הבקשות לדעת, תשובה וסליחה בתפילת שמונה-עשרה: אופיין של הבקשות, מקבילותיהן בקומראן ושורשיהן במקרא

The prayers for knowledge (of God and Torah), return and forgiveness in the Amidah constitute an independent unit. They represent a pattern found in Qumran and rooted in the Bible (vid. infra) and may be defined as 'prayer for admission'. The man who approaches God and His domain expresses his readiness to abandon evil and to return to God, as reflected in the three benedictions discussed here. This pattern of 'admission' is found in the Prayer of Levi, in the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs. Levi Prays: 1. that God give him wisdom and knowledge in order to be able to perform God's will; 2. that he be brought near to God and close to His worship; 3. that God efface his sins. The very same pattern is found in a Psalm from Qumran (Hodayot xvi:8–20). Such a pattern is also predominant in the prayers for the catechumens about to enter the Christian congregation. The roots of this pattern are found in the Psalms as well as in the prophetic descriptions of Israel's returning to God. The penitential Psalm li and the penitential prayer of the people in Hosea vi:1–3 contain the basic elements of the 'prayer for admission'. Jeremiah's description of the new covenant (xxxi:32f.) includes: knowledge of the Lord (v. 33a), admittance into the domain of the Lord expressed by the covenantal formula (v.32), and forgiveness (33b), whereas Ezekiel also depicts the renewal of Israel (xxxvi:25f.) by similar means. The Sitz im Leben of this pattern is apparently to be sought in a situation of repentance or conversion. Those who return to God after a period of sin and faithlessness, or those who adopt the new true faith, are required to ask for forgiveness and purification before being admitted into God's domain. Under these circumstances, the suppliant requests divine guidance, i.e., the attainment of the true knowledge of God, and a new heart and spirit. The three Benedictions of the Amidah discussed herein, which precede the section of 'asking for human needs', should thus be viewed as a 'prayer for admission' which comes to legitimize the very approach to God by a human being of sinful nature.