Midreshet Amit

Torah

Back to Main Page

Elokai Neshama

By: Alex Bell

Elokai Neshama, derives from the first prayer that we say the moment we open our eyes, Modeh Ani, in which we thank Hashem for returning our souls, enabling us to wake-up. Elokai Neshama takes it a step further, the prayer says, "My G-d, the soul You placed within me is pure, You created it, You formed it, You breathed it in me.." G-d is not just returning our soul, he's returning it in it's purest form, t'horah, with His breath, n'fachtah. In Bereshit, pasuk 7, perek 2, it says, "And Hashem G-d formed the man of dust from the ground and he blew into his nostrils the soul of life; and man became a living being." G-d takes the lowliest component of the earth, the dirt on the ground, and combines it with the purest form we could think of, an actual piece of Hashem. He takes a piece of the physical as well as the spiritual and makes them one. When we utter the words, "the soul You placed within me is pure… You breathed it into me," we are recognizing that we are apart of G-d and in someways He has placed us upon a pedestal, giving us expectations.

Elokai Neshama is much more than an extension of Modeh Ani. Every morning G-d is giving us a challenge and a choice. How much do we allow ourselves to get caught up in the physical? How much do we allow ourselves to try and build the spiritual? In Sefer Hachinuch, we see the Mitzvah to be "G-d like, "Just like G-d is merciful so to we should be merciful, just like G-d clothes the naked, so to should we clothe the naked." We understand from this that we are required to go above and beyond for those around us, however, it's much deeper than that. If these are the types of Mitzvot that fulfill our goal to be "G-d Like," which is an extremely difficult challenge, we must first look to ourselves.

Elokai Neshama, not only encourages us to reach new heights while honoring Hashem's image of himself within our daily lives, but it allows us to really take a look within ourselves. Where do we stand in the "G-d Like" image that we are supposed to encompass? As a Jew, especially as Jewish women, I think we can all agree that we are taught to hold ourselves to the highest standard, to always have self-respect. Respecting others begins with understanding how to go about respecting ourselves. Elokai Neshama speaks the challenge we face in balancing the physical and the spiritual. It's a reminder to help us understand where the line shouldn't be crossed. Starting off the day with a prayer like Elokai Neshama, should allow us the perspective to discern between things that may seem important at the time, but in reality are not. It's extremely easy to allow ourselves to be swept up in all the positive influences around us, as well as influences that perhaps, on the surface, may seem great.

Here, we face the real challenge, how are we possibly supposed to amount up to being like Hashem, let alone to walk around with a part of Hashem within us? We are given the privilege of waking up each and every day with a "pure" soul, a "clean" slate. Tefillah, I hope for most of you, is an outlet, a place where you can feel safe enough to reflect, unravel and really reveal yourself. I challenge all of us to make expectations, to set goals and to strive to achieve them. I hope that, not only for the rest of our time in Israel but when we go home as well, that each time we say Elokai Neshama it will give us the strength we need to start of the day with our heads on straight. Even if yesterday we didn't live up to the standards we set for ourselves, doesn't mean we can't start over again today.