Atah Chonen: understanding

As big as the Temple

Rav Ami, a sage of the Gemara (the rabbis' discussions built on the Mishnah), says knowledge sits "between two letters," in the verse "For Hashem is a God of knowledge" (Shmuel I 2:3). Rashi (the main commentator on the Gemara) explains: between two mentions of God's name. Another sage, Rabbi Elazar, adds that the Temple also sits between two names (Shemot 15:17). So whoever has knowledge, he says, is as if the Temple was built in his days.

A poor person is someone without knowledge

The Torah warns of a time of "lacking everything" (Devarim 28:48). The sages of the Gemara argue about what that means: no lamp and table, no wife, no helper. Rav Nachman says it means lacking knowledge. Abaye (a leading sage of the Gemara in Babylonia) says: "We hold that there is no poor person except in knowledge." In the Land of Israel they said: "If he has it, what does he lack? If he does not have it, what does he have?"

Why it comes right after "You are holy"

The Gemara explains the order of the Amidah with verses. In Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 29, people honor "the Holy One of Yaakov," and the next verse says those who went astray in spirit "will come to understanding." So understanding follows holiness. Repentance follows understanding because of another verse: the heart will understand, and then return. The Avot prayer tells who set the order.

A sage asks why Shabbat skips it

The Talmud Yerushalmi (the Gemara of the Land of Israel) records a sage called simply "Rabbi," the title for Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, who edited the Mishnah. He says: "I wonder how they dropped Chonen HaDaat [this blessing] on Shabbat. If there is no knowledge, where is prayer? And if there is no knowledge, where is Havdalah?"

Havdalah moved in and out of the prayer

The Men of the Great Assembly (the sages who led the people early in the Second Temple period, after the return from Babylon) first fixed Havdalah in the prayer. Rashi says they were hard pressed then. When people grew wealthy, they fixed it over a cup of wine. When they grew poor again, they put it back in the prayer, and ruled that whoever says it in the prayer must still say it over the cup.

A gift, not a reward

The Maharal (Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague, who wrote in the late 1500s) explains the words "You graciously give a person knowledge," da'at in Hebrew. A person has a body, he says, and da'at is a mind that is not physical. So it reaches us as a gift of grace, like a present given to someone who has not earned it on his own. He adds that the blessing opens with a statement and not a request, unlike the other blessings, because da'at is close to God, so God keeps giving it all the time. Now read "You graciously give" again.

כמו מי שנותן מתנה לאחד דרך חנינה, אף שהוא אינו ראוי מצד עצמו

Understanding is what connects you to people

The Gemara (the main text of the Talmud) says that it is forbidden to have mercy on a person who has no da'at (Berakhot 33a). The Maharal explains why. Mercy comes from being connected to someone, the way a father's soul is tied to his children. Da'at is what ties people together, because people share the same understanding about many things. Without it there is nothing to connect to, so there is no mercy. For the Maharal, da'at is not only about being smart. It is what joins one person to another.

כי הדעת מערב ומחבר הכל, ולכך על ידי הדעת הוא החבור

Knowing is not enough. Hold on to it.

The Tanya (the main book of Chabad Chassidut, first printed in 1796) points out that da'at is the word the Torah uses when it says Adam "knew" his wife. It means joining, not just having information. So da'at is tying your mind tightly to the greatness of God and not letting it drift. The Tanya says that even someone wise who understands this, if he does not hold his mind there firmly and steadily, will not feel real awe or love of God, only empty fantasies. Now read "da'at" again as "holding on."

והוא לשון התקשרות והתחברות, שמקשר דעתו בקשר אמיץ וחזק מאד

Why knowledge comes first

Rabbi Meir ibn Gabbai, a kabbalist who wrote his book Avodat HaKodesh between 1523 and 1531, explains why the requests in the Amidah start with knowledge. It is the main thing, he says, the one that all the other needs branch out from. He calls it a possession with nothing lacking in it. Health, forgiveness and a living all come later in the Amidah. This is the first request. He also says the person asking for it wants to know the Creator, and does not want to pull away from Him.

להורות כי הוא העיקר אשר ממנו יסתעפו כל שאר הצרכים, כי הוא הקנין אשר אין בו חסרון כל

What changes here on Saturday night?

In the Saturday night Amidah, Havdalah (the words that separate Shabbat from the weekday) is added inside this blessing. The Mishnah (the earliest written record of the Oral Law) says so. The Mishnah Berurah (a central commentary on daily Jewish law, from around 1900) says the custom is to say the usual text through the word binah, then add Atah Chonantanu.

I forgot the Saturday night addition. Do I start over?

No. The Shulchan Aruch (the main code of Jewish law, from the 1500s) rules that you finish your prayer, since you still have to make Havdalah over a cup of wine. But if you tasted anything before making Havdalah over the cup, you pray again and include it. The Mishnah Berurah says doing both is ideal, and that until you make Havdalah you may not do work. Saying the words Hamavdil bein kodesh lechol ("Who separates holy from ordinary") is enough to end that ban.

Can I ask for something of my own in this blessing?

Yes. The Shulchan Aruch lets you add a request that fits the blessing. The Arukh HaShulchan (a code of law by Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, around 1900) gives this example: to ask God to strengthen your heart for Torah, ask it in Atah Chonen. Say a full phrase of the blessing first, such as "Atah chonen le'adam da'at," then ask (Mishnah Berurah). The Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles, who added Ashkenazi practice to the Shulchan Aruch) cites Rabbeinu Yona (a Spanish sage of the 1200s): for your own real need, say "me," not "us."

Can I add the same personal prayer here every day?

The Arukh HaShulchan says no to a fixed addition. The sages allowed extra requests only when a need comes up. He calls a permanent insertion a bold act toward the Men of the Great Assembly (the early sages who, by tradition, set the Amidah's wording), and objects to prayer books that print one. He agrees with the Magen Avraham (a major 1600s commentary) that asking daily for a living is good, but says to do it after Yihyu Leratzon (the closing verse of the Amidah). One view in the Shulchan Aruch: keep additions short.

I skipped this blessing and noticed later in the Amidah. What now?

If it was a mistake, the Shulchan Aruch rules that you go back to the start of the blessing you skipped, then continue in order from there. Since this is the first of the middle blessings, that means starting again here. If you skipped it on purpose, the Mishnah Berurah says you go back to the start of the whole Amidah, as the Shulchan Aruch rules in 114:7.