What is the very first thing you do when you wake up? For many of us, it might be hitting the snooze button… or turning off the alarm only to immediately pick up the phone and start scrolling. Others might leap straight into action because a child, pet, or other responsibility is calling for attention before our feet even touch the floor.
But before doing any of the things that immediately pull us outward, our tradition asks us to begin each day with just a moment turned inward, with the simple words of Modeh Ani:
מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם, שֶׁהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה. רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ
Modeh/Modah ani l’fanecha, Melech chai v’kayam, she-hechezarta bi nishmati b’chemlah, rabah emunatecha.
I offer thanks to You, ever-living Sovereign, that You have restored my soul to me in mercy: How great is Your trust.
Before our eyes fully open, before emails, news alerts, or household needs flood our minds, Judaism invites us to begin with gratitude.
Gratitude is not an occasional spiritual nicety; it is woven into Jewish daily life. The Talmud teaches that we are obligated to say 100 blessings every day (Menachot 43b). Imagine being asked, on any ordinary Tuesday, to list 100 blessings in your life. On some days, the list might flow quickly; on others it might feel harder to name even a few. The practice itself reminds us that blessing is not only something we receive, but it is something we notice.
This week, we celebrate a holiday whose name itself is about giving thanks. And yet, it is all too easy to spend Thanksgiving week swept up in shopping deals, parade-watching, football games, and travel stress – often before we even begin cooking Thanksgiving dinner. What would it look like if gratitude wasn’t something that happened after the meal, but something that shaped the week leading up to it?
One small commitment could change the feel of the week: to do one act or expression of gratitude each day. It could be saying Modeh Ani with intention, writing down three blessings before bed, thanking someone you haven’t thanked in a while, or noticing a moment of beauty and pausing long enough to honor it.
For many households, Thanksgiving is also about traditions that anchor the holiday in memories and meaning. Maybe it’s the parade, a special recipe, or the same familiar jokes around the table. In my family, the night before Thanksgiving means watching the Thanksgiving episodes of The West Wing. No matter how many times we’ve seen them, we return to them together, quoting favorite lines (“Aren’t I going to get a reputation for being soft on turkeys?!”), and settling into the comfort of something known and beloved. Those episodes don’t just tell a story; they become part of ours.
So this week, as we move through preparation and celebration, may our traditions, the old and the new, help us notice the blessings we might otherwise overlook.
If we begin with gratitude, it can change not only how we wake up each morning, but how we move through the day that follows.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Rabbi Yael