Modeh Ani
Jewish morning prayer
title: "Modeh Ani" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["jewish-prayer-and-ritual-texts", "hebrew-words-and-phrases-in-jewish-prayers-and-blessings"] description: "Jewish morning prayer" topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modeh_Ani" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Jewish morning prayer ::
Modeh Ani (; "I give thanks") is a Jewish prayer that observant Jews recite daily upon waking, while still in bed.
Text
::data[format=table]
| Gender of speaker | Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Modeh ani lefanekha melekh cḥai vekayam sheheḥezarta bi nishmati b'ḥemlah, rabah emunatekha. | I give thanks before you, King living and eternal, for You have returned within me my soul with compassion; abundant is Your faithfulness. | |
| Female | Modah ani lefanekha melekh cḥai vekayam sheheḥezarta bi nishmati b'ḥemlah, rabah emunatekha. | ||
| :: |
Tradition
Lamentations states that "The Lord's mercies are not consumed, surely His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." From this, the Shulchan Aruch deduces that every morning, God renews every person as a new creation. This prayer serves the purpose of expressing gratitude to God for restoring one's soul each morning.
The specific prayer Modeh Ani, however, is not mentioned in the Talmud or Shulchan Aruch, and first appears in the work Seder haYom by the 16th century rabbi Moshe ben Machir.
As this prayer does not include any of the names of God, observant Jews may recite it before washing their hands. According to the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, one should pause slightly between the words "compassion" and "abundant".
In Talmudic times, Jews traditionally recited Elohai Neshamah (, "My God, the soul") upon waking. The prayer was later moved to the morning synagogue services.
References
References
- Some prayer books (especially Ashkenazic) do not differentiate, and women also recite the masculine version.
- (2003). "Artscroll Interlinear Siddur: The Schottenstein Edition". Artscroll Mesorah Publications.
- {{bibleverse. Lamentations. 3:22-23.. HE
- [https://www.daat.ac.il/encyclopedia/value.asp?id1=3525 מודה אני; אלהי נשמה; ברכת גבורות]
- Nulman, Macy. (1996). "The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer: The Ashkenazic and Sephardic Rites". Jason Aronson, Inc..
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