תַשְׁפִּיעַ עָלַי חָכְמָה בִּינָה וָדַעַת מֵאִתְּךָ | Pour upon me your wisdom, understanding, and knowledge (Liqutei Tefilot Ⅰ:58 part 1) by Reb Noson Sternhartz of Nemyriv (ca. 1820s) and “A Student’s Prayer” as adapted by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)

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Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription), Morrison David Bial and Noson Sternhartz of Nemyriv

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20 March 2023 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

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Learning, Study, and School

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public speaking, 19th century C.E., תחינות teḥinot, 56th century A.M., Prayers before Torah Study

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation by Yaacov David Shulman, 2009 (English)	Adaptation by Morrison David Bial, 1962 (English)
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, הַחוֹנֵן לָאָדָם דַּעַת. שֶׁתְּחָנֵּנִי בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים, וְתַשְׁפִּיעַ עָלַי חָכְמָה בִּינָה וָדַעַת מֵאִתְּךָ,	May it be your will, Hashem our eloah and eloah of my ancestors you who grants knowledge to human beings, be gracious and compassionate with me and pour upon me your wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.
וּתְזַכֵּנוּ לְדַעַת שָׁלֵם דִּקְדֻשָּׁה, עַד שֶׁיִּהְיֶה לִי כֹחַ עַל־יְדֵי שְׁלֵמוּת הַדַּעַת לְהַמְשִׁיךְ הַשְׁלֹשָׁה הַשְׁפָּעוֹת, שֶׁהֵם, אֲכִילָה וּשְׁתִיָּה וּמַלְבּוּשִׁים, שֶׁהֵם כְּלוּלִים בְּדַעַת הַתּוֹרָה.	Bring me to a perfect awareness of holiness, so that with the power of that perfect awareness, I can draw down the three streams of abundance — food, drink, and clothing — which are incorporated into the awareness of the Torah.
וְתַעַזְרֵנִי וּתְזַכֵּנִי שֶׁיִּהְיֶה דַעְתִּי נִכְלָל בְּהַשְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת, אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב.	Guide me so that my awareness will be absorbed into the three patriarchs, Avraham, Yitsḥaq, and Yaaqov.
וְאֶזְכֶּה לְתוֹרַת חֶסֶד לִלְמֹד תּוֹרָה עַל מְנַת לְלַמְּדָהּ, וּלְהַכְנִיס דַּעַת דִּקְדֻשָּׁה בַּחֲבֵרִים וְתַלְמִידִים, וְלִקְנוֹת נְפָשׁוֹת רַבּוֹת לְהַכְנִיסָם תַּחַת כַּנְפֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה, וּלְקָרְבָם בֶּאֱמֶת לַעֲבוֹדָתֶךָ.	Bring me to the Torah of kindness, so that I will learn Torah in order to teach it, and fill my friends and students with the awareness of holiness, until I inspire many souls and bring them under the wings of your Presence and bring them to truly serve you.	Lord: May I learn Thy Torah of loving-kindness, And may I learn that holiness means bringing love to friends and fellow students, Love of them and the love of Thee.
וְתַשְׁפִּיעַ עָלַי יִרְאַת שָׁמַיִם יִרְאַת חֵטְא, וְאֶזְכֶּה שֶׁתִּהְיֶה יִרְאָתִי קוֹדֶמֶת לְחָכְמָתִי. וְתַמְשִׁיךְ עָלַי שֶׁפַע הַחֵן וְהַחֶסֶד,	Imbue me with the fear of Heaven — the fear of sin — so that my fear will precede my wisdom. Draw onto me a flow of grace and kindness.	May I in reverence of Thee Keep far from sin and wrongdoing. That I may be a vehicle of grace and loving-kindness.
וְתִהְיֶה עִם פִּי בְּעֵת הֲטִיפִי וְדִבּוּרִי עִם בְּנֵי אָדָם לְקָרְבָם אֵלֶיךָ. וְתַעַזְרֵנִי שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לֵידַע וּלְדַקְדֵּק אֵיךְ לְהוֹצִיא חָכְמָתִי, שֶׁיִּהְיוּ דִּבּוּרַי דִּבְרֵי חֵן וְתִפְאֶרֶת, וְלֹא יִהְיוּ נִבְזִים, וְיִהְיוּ דְבָרַי עֲרֵבִים לְשׁוֹמְעֵיהֶן בְּאֹפֶן שֶׁיִּתְקַבְּלוּ דְבָרַי בְּעֵינֵי כֹל, וְיִתְעוֹרְרוּ כֻלָּם לַעֲבוֹדָתְךָ בֶּאֱמֶת עַל־יְדֵי דִבּוּרַי	When I speak with people to bring them close to you, help me to choose my words. Help me to know exactly how to express my wisdom so that what I say will be gracious and beautiful, so that it elicits not disdain but delight, and let my words be acceptable to everyone, inspiring everyone to serve you.	Guide my tongue when I speak with my fellows That my words may be filled with grace and beauty, That my actions may be of goodness and help. Before Thee and before my fellow man.
שֶׁתְּזַכֵּנִי לְדַבֵּר בִּקְדֻשָּׁה גְּדוֹלָה, דִּבּוּרִים יָפִים וְנָאִים בֶּאֱמֶת לַאֲמִתּוֹ, דָּבָר דָּבֻר עַל אָפְנָיו (משלי כה:יא) כִּרְצוֹנְךָ הַטּוֹב׃	Guide me to speak truly beautiful and pleasing words in great holiness— “a word spoken in its place” (Proverbs 25:11)— in accordance with your desire.

