Don’t Withhold – Drush
Return the Goods Entrusted to You Even if you are Owed
If Drush is the process by which we look beneath the surface for some deeper message other than the obvious one, then Modeh Ani should be understood as a challenge to us to emulate G-d’s remarkable attitude towards us.
When we go to sleep at night, we entrust G-d with our soul. Not always do we have sufficient justification to demand that G-d return it to us the next morning. Based on our actions the day before, G-d has a legitimate argument that would “allow” Him to keep the soul and not return it to us. Inherent in our declaration of Modeh Ani is the profound sense of gratitude and appreciation for G- d’s infinite mercy, that He does not claim our soul in return for al the debts that we owe Him.
Using the approach of Drush, we then deduce and infer that we too should follow suit in the way we deal with other people. Once we established the principle that G-d does not withhold that which we have entrusted in His hands for the collection of our debts, we can apply this to a similar situation in our own lives.
Very often we are given, literally, an article of value in trust. Our job is to return it to the rightful owner when he makes the claim for it.
There is also the possibility that the person, who owns the article that has been deposited with us, might be indebted to us. Whether they borrowed money, caused some damage or the like, there is an outstanding debt. There is a temptation to self-righteously say that since he owes me money and I have his object in my possession, I will withhold the object until the other person pays his debt.
Modeh Ani comes along and categorically dismisses such a thought from our minds. If G-d, to whom I am indebted, refuses to withhold our souls from us, because He has entrusted with our souls and has made a commitment to return it to us, no amount of indebtedness will cause G-d to withhold it.
A mitzvah, such as returning an object to its rightful owner should not be subject to other considerations. Modeh Ani teaches us to sort out and separate the two issues.
Deductive Reasoning
It should be noted that in this mode of Drush one need not have any outside information in order to interpret this verse. One must just be equipped with the right way of thinking and the means to analyze a text or a concept. The Remez mode, by contrast, requires less reasoning and probing and more outside information.
To appreciate the parallel between waking up in the morning and the future Resurrection of the Dead, one does not have to employ deductive reasoning.
On the other hand, there is a certain amount of “outside” information one must have at his disposal for the process of Remez – such as the fact that there will be a Resurrection of the Dead – that is unnecessary for Drush.
From the book Safe Kabbalah, Part Two: The Fourth Dimension by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
