When and How to Pray: Kevah vs. Kavanah, Communal vs. Personal

Kevah means structure and permanent. Kavanah means focus and intention.

KAVANAH
One may only stand and begin to pray from an approach of gravity and submission…Standing in prayer is standing before God and, as such, even if the king greets him, he should not respond to him; and even if a snake is wrapped on his heel, he should not interrupt his prayer.--Mishnah Berakhot 5:1

• Hopefully, we’re not in mortal danger when we pray! What is the point the Mishna is trying to make when it teaches, "Standing in prayer is standing before God."? Do you have kavanah when you pray? What challenges do you face to maintain your kavanah during prayer?

The Rishonim, such as the Rambam and the Tur, debated whether one’s intentions should be focused on the particular meanings of the words…or whether one’s intent should be to realize, in a general way before Whom he is standing and praying. --The Maggid of Mezrich

• Do you think kavanah means focusing on the words of the siddur or concentrating on awareness of God? Does kavanah mean something else to you entirely?

I heard in the name of a certain Gaon that…nearing the end of prayer he found himself not to have concentrated for most of it. The Gaon taught: "To what may this be compared? To a little girl standing in the marketplace with a great basket of vegetables to sell and being accosted by someone who begins to grab things from the basket. She panics and is at a loss how to act — until a certain wise man standing at a distance calls out to her: 'What are you waiting for? Until he grabs it all? He is grabbing — you grab too!…Chofetz Chaim Shemirat HaLashon, Book I, Introduction 21

• What is the point of the Chofetz Chaim’s story? How do you restore your kavanah if you lose it? Is it important to restore it? How does your prayer change when you have kavanah and when you don’t?

KEVAH
The Sages taught in a Tosefta: One who was riding on a donkey and the time for prayer arrived, if he has someone to hold onto the donkey, he should dismount and pray. If not, he should sit in his place atop the donkey and pray. --Brachot 30a

• The Mishna teaches, "the time for prayer arrived." How does prayer at a fixed time of day relate to the idea of kevah? Why does it matter if we pray at a particular time of day? We don't ride donkeys veryday but we do have distractions and obligations. If you rewrote this Mishna for modern times, what would you substitute for riding a donkey and why?

Rabban Gamliel says: Each and every day a person recites the prayer of eighteen blessings (a.k.a the Amidah). Rabbi Yehoshua says: A short prayer is sufficient, and one only recites an abridged version of the prayer of eighteen blessings. Rabbi Akiva says an intermediate opinion: If he is fluent in his prayer, he recites the prayer of eighteen blessings, and if not, he need only recite an abridged version of the prayer of eighteen blessings. Rabbi Eliezer says: One whose prayer is fixed, his prayer is not supplication and is flawed.--Brachot 28b

• What are the advantages of the full prayer and what are the advanages of an abbreviated version? What do you think Rabbi Akiva meant by “fluent”? Fluent in Hebrew? Fluent in the customs of a Jewish service? Something else? What do you think about Rabbi Eliezer's assertion that fixed prayer (kevah) is flawed? Do you think prayer needs fixed words in order to qualify as Jewish prayer?

There is a specific difficulty with Jewish prayer. There are laws: fixed texts. On the other hand, prayer is worship of the heart, the outpouring of the soul, a matter of devotion. Thus, Jewish prayer is guided by two opposite principles: order and outburst, regularity and spontaneity, uniformity and individuality, law and freedom. These principles are the two poles about which Jewish prayer revolves.--Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity

COMMUNAL VS. PERSONAL
The prayer of the congregation is always received by God, even if sinners are among them. God does not despise the prayer of the many, hence a person should always join with the congregation in prayer. As long as he is able to pray with the congregation, he should not pray alone. He should go morning and evening, to the synagogue since prayer is only hearkened to at all times in the synagogue”--Moses Maimonides, Hilchot Tefilah

“Va-ani tefillati/I am my prayer.”--Psalm 69 and the Torah Service on Holidays

“Hineni/Here I am.”--Abraham, Moses and Isaiah answering God’s call and the Chazan at High Holiday Musaf

It was taught in a baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina: Abraham instituted the morning prayer, as it is stated when Abraham came to look out over Sodom the day after he had prayed on its behalf: “And Abraham rose early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord” (Genesis 19:27)...Clearly, Abraham was accustomed to stand in prayer in the morning. Isaac instituted the afternoon prayer, as it is stated: “And Isaac went out to converse [lasuaḥ] in the field toward evening” (Genesis 24:63)...Obviously, Isaac was the first to pray as evening approached, at the time of the afternoon prayer. Jacob instituted the evening prayer, as it is stated: “And he encountered [vayifga] the place and he slept there for the sun had set” (Genesis 28:11)...Jacob prayed during the evening, after the sun had set. And it was taught in a baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi that the laws of prayer are based on the laws of the daily offerings: Why did the Rabbis