YITZCHAK KAMINETSKY
When I first learned this halachah, I did not think it would be particularly relevant. Then, over the course of two weeks, I saw it come up twice, and it stayed with me.
The Gemara teaches that during Maariv on Motzaei Shabbos, we insert Havdalah—Atah Chonantanu—into the berachah of Atah Chonen, the blessing of knowledge. The Gemara explains this placement with the phrase, “Im ein da’as, havdalah minayin”—without understanding, how can one distinguish? Havdalah, at its core, is an act of discernment.
Interestingly, no one ever “klops” before Shemoneh Esrei on Motzaei Shabbos to remind the tzibbur to say Atah Chonantanu, as we do for Rosh Chodesh or other important insertions. Part of the reason is practical—we would be knocking every week—but part of it is halachic. If one forgets Atah Chonantanu, there is no need to repeat Shemoneh Esrei, since Havdalah will be recited later al hakos.
There is another halachah related to Havdalah that at first seems unrelated. Even if one did say Atah Chonantanu in Maariv, it is still forbidden to eat until Havdalah is made over a cup of wine. These two halachos—one about tefillah and one about eating—appear to function independently.
Yet the Gemara draws a connection between them. If a person makes two mistakes—first, forgetting Atah Chonantanu in Maariv, and second, eating before making Havdalah al hakos—the halachah is that he must repeat Maariv. The Shulchan Aruch records this ruling in Orach Chayim 294.
Most people are careful enough not to make both mistakes. However, the Rashba, cited by the Biur Halachah, takes this a step further. He writes that this applies not only to eating before Havdalah, but even to doing melachah. If one forgot Atah Chonantanu and then performed melachah—such as driving home from shul—before saying “Baruch hamavdil bein kodesh l’chol,” he would also be required to repeat Maariv.
Although the Biur Halachah notes that we are generally lenient and do not rule like the Rashba, the takeaway remains clear. Havdalah—whether in Maariv or al hakos—is not meant to be rushed or treated as a mere technicality, as if Shabbos were a burden we cannot wait to unload. The way we transition out of Shabbos and into our weekday activities often reflects how much we truly valued the Shabbos we just experienced.
Yitzchak Kaminetsky is a member of the Greater Washington Community Kollel
and serves as an Assistant JSU Coordinator with NCSY. A graduate of Yeshiva
University, he received semicha from RIETS, and is currently pursuing a graduate
degree at the Azrieli School of Education and Administration. He previously held
rabbinic appointments in New York, including roles at Congregation Beth Shalom
of Lawrence and the Jewish Center in Manhattan. He lives in the Washington
area with his wife, Elisheva, and their two children, and can be reached at
ykaminetsky@washingtonjewishlife.com.