“A Student’s Prayer,” was adapted by Rabbi Morrison David Bial from Reb Nosson Sternhartz of Nemyriv’s Liqutei Tefilot I:58.1, itself adapted from the teachings of Rebbe Naḥman of Bratslav in Liqutei Moharan I:58.1. The adaptation by Rabbi Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 83, from where the English was transcribed. I have set his adaptation side-by-side with the Hebrew as well as I could determine, providing for a reference Yaacov David Shulman’s translation as originally published by the Breslov Research Institute, The Fiftieth Gate (Likutei Tefilot), vol. 3, prayers 41-66 (2009), pp. 342-345. –Aharon Varady

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“תַשְׁפִּיעַ עָלַי חָכְמָה בִּינָה וָדַעַת מֵאִתְּךָ | Pour upon me your wisdom, understanding, and knowledge (Liqutei Tefilot Ⅰ:58 part 1) by Reb Noson Sternhartz of Nemyriv (ca. 1820s) and “A Student’s Prayer” as adapted by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Morrison David Bial

Born in New York in 1917, Morrison David Bial studied at Princeton Theological Seminary, served as a chaplain at Mitchell Field during World War II, and was ordained from the Jewish Institute of Religion in 1945. Rabbi Bial spoke from pulpits in the United States as well as in Dublin, Glasgow, and London. He led a number of tours to Israel, and published thirteen books, including The Rabbi’s Bible: Torah and The Rabbi’s Bible: Prophets (began in 1966, co-authored with Solomon Simon), Liberal Judaism at Home: the Practices of Modern Reform Judaism (1971), and Your Jewish Child (1978). Rabbi Bial spent over thirty years serving Temple Sinai in Summit, New Jersey, from 1953 until he became Rabbi Emeritus in 1985. From 1985–1995, Rabbi Bial joined Temple Beth Shalom in Ocala, Florida, revitalizing its interfaith movement, and served as Rabbi Emeritus until his death in 2004.

Noson Sternhartz of Nemyriv

Nathan of Bratslav (January 22, 1780 – December 20, 1844), also known as Reb Noson, born Nathan Sternhartz in Nemyriv, was the chief disciple and scribe of Rebbe Naḥman of Bratslav, founder of the Bratslav stream of Ḥasidut. Reb Noson is credited with preserving, promoting and expanding the Breslov movement after the Rebbe's death. Rebbe Naḥman himself said, "Were it not for Reb Noson, not a page of my writings would have remained." (from his entry in Wikipedia)

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17