Thursday, March 13, 2008
Is Kavanah Key?
The sofer told us that in order to write a Torah scroll properly, you need to have the proper intention/concentration ("kavanah"). Judaism also says that when we pray, we are supposed to have kavanah. But we are supposed to pray three times a day, and we don't always feel in the mood. Is it more important to pray anyway, or is it better to wait to pray until you really have full kavanah? When do you find you have kavanah, and when not?
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9 comments:
I think that you should pray when you feel kavanah because otherwise it's probably meaningless. It isn't worth it to pray and try to connect to g-d if you aren't in a good mood to. It's more special and spiritual if you really want to talk to g-d or pray for someone's health or something.
Very true. But are you saying that whoever does not have kavanah this Thursday should just skip mincha?
Hallie said...
I BELIEVE THAT YOU SHOULD'T HAVE TO PRAY WHEN YOU TRULY DONT FEEL KAVANAH. If you pray when there are other less important things on your mind you might soon come to think of prayer as just an interference in your life instead of a spiritual way to connect with G-d. However if you pray when you really do feel it is right prayer will become alot more meaningful and important to you!!!!!!!!!
Maya, you are in good company - the Talmud (in Masechet Brachot) says, "a person should always examine him/her-self before praying; if they are not able to direct their hearts to the prayer with kavanah, they should not pray."
According to Maimonides, the first of the chasidim (pious ones) would wait a full hour before praying, so they could get into the right frame of mind. What do you think -if it's time for mincha and people are not feeling the kavanah, should we wait an hour so everyone gets in the mood?
Instead of praying couldn't you just sacrifice something? This way someone does not need to be in the mood to pray.
Interesting, but I'm not so sure you're right... Judaism teaches that it isn't always ok to just "go through the motions" if you're not in the mood. According to the Talmud, mitzvot (commandments) from the Torah require kavanah (proper intention) in order to be fulfilled.
For example, if you happen to walk by a shul and hear the shofar being blown on Rosh Hashanah, it doesn't "count," because you didn't have the kavanah for the shofar, rather it was just a coincidence.
So I think the same would go for a sacrifice (though I'm not sure what you have in mind..!)
I agree with Hallie. I don't agree with David though. Sorry, I'm not one to sacrifice! :)
I think that even if you don't feel like praying at a specific moment, it is always good to remind yourself that God is there and cares abouit people. What you say does not need to be in the form of a prayer. It can even be in English!! Save the deep prayer for when you really feel a moment, but don't deny a chance to connect to God.
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