Kavanah

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Kavanah, kavvanah or kavana (also pronounced /kaˈvonə/ by some

mitzvot) and prayers.[3][4] Kavanah is a theological concept in Judaism about a worshiper's state of mind and heart, his or her sincerity, devotion and emotional absorption during prayers.[1][5]

In Hasidic Judaism, a Jewish tradition that emphasizes piety, kavanah is the emotional devotion, self-effaced absorption during prayers rather than a liturgical recitation driven religiosity.[6][7] In esoteric Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah), kavanah refers to the practice where the devotee concentrates on the secret meanings of prayer letters and words,[6] sometimes referring to the permutations of the divine name.[8] Some kavanot are particular to the tradition of Kabbalah during meditation.[9]

Kavanah has been much debated subject among Judaism scholars, with traditional sources accepting that Jewish rituals without at least minimal kavanah is insufficient.

Pesach, Shavuot,[11]
and others.

Discussion

Kavanah connotes "intention and emotional devotionalism" during a prayer in Judaism.[3]

Kavanah comes from an ancient verbal root also found where the object or subject is the "heart". It connotes "to direct, to prepare, to establish", an orientation of mind, heart, intention.[12] According to Moshe Halbertal, it implies concentration and sincerity, it is not rote recitation but the very essence of a prayer where the devotee expresses a plea and supplication to God, while really believing, feeling, meaning the prayer.[3] kavanah is both emotional and intellectual devotion, states Herman Cohen.[13] According to the rabbinic tradition, both action and proper intention is important during a prayer, and kavanah refers to the latter. A related term in Judaism is kavanot, states Pinchas Giller, which refers to "ideas, texts and formulae" to be contemplated during praying.[14]

Kavanah in prayer requires devotional belief and not merely reciting the words of a prayer.

Hebrew, which many Jews outside of Israel do not understand.[15]

In Hasidism, it is one of four themes of religious worship and spiritual striving. The true faithful constantly contemplates the presence of the divine (hitbonenut), constantly cleaves and communes with the divine (devequt), intensely ecstatically feels the divine (hitlahavut), and is intently devoted to this divine (kavanah).[16]

God was pleased with the heartfelt prayers and simple faith of ordinary Jews[17]

The kavanah is therefore the strength that the devotee uses in the intention towards God: in other words, it is a sort of concentration followed by the truthful perception of a response to faith, that is, when one is certain that God listens, precisely during the ecstatic action of the bond with God, in this realization. According to the Hasidic tales but not only, children also know how to reach a good level of kavanah and it isn't absolutely useless to teach them

Bar mitzvah
.

In Chovot HaLevavot

Chovot HaLevavot "Duties of the Heart" by Bahya ibn Paquda (section 8, chapter 3), gives 3 general categories for kavanah under the rubric "the different ways of serving God":

  1. duties of the heart alone (which is the subject of his book) To be humble and reverence respect to God and to love God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength (to love God with sincere and honesty) and keep your heart, your mind your thought to regard humility, reverence respect, to have good wills, loving kindness, morality & virtues towards God and towards another:
  2. duties of the body and heart together, such as prayer, Torah study, praising and glorifying God, teaching wisdom, enjoining right conduct, warning against evil, and the like;
  3. duties of the limbs alone, in which the heart has no part except for initially directing the act to God, for example sukkah, lulav, tzitzis, mezuzah, observing Shabbos and the festivals, giving charity, and similar duties in which distraction by other thoughts does not harm the one who performs them.

Kabbalah

In Kabbalah, kavanah often refers to the permutations of the divine name that aim at overcoming the separation of the forces in the Upper World.[8]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-971645-6
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-14-144178-8
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4008-4847-8
    .
  4. ISBN 0-8276-0723-7
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-8232-1957-5
    .
  6. ^ a b c kavanah, Judaism, Encyclopædia Britannica
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8232-1957-5
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 0-8052-0002-9
    .
  9. ISBN 0-87728-616-7
    . Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  10. ^ Shulchan Aruch 60:6 and 589:8
  11. ^ Barenblat, Rachel (2005-07-13). "Kavanot for Shavuot". Ritualwell.org. Archived from the original on 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  12. ISBN 978-1-57181-975-8
    .
  13. ISBN 978-0-8232-1957-5
    .
  14. ISBN 978-0-19-971645-6
    .
  15. ^ Sutnick, Barbara and Reuven (1999). "THE PRAYER BOOK: A WINDOW ON JEWISH THEOLOGY". Jewish University in Cyberspace (J.U.I.C.E.). Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  16. ISBN 978-0-19-973004-9
    .
  17. ^ Cohn, Tzvi Meir. Baal Shem Tov Deuteronomy (p.35). BST Publishing
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