If G-d didn't need YOU, He would not have woken YOU up today. You are here because you are NEEDED.
A Jew is never Stuck.
People are built to stand upright because their minds rule over their hearts.
Mitzvot are the spiritual clothing of the soul. They are your responsibility, and they give you purpose. Mitzvot are a connection point between you and Hashem.
Above are just some of the deep insights that Rebbetzin Chani Shemtov, a Chabad Emissary at the University of Illinois in Chicago, shares with us in this very powerful conversation.
We start off speaking about the Modeh Ani prayer, which is the very first thing that we say when we wake up in the morning. This prayer doesn't have Hashem's name in it. This is because we have just awoken from sleep, and we need to do the traditional washing of our hands (netilat yadayim ) before we say Hashem's name. However, Modeh Ani is said right when we wake up, before we wash our hands. It is for this reason that Hashem's name is not said during this prayer.
The first word of the Modeh Ani prayer is 'Modeh,' translated in English as 'grateful.' We literally start off our day with gratitude. It has been scientifically researched, studied, and proven that gratitude leads to happiness. By starting off our day with being grateful that G-d gave our soul back to us, we are beginning on a positive, optimistic, and happy note. (When we sleep, we are 1/60 dead, so G-d needs to restore our soul to us in order for us to wake up. We are therefore grateful to Him for giving us life, each and every day.) Remember, if G-d woke you up, He gave you life. The reason He gave you life is because you have a purpose in this world that you still have an opportunity to fulfil. Otherwise, He would not have woken you up.
Following the Modeh Ani prayer, we have the morning blessings, birkot hashakar. These are a series of 15 blessings. Each of these blessings begin with the words, 'Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe...,' and then goes on to mention specific things.
Rebbetzin Chani and I spoke about several of the 15 blessings, in detail.
We discussed the blessing that states, 'Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, who has given the rooster the ability to distinguish between day and night.' Rebbetzin Chani reveals that the rooster actually crows right before dawn. The rooster is able to distinguish between day and night. The deeper meaning behind this prayer is that we need to distinguish between good (day) and evil (night.) As Jews, we can determine what bad/evil things we do not want in our lives, and what good things we do want in our lives. This is the first step in living a Torah life.
We then discussed the blessing that states, 'Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, that opens the eyes of the blind.' The deeper meaning behind this blessing is that Hashem gives us the ability, not only to see outside, but to see inside ourselves too.
Next, we talked about, 'Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, Who frees those who are bound.' From this, we learn that a Jew is never stuck. We have free will every single moment of the day. What we said or did 5 minutes ago, yesterday, or last year, doesn't need to define what we do or who we are 10 minutes from now. Hashem recreates the world every single moment. Because of this, we are never stuck, and we always have the ability to move forward in any direction, at any moment.
Then, we spoke about, 'Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, Who stands upright those who are bent over.' Many animals are made such that their head, heart and lower organs are on the same level. However, humans are created such that our head is on top, our heart is below our head, and then come our lower organs. This structure shows that our head rules our conduct, not our emotions, or our desires. It is the head that must make clear choices for us to follow.
We then get to the controversial blessing that a man says in the morning, 'Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, for not having made me a woman.' The reason behind this blessing is that mitzvot are a point of connection between Hashem and humans. In His infinite wisdom, Hashem gave men more commandments that He gave to women. They need these commandments for their spiritual growth, and since they are commanded with more mitzvot, they have a more points of connection to Him than women. Women, however, do have many mitzvot that they have the responsibility to fulfil. However, they are not confined to time-bound mitzvot because their primary responsibility is taking care of their family. Rebbetzin Chani explains this beautifully!
If you don't know how to read Hebrew, you can say the blessings in your native language.