25 Apr REVITALIZING OUR DAVENING – PART SEVEN

The middle brachos of
the Shemone Esrei are
the petitions that we ask
Hashem for the full gamut
of our needs. The first
petition, for knowledge,
starts in a peculiar way.
It is the only bracha of the
middle blessings which
does not begin with a
request. Rather, it starts with a statement,
“Attah chonein l’adom daas – You, (Hashem),
grace us with knowledge.” Why don’t we start
this blessing with a petition like we do when
we say slach lanu – forgive us, refa-einu – heal
us, shma kolenu – listen to our voice, etc.”
The essential answer to this question is that
to receive something from Hashem, we need
to pray for it first. Therefore, thrice daily we
pray for forgiveness, health, our livelihood,
peace, and everything else. The exception is
for the initial gift of knowledge. This, we can’t
ask for as, before it is given to us, we don’t
have the knowledge to ask for it. Therefore,
the initial capacity of knowledge had to
be given to us as a gift. Thus, we start the
blessing, “Attah chonein l’adom daas,” for the
word chonein shares the same root as chinam,

for free. Initially, Hashem gave us the start-
up of knowledge for free, without our asking.

Once we receive it, immediately we follow-
up with the further request of, “Chaneinu

mei’itecha dei-ah, binah, v’haskeil – Grace us
with knowledge, intuition and intellect.”
There is another reason why this blessing
starts with a statement instead of a request.
We know that on Shabbos we abstain from
asking Hashem for personal requests. We
reactivate our petitions once again after we
say Havdalah. Since we insert the Havdalah
prayer of Attah chonantonu in the middle of
the blessing of Attah chonein, we can’t start
this blessing with a petition for then we would
say it on motzoi Shabbos before the Havdalah.
Therefore, respectfully, we start the blessing
with praise until we say the Havdalah of Attah
chonantonu, and once we say the Havdalah we
can then say the first petition of V’chaneinu
mei’itecha dei-ah, binah, v’haskeil.
The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, zy”a, explains that
we start our personal requests with the petition
for daas, the ability to discern between good
and bad. This is because success in life is
achieved through the knowledge of how to be
repulsed with that which is evil and to choose
that which is good.
In this blessing, we ask Hashem to help us
understand the Torah that we learn – which is
the purpose of our existence. Rashi adds in
the beginning of Mashechtas Avodah Zarah
that we should have in mind to retain our

learning while saying this blessing. Yaras
Daas writes that one should also have in in
mind for the Torah success of their children,
their descendants and their disciples.
This prayer is a very good place to ask
Hashem to spare us from the horrors of
dementia, Alzheimer’s, and senility. We ask
further that Hashem should do for us the
great kindness that as we age we should not
start forgetting things and that our eyes and
ears should retain their full vitality so that we
should be able to learn with our full vigor.
In this blessing we also ask Hashem for binah,
which is the ability to infer from that which we
learn and apply their lessons to the practical
situations of life. And then we ask Hashem for
haskeil. The Olas Tomid explains this to mean
hatzlacha, success, through our knowledge.
He bases this on the verse in Shmuel Alef [6].
“Vay’hi Dovid l’chol derachov maskil – And
Dovid was successful in all his ways.”
In this blessing, I like to have in mind that
Hashem should give me knowledge on how
to always deal pleasantly and wisely with
my spouse to ensure that the home should be
a place of menucha, contentment, and that
I should be always able to fulfill the Torah
directive of v’simach es ishto, to gladden
one’s wife. It is also an opportune time to ask
Hashem for the knowledge to fulfil correctly

honoring one’s parents and raising one’s
children. The latter is especially challenging
and multi-faceted in our modern times.
In the merit of these prayers, many Hashem
bless us with long life, good health, much
wisdom and everything wonderful.