do more – for our families, for our community and for YHVH's Kingdom.  Consider this graphic:

So, let's do this. This coming week, let's start each day by thanking our Creator for our very lives before we get out of bed. I'll do it and you do it too. Let's meet here, by next week and compare notes. Comment with your experiences and I will with mine. I'm willing to guess that someone will report a miracle. How about it?

Modah ani l'fonecha -- I gratefully acknowledge You, O living and eternal King, for you are great and worthy to be praised forever!

Shalom, shalom from our house to yours --

~ yocheved