When I was a student, a rabbi once asked my class, “What is the BEST prayer in the prayer book?” Fellow students yelled out:                                     

“Shma!”

“Kaddish!”

“Shalom Rav!”                                                

After entertaining everyone’s ideas, he paused and said, “I’ll tell you what the most important prayer in the prayer book is!” We all leaned in anticipatin the answer and to glean wisdom from our respected teacher. He said “Modim Anachnu Lach.” Why hadn’t I thought about that prayer? Modim is found in the Amidah (the standing prayer), the pinnacle of all prayer services, and it is Judaism’s prayer of thanks. It literally means, “We thank you (God).” Many prayers in our liturgy are petitionary, but Modim is simply an acknowledgement of our thanks to God. We praise God for the good in our lives. More than any other prayer, Modim reminds us to recognize the blessings we have been granted each and every day, as we open our eyes, as we walk, as we sing, and as we breathe. 

                                                                                              – Cantor Lizzie Weiss