This Parsha starts with the words וָאֶתְחַנַן אֶל־ה׳ וגוֹ׳ “I entreated Hashem”. It is brought down in the Sifri that the Yidden had two good leaders, Moshe Rabeinu and Dovid Melech Yisroel. They could both have requested favours from Hashem in view of their good deeds, however they only asked for Matnas Chinom.
If this is the case concerning these two leaders etc. how much more so, should anyone else not ask Hashem for anything other than ‘Matnas Chinom’. There is another explanation: וָאֶתְחַנַן אֶל־ה׳ is one of ten expressions of prayer etc.
Explanation of Matnas Chinom
Now does this not follow a fortiori, viz.: If these, who could have asked for reward on the basis of their good deeds, asked Hakodosh Boruch Hu only that He "grace" them, then we, who are not even a thousandth of the thousands and ten thousand of his disciples, how much more so should we ask of Hashem only that He "grace" us! Another explanation in the word ‘Vo’eschanon’: Prayer (Tefillah) is called by ten names: Ze'akah, Shav'ah, Ne'akah, Rinah, Pegiah, Nipul, Pilul, Atirah, Chilui, And Chinun.
Similarly, it is brought down in the ‘Medrash Rabbah’: “There are ten expressions for prayer and these are they... but out of all of the different expressions for prayer, Moshe Rabeinu only chose the term that expresses a request for ‘Matnas Chinom’- a free unearned gift. From here we can infer that no one can have any demands on Hashem, because Moshe Rabeinu ... only came with entreaties”.
Why Only Entreaties?
The Medrash continues: “Why is it that Moshe only comes with entreaties? This is so because Hakodosh Boruch Hu said to Moshe Rabeinu: וְחַנֹּתִי אֶת־אֲשֶר אָחֹּן ”I will favour when I wish to favour.” In other words when someone has no merits or any good deeds I will deal with him with ‘Matnas Chinom’ from the word ‘Chanosi’”.
The Inner Meaning of Prayer and Matnas Chinom
The inner meaning of all this is; according to the ‘Medrash Rabbah’ the actual term ‘וָאֶתְחַנַן ’ is one of the ten expressions of prayer. Prayer (the way it is supposed to be according to Torah) generally is in a manner in which it is connected with a person’s Avodah and his merits.
[Incidentally one of the translations of the expression ‘Tefillah’ comes from the word הַתּוֹפֵל meaning to connect, implying that there needs to be a connection and association between the person who is praying and the One to whom one is praying, (as in the connection that) Hashem is the craftsman who made you. It follows that (that connection gets intensified) when one has merits... (It is due to his merits that) he is suitable for his prayers to be answered. However, he is not to demand anything from Hakodosh Boruch Hu for then the request becomes contingent upon his deeds and achievements.
Hashem’s Kindness and the System of Reward
This is so because it is known that even the reward that Hashem does give is not because Hashem is obligated to give it. As the Possuk states: וּלְךָ־ה׳ חָסֶד כִי־אַתָּה תְשַלֵם לְאִיש כְמַעֲשֵהוּ “And You, Hashem, have ‘kindness’, for You repay a man according to his deed.” Even the payment for his deed is because of Hashem’s kindness.
[The reason why this is so, is because the whole system of Isarussa Dil’tatoh [and then] Isarussa Dil’eiloh is only in place because this is the way Hashem wants it to be. Even after Hashem has established the way it should work -that man’s Avodah should be the trigger- (because this is the will of Hashem blessed be He) and therefore this is how it actually is, all of this is still only due to HaShem’s kindness blessed be He].
Being that [this set up] is feasible it therefore becomes obligatory to pray to Hashem until one can pray in a manner of supplication as if he is asking for ‘Matnas Chinom’ from Hashem. (All of this occurs, despite the fact that it is not purely ‘Matnas Chinom’ because he has earned it through his Avodah and his merits).
The Sifri’s Opinion and the Ten Expressions of Prayer
However, according to the opinion of the Sifri the expression ‘וָאֶתְחַנַן’ (which is a request that Hashem shall bestow upon him ‘Matnas Chinom’) is not in itself one of the ten expressions of prayer (which as mentioned prayer is connected with a person’s Avodah and his merits...)
This is because he is on the level where he sees himself as someone who has no merits at all on the basis of which Hashem shall fulfil his request and he therefore only asks for pure ‘Matnas Chinom’.
Kabbalistic Dimensions: Malchus, Kesser, and Atzilus
One can add, that it is explained in Chassidic discourses that the ten expressions of prayer correspond to the ten levels within ‘Malchus’ of the spiritual world of ‘Atzilus’, and a request for ‘Matnas Chinom’ corresponds to the spiritual level of the state of ‘Kesser’ of ‘Malchus’ and in comparison to this lofty spiritual state everything is considered as nought.
So, perhaps it can be said that the two perspectives of ‘Matnas Chinom’ correspond to the two levels within the state of ‘Kesser’ of the spiritual world of ‘Atzilus’.
From the perspective of the external dimension of ‘Kesser’ (also referred to as ‘Arich’) which considers the existence of created beings and their Avodah, the aspect of ‘Matnas Chinom’ is only in the style of the one who is praying. Whereas from the perspective of the internal dimension of ‘Kesser’ (also referred to as ‘Atik’) which considers everything as nought one can only ever ask for pure ‘Matnas Chinom’.
