First Coffee

This is a bit of whimsy wrapped in a classic prayer. I have for some time thought about writing a prayer for the first coffee of the day. One morning, as I said modeh ani, our traditional one-line prayer on waking up, it hit me: Thank you, G-d, for restoring coffee to me! This two-part prayer combines a lighthearted adaptation of the modeh ani with the customary prayer before drinking coffee.

First Coffee
I offer thanks to You, ever-living Sovereign, for You have restored my coffee to me in mercy, how great is Your trust.
.מוֹדֶה / מוֹדָה אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם, שֶׁהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי הַקָפֶה שֶׁלִי בְּחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶך
Modeh / Modah anee lefanecha melech chai vekayam, shehechezarta bee hacaffe sheli b’chemla, raba emunatecha.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G‑d, Sovereign of the universe, by Your word all things came to be.
ֹ .בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אלהינו מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיָה בִּדְבָרו
Baruch atah Adonai, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam shehakol nihiyah bed’varo.

© 2021 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com.

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Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and my two CCAR Press books: This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

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