If you conducted a study to find out the first word that people say each day, you would probably get billions of answers. In Judaism you may get a more typical answer, as there are actually meaningful traditions that begin from the moment we open our eyes each morning and continue all the way until we close our eyes at night and beyond, including what we start of our day saying.
With this in mind, the sages gave us a tradition to begin each day with a short little sentence that says thank you to G-d for restoring my soul and giving me another day.
This sentence is known as the Modeh Ani prayer, with the word "Modeh" which means "Thankful" which is then followed by "Ani" which means "I" and which then follows with a few short words describing how G-d is faithful and trustful and looks after us.
Modern psychology recognizes the importance of gratitude and even the importance of starting your day with a dose of gratitude (see here for an example) and what a positive impact this can have on the person.
This concept is also an idea that is heavily emphasized in this week's Torah portion which discusses several traditions which revolved around giving thanks for the blessings that one had been blessed with. This wasn't simply about saying thank you, but instead it was done with a physical gift of thanks to the Kohen in the Temple and it included a verbal declaration of thanks for the various blessings that the person had been endowed with, and G-d's protection throughout history.
It was a beautiful tradition and Mitzvah which was known as Bikkurim, but perhaps even more than the gift itself, was what it did for the giver of the gift, and how it helped endow them with an attitude of gratitude for the blessings in their life, which would translate into humility and empathy to others.
As 5783 comes to a close, it is an opportune time to stop and think about the many blessings that we have been endowed with, starting from life itself, to the many individual blessings that are a part our lives. Likewise in these weeks prior to Rosh Hashanah it is an auspicious time to review the short yet powerful prayer of Modeh Ani, and incorporate its message and meaning into our daily living.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos
Yisroel