Rav Kook on Modeh Ani

         

ffThis is my own loose translation/paraphrase from Olas Re'iah, Rav Kook's commentary on the siddur, for a chabura that I gave to some campers. Like much of Rav Kook's writings on things like this, a literal translation sounds a bit funky, and it was not my intent that any deeper idea be explained in the translation, only from the discussion to follow its reading. Nor was it my intent to make any mistakes should you find any. But I thought it might be interesting anyway so here it is (not on the whole thing, only the beginning and end):

    

What are we saying in Modeh Ani? 

o   When man arises in the morning, and he first encounters the light of life, there is a supernal joy in the Heavenly secrets of existence, which is expressed in the “hoda’a” of Modeh Ani. The word “modeh” itself can be understood in two ways. It can be seen as related to the word “todah”, which comes from a feeling of hakaras hatov. Alternatively, it can be understood in the sense of “hisvadus ve’hoda’a,” admittance, being modeh al ha’emes.

o   The Divine Life Light that man finds within himself, which fill him with a feeling of gratitude to Hashem, is the means by which man find himself. For the truth of the matter is, when man sees himself within the created universe, what is he worth? With this realization, one would lose all sense of self! However, with this “Divine Life Light,” man can come to see himself and his own worth in this world. And it is upon this self-realization upon encountering the Divine within and around him that man can say “ani.”

o   The first light of holiness is the purest, and this comes to a person when he prepares his soul to receive this light immediately upon awaking and encountering Life for the first time that day. When one does this, the Divine will be clearly before him in all of life. And so, out of a great love and connection that is felt to Hashem, from this sense of being before him always, one says “lefanecha.”

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 "Rabbah Emunasecha": Hashem’s emunah in us

Emunah Elokis is what decrees what role each force in the world has to play and that they do it in all earnest. The light of this Divine Faith shines on the different things in this world in giving to them a special purpose, which in effect acts to fix. These jobs break down the doer’s original form to produce a more wondrous being.