A guide to the traditional Shachrit (morning) service.BY BEN KEIL 

Jewish Law  law mandates that one pray three times a day, 

in the morning, afternoon, and at night. 

The morning service, Shachrit, 

formally begins with the Pesukei D’zimrah (verses of praise) section, 

but before that there are several preliminary prayers and blessings to thank God for providing us with our daily needs and for performing everyday miracles.

Traditionally, Jews begin each day with Modeh Ani, a short, two-line prayer which opens by referring to God as the eternal and living king. 

The prayer speaks of sleeping as a minor type of death in which the soul leaves the body to spend the night with God. 

The prayer thanks God for returning the soul to the body, enabling the individual to live another day.

This prayer is generally said when one first awakes, while still in bed. 

For this reason, 

God’s proper name (“Adonai”) is not used, since the rabbis deemed it improper to speak God’s name before ritually washing the hands.

Indeed, because people are unaware of their actions during sleep, it is possible that they touched something during the night that would make their hands ritually unclean. 

For these reasons and others, many Jews wash their hands promptly after getting out of bed, pouring water from a cup over their hands either two or three times in succession.

When waking up from sleep, before washing hands, one should say:מוֹדֶה אֲנִי האשה אומרת: מודָה לְפָנֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם שֶהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ:I am thankful before You, living and enduring King, for you have mercifully restored my soul within me. Great is Your faithfulness.