Whenever someone gets an aliyah on Rosh Hashanah in our shul, I ask them to make a commitment for the coming year. It can be financial. It can be a mitzvah. It can be something personal. There’s no checklist; it just needs to be something meaningful to that person.
One person - let's call him Yankel - has made a commitment every single year for at least the last 20 years that I’ve known him! When he came up for his aliyah this year, I asked him what commitment he was taking on. I knew he had been thinking about it for months and was curious what he’d come up with.
“I'm going to say Modeh Ani every morning,” he declared.
Amazing! Think about how conditioned we are to pick up our phones as soon as we wake up in the morning and check for anything that came in overnight - texts, emails, meetings, pictures. But here’s Yankel saying, “No, I’m going to pause every morning as soon as I open my eyes and say twelve simple but important words: “Modeh ani lefanecha melech chai v’kayam shehechezarta bi nishmati bechemla raba emunatecha. I thank You, living and enduring King, for You have graciously returned my soul within me. Great is Your faithfulness.”
Thank You, G-d, for giving me another day.
It's such a small thing. It takes less than 30 seconds. But it sets the tone for the entire day.
Then another guy - let's call him Jack - came up for an aliyah.
Now, I know Jack had a difficult year. I know how incredibly busy he is. And I know that for him, adding one more thing to an already overflowing life was not exactly going to be easy. So I thought, let me not ask for too much.
"Jack, I want you to make one commitment. Just one. And ideally, do it before Yom Kippur."
"What is it?"
"Put Tefillin one time. Just once! Any day between now and Yom Kippur."
And he agreed. A one-time, manageable commitment.
Two days later, Jack emailed me: "Rabbi, remember I made a commitment on Rosh Hashanah to put on tefillin? I did it! And I loved it so much that I'm going to do it every morning."
Wait. What?
I kept reading.
"And I'm also going to say Modeh Ani every morning."
A huge smile broke across my face.
The guy I asked to do one mitzvah once had just decided to do two every single morning! And so far, he's been doing it. Every morning.
So now I'm trying to push it one step further. "Jack, why don't you come to our daily minyan?"
He's thinking about it. Maybe he'll come. Maybe he won't. But he’s already come out a winner with two huge new mitzvahs.
It’s easy to think we have to completely change our lives to make meaningful change. And we avoid taking any steps, because it feels so huge and overwhelming.
The key is to just start. With one thing. Anything.
And that one small mitzvah opens the door to the next one, and the next. And suddenly, without even planning it, your whole morning -and then your whole day, and your whole week - looks different.
So, where to start?
There's something particularly powerful about the first moments of the day. Before the demands and chaos begin.
Take 30 seconds to thank G-d for the day. That’s all it takes. Say Modeh Ani. Remember who you are and Who gave you another day.
At the very least, it will set you up for a more intentional day.
But it may also lead to a spiritual climb you can’t even imagine!