{"id":60818,"date":"2018-10-22T14:02:19","date_gmt":"2018-10-22T19:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=60818"},"modified":"2018-11-06T09:03:22","modified_gmt":"2018-11-06T14:03:22","slug":"underappreciated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/underappreciated\/","title":{"rendered":"Underappreciated"},"content":{"rendered":"

A while back, I wrote an article<\/strong><\/a> about how I learned the hard way to appreciate the bracha of asher yatzar<\/em>, commonly undervalued as \u201cthe bracha on going to the bathroom.\u201d At that time, I teased, \u201cAsher yatzar<\/em> may not be the only bracha we take for granted (remind me to tell you about shehakol<\/em> some time).\u201d Well, that time has come!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to take the opportunity to discuss a few blessings and prayers that may be underappreciated. Since I previously teased shehakol<\/em>, I guess I\u2019ll start with that.<\/p>\n

Shehakol<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the hierarchy of brachos, shehakol<\/em> is definitely the \u201clow man on the totem pole.\u201d\u00a0 Now \u201clow man on the totem pole\u201d is a dated expression I would normally avoid in our more enlightened age except for the fact that it perfectly captures the metaphor I wish to convey. We say \u201clow man on the totem pole\u201d to express that someone or something is the least significant, when the opposite is in reality the case. In Indigenous American totemic carvings, the figure on the bottom is actually the most revered. I believe this to be the case with shehakol<\/em> \u2013 we consider it the least significant of all the brachos on food but I suspect we largely undervalue it.<\/p>\n

The reason we may underappreciate shehakol<\/em> is fairly clear: it\u2019s a consequence of how we use it. HaMotzi<\/em> is a special bracha that we recite only on bread. Hagafen<\/em> is another prestigious bracha, reserved for wine. Mezonos<\/em>, ho\u2019eitz<\/em> and ho\u2019adomah<\/em> are likewise unique for baked goods, fruits and vegetables, respectively. Shehakol<\/em>? That\u2019s the bracha on \u201cnone of the above.\u201d<\/p>\n

If something \u201closes its status,\u201d its bracha changes to shehakol<\/em>. Apples are ho\u2019eitz<\/em>; juice them and they\u2019re shehakol<\/em>. Corn is ho\u2019adomah<\/em>; grind it to flour and it\u2019s shehakol<\/em>. Not only that, if we don\u2019t know the proper bracha for something, shehakol<\/em> serves as a catch-all that would permit us to eat that food (though, honestly, many are too quick to rely on that as an out rather than take the trouble to find out what bracha should be recited).<\/p>\n

Because of all that, people may consider shehakol<\/em> to be insignificant, but consider what the bracha actually says: \u201cBlessed are You, Hashem our God, through Whose Word everything is brought into existence.\u201d Wow. To me, that seems to be a pretty impressive accomplishment \u2013 at least as big a deal as bringing forth bread from the earth or creating the fruit of the vine. When I say most brachos<\/em> on food, I feel like I\u2019m a guest at someone\u2019s house saying, \u201cThanks for this awesome food.\u201d When I say shehakol<\/em>, I feel like I\u2019m a guest at someone’s house saying, \u201cO.M.G. I can\u2019t believe you built this house \u2013 and these furnishings \u2013 and painted all the pictures hanging on the walls!\u201d<\/p>\n

Shehakol<\/em> isn\u2019t the bracha on anything<\/em>, it\u2019s the bracha on everything<\/em>. I, for one, am pretty impressed that God created everything<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Modim<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlike the other things on this list, this one may just be me but I have pretty strong feelings about Birkas Hodaah<\/em> (AKA, \u201cModim<\/em>\u201d) nonetheless.<\/p>\n

In my school days, Modim<\/em> was by far my least favorite part of Shemoneh Esrei<\/em>. This was strictly because it was the only part of Shemoneh Esrei<\/em> that I didn\u2019t know by heart, requiring me to use a siddur. (I\u2019m still pretty bad when it comes to using a siddur or a bentcher, which is preferable to reciting things by heart. Don\u2019t be like me.) The reason I didn\u2019t know Modim<\/em> by heart was because every other bracha in Shemoneh Esrei<\/em> we both recite and we hear repeated by the shaliach tzibbur<\/em>. When it comes to Modim,<\/em> we pretty much only recite it. We don\u2019t really hear it repeated because when the shaliach tzibbur<\/em> reaches that part, we\u2019re busy saying Modim d\u2019Rabbanan<\/em>. (The fact that we don\u2019t hear Modim<\/em> recited by the shaliach tzibbur<\/em> ends up being part of my appreciation for it but I have somewhere else to go before I get there.)<\/p>\n

