The Power of Thanks to Bring Down the Good
Opening Every morning, before you touch your cup of coffee, and before you open your phone to see what is happening in the world, these words leave your mouth: “I thank You, living and lasting King.” Stop for a moment. What exactly are you giving thanks for? The day has not started yet. You don’t know what it will bring. You don’t know if it will be easy or heavy, happy or tight and narrow. And what do you do? You give thanks. You give thanks in advance. You give thanks before you have anything to give thanks for. This is the big question. We usually understand thanks like this: you received something good, so you say thank you. It is a logical order, the order of cause and effect. But here, in “I thank You,” the effect comes before the cause. You give thanks before you have received anything at all! Thanks Is Not the Result. It Is the Cause. But a deep principle is hidden here. Thanks is not a reaction to the good. It is the cause of the good. It is not “Life is good for me, so I give thanks.” It is “I give thanks, and so the good flows down to me and shows itself.” How does this work? It follows a principle of Hasidic teaching. When a person makes an effort down here below, that effort awakens a response from above, and draws down Hashem’s blessing and abundance. When a person sets a firm stance of gratitude inside himself, he is not only describing reality. He is creating it. He is building the vessel that can receive the good. The Bible says: “Give thanks to Hashem, for He is good, for His kindness lasts forever.” Notice this. The good is not a condition for giving thanks. It is the thanks that reveals that “His kindness lasts forever.” Hashem’s abundance is always there, without a break. The question is whether there is a vessel to receive it. When a person says “I thank You,” he turns himself into that vessel. A Story That Speaks for Itself: King Jehoshaphat and the Choir of Thanks Some stories don’t need much explaining. They speak for themselves. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, stood facing many powerful enemies. What did he do? He sent singers out ahead of the army, saying: “Give thanks to Hashem, for His kindness lasts forever.” Not after the victory, but before it. And what happened? “At the very moment they began to sing and praise, Hashem set ambushes” against the enemy. The moment the thanks rose up, the whole battle turned around. This is not just an inspiring story. It is a real event, and real events teach the most. Thanks first, victory after. The cause comes before the effect. From Being Acted Upon to Taking Action I know this feeling, my dear young married friend. You feel that life simply “happens” to you, and all you do is react. Day after day there are needs, pressures and uncertainty. And there you are, taking the blows as they come. You feel that things are being done to you, and that you are not the one doing. A great Hasidic master teaches that our inner work should be “from the very start, above it all.” Don’t deal with difficulties after they arrive. Deal with them before they come. This is exactly the power of thanks. When you say “I thank You” as you get up in the morning, before the day has “happened” to you, you change. You stop being someone things are done to, and you become someone who acts. You define your reality. You are not dragged along behind it. A person who opens his day with thanks opens gates. As the Book of Psalms says: “Enter His gates with thanks.” Thanks is the key to the King’s treasures. It is not something you offer after the fact, once the King has already opened His gates on His own. You bring it from the very start, when you arrive with the key already in your hand.
Putting It into Practice
There is no big, complicated instruction here. Here it is, simple and sharp: Tomorrow morning, when you say “I thank You,” don’t say it in passing while your thoughts are already racing into the day. Stop for one second. Say it deliberately, from the start. Say it as an action, like someone who knows that right now he is opening a vessel, aiming a channel, and setting a spiritual stance for the whole day. Not “It will be good, and then I’ll give thanks.” Instead: “I give thanks, and so it will be good.” Think good, and it will be good.
Questions and answers
Q: What exactly am I thanking Hashem for when I say Modeh Ani before the day has even started?
Rabbi Landau answers: Every morning, before you touch your cup of coffee, and before you open your phone to see what is happening in the world, these words leave your mouth: “I thank You, living and lasting King.” Stop for a moment. What exactly are you giving thanks for? The day has not started yet. You don’t know what it will bring. You don’t know if it will be easy or heavy, happy or tight and narrow. And what do you do? You give thanks. You give thanks in advance. You give thanks before you have anything to give thanks for. This is the big question. We usually understand thanks like this: you received something good, so you say thank you.
Q: What does King Jehoshaphat sending singers ahead of the army teach about the power of thanks?
Rabbi Landau answers: Some stories don’t need much explaining. They speak for themselves. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, stood facing many powerful enemies. What did he do? He sent singers out ahead of the army, saying: “Give thanks to Hashem, for His kindness lasts forever.” Not after the victory, but before it. And what happened? “At the very moment they began to sing and praise, Hashem set ambushes” against the enemy. The moment the thanks rose up, the whole battle turned around. This is not just an inspiring story. It is a real event, and real events teach the most. Thanks first, victory after. The cause comes before the effect.
Q: How can giving thanks move me from feeling that life just happens to me to taking action?
Rabbi Landau answers: I know this feeling, my dear young married friend. You feel that life simply “happens” to you, and all you do is react. Day after day there are needs, pressures and uncertainty. And there you are, taking the blows as they come. You feel that things are being done to you, and that you are not the one doing. A great Hasidic master teaches that our inner work should be “from the very start, above it all.” Don’t deal with difficulties after they arrive. Deal with them before they come. This is exactly the power of thanks. When you say “I thank You” as you get up in the morning, before the day has “happened” to you, you change.
Q: What does Rabbi Landau ask us to notice about saying Modeh Ani each morning before coffee or the phone?
Rabbi Landau answers: Every morning, before you touch your cup of coffee, and before you open your phone to see what is happening in the world, these words leave your mouth: “I thank You, living and lasting King.” Stop for a moment.
Q: How should I say Modeh Ani tomorrow morning to make it a real act of thanks?
Rabbi Landau answers: There is no big, complicated instruction here. Here it is, simple and sharp: Tomorrow morning, when you say “I thank You,” don’t say it in passing while your thoughts are already racing into the day. Stop for one second. Say it deliberately, from the start. Say it as an action, like someone who knows that right now he is opening a vessel, aiming a channel, and setting a spiritual stance for the whole day. Not “It will be good, and then I’ll give thanks.” Instead: “I give thanks, and so it will be good.” Think good, and it will be good.