Last class, we continued reviewing the final bracha of Shemoneh Esrai and briefly discussed prayer tips for Modim, the seminal expression of thanks in the Shemoneh Esrai prayer. Now we will begin to dig into Modim and, as always, let’s start with the text of the bracha:

“We gratefully thank You, for it is You Who are HaShem, our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers for all eternity; Rock of our lives, Shield of our salvation are You from generation to generation. We shall thank You and relate Your praise – for our lives, which are committed to Your power and for our souls that are entrusted to You; for Your miracles that are with us every day; and for Your wonders and favors in every season – evening, morning, and afternoon. The Beneficent One, for Your compassions were never exhausted, and the Compassionate One, for Your kindnesses never ended – always have we put our hope in You.

Longtime readers will know that we often jump into each blessing with a textual analysis of the bracha. We will of course do that with Modim but I’d like to first continue with the introduction and take a bigger picture view of the bracha first.

Last class we discussed my personal practice to take a minute before starting this bracha to think of all of the things I’m thankful in life – from small to large. HaRav Fishel Schachter explains that this is exactly why Modim comes towards the end of our Shemoneh Esrai prayer. We have just spent the majority of the prayer asking for so many different things. Now we need to remind HaShem (but really it’s a reminder for ourselves), that even though we’ve made all of these requests, we are still so grateful for what we do have in life.

This again offers an opportunity to revisit our theme of this class – trying to personalize the prayers. While one may be struggling, and their focus is naturally drawn to those problems while praying, anyone engaged in prayer is also, by definition, still breathing. And that alone is reason for us to be thankful! As we begin our Modim prayer, we can pause for a second to acknowledge how much we truly have to be thankful for.

Interestingly, Rav Feuer in his book on Shemoneh Esrai points out that Modim is the 18^th bracha, which we commonly associate with Chai, the Hebrew word for life. This is appropriate, Rav Feuer notes, because the purpose of life is to recognize HaShem’s kindness and to thank Him for it!

Of course, displaying our gratitude to HaShem also comes with an implicit admission that we are also so reliant on Him. Rav Feuer also notes that the Gemara explains why Modim therefore immediately follows our bracha of Avodah, of Temple service, because the two are truly identical. If we are thanking HaShem, we logically are also acknowledging that we need Him and, if we acknowledge that we need Him, how can we be so bold as to not serve Him? Therefore, the two blessings are linked, as we acknowledge that we need G-d and therefore are committed to serving Him.

This may also be one reason why we bow as we recite the first three words of Modim – we want to start the 18^th bracha by acknowledging we must humbly serve HaShem.