My appreciation for Modim<\/em> first grew thanks to books like Rabbi Mayer Birnbaum\u2019s Pathways to Prayer<\/em> and Rabbi Aaron Werner\u2019s \u201cThree Beacons\u201d book on Shemoneh Esrei<\/em>, both of which I discuss more here<\/strong><\/a>. Did you ever think about what Modim<\/em> says? What it means? It says:<\/p>\n

We give thanks to You, acknowledging that you are Hashem, Who takes care of us and took care of our ancestors and Who will do so forevermore. You are the Rock of our lives and the Shield of our salvation from generation to generation. We will give thanks to You and recount Your praises \u2013 for our lives, which are in Your hand; for our souls, which are entrusted to Your care; for Your miracles, which are with us every day; for Your wonders and various forms of goodness, which are at all times \u2013 evening, morning and afternoon. You are the ultimate Good because Your mercy is unending, and You are the Merciful One because Your kindness is without limit. We have always placed our hopes in You.<\/em><\/p>\n

(I translated this myself, without referring to any books, but I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if years of exposure to Rabbi Birnbaum\u2019s and Rabbi Werner\u2019s books have influenced my choice of words.)<\/p>\n

So, the first reason I\u2019m so impressed with Modim<\/em> is because it\u2019s such a moving expression of how much we owe to God \u2013 which is literally everything!<\/p>\n

The second reason I\u2019m so enamored of Modim<\/em> is the reason we don\u2019t hear the shaliach tzibbur<\/em> repeating it: because we\u2019re busy reciting Modim d\u2019Rabbanan<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Modim d\u2019Rabbanan<\/em> means \u201cModim<\/em> of the Rabbis.\u201d (It’s not d’Rabbanan<\/em> as opposed to “Modim d’Oraisa<\/em>,” of which there is none.) The prayer gets its name from the Talmud in Sotah (40a). There, it asks what the congregation recites while the shaliach tzibbur<\/em> is repeating Modim<\/em>. This leads to a multi-part difference of opinion among Rav, Shmuel, Rabbi Simai and the Nehardai, with a concluding sentiment from Rav Acha bar Yaakov. Since each of authorities has something unique to contribute, Rav Papa says that we should recite all of them. Hence, the prayer is called \u201cModim d\u2019Rabbanan<\/em>\u201d \u2013 \u201cModim<\/em> of the Rabbis\u201d \u2013 because it comprises the praises composed by all of them.<\/p>\n

But why does the Gemara take for granted that the congregation is reciting anything<\/em> at this time? The reason we do so is explained by the Avudraham: when it comes to asking God for things we need \u2013 health, wisdom, forgiveness, help making a living, even messianic salvation \u2013 it\u2019s appropriate for the congregation to appoint a worthy member as their representative to address God on their behalf. But when it comes to thanking God for all the things that He gives us?\u00a0That<\/em> each person must do for himself.<\/p>\n

So Modim<\/em> is a special part of Shemoneh Esrei<\/em> \u2013 one that\u2019s too important to entrust to a messenger. To me, at least, that imbues the prayer with some special significance, both in the silent recitation and in the reader’s repetition.<\/p>\n

To Be Continued<\/strong><\/p>\n

This has gone on a little bit longer than I had planned, so I will pick this up in part 2<\/strong><\/a>. Come back then and I will reveal what will invariably prove to be the undisputed most undervalued part in the entire liturgy.<\/p>\n

\n

Rabbi Jack Abramowitz is Torah Content Editor at the Orthodox Union. He is the author of six books, including\u00a0The Tzniyus Book<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0The Taryag Companion<\/a>. His latest work,\u00a0The God Book<\/a>, is available from\u00a0OU Press<\/a>\u00a0as well as on\u00a0Amazon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A while back, I wrote an article about how I learned the hard way to appreciate the bracha of asher yatzar, commonly undervalued as \u201cthe bracha on going to the bathroom.\u201d At that time, I teased, \u201cAsher yatzar may not be the only bracha we take for granted (remind me to tell you about shehakol<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":60819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nUnderappreciated - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The dated expression \u201clow man on the totem pole\u201d means "least significant" but the opposite is really true. 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