Chanukah-Blessing 18: Modim: Hope

“L’olam kivinu lach”- “We always put our hope in You.” The root word of “kivinu” is “kav”, meaning a line, or a connection. While “Hatikvah”, the (unofficial)Israeli national anthem, is usually translated as “the hope”; perhaps it is not that “We did not lose our hope,” but “We maintained our connection (of 2,000 years).”

We pray that we always maintain a connection to God. Even at times when we don’t feel hopeful, if we feel distant or frustrated, we must remind ourselves of our “kav”, our line which constantly connects us to God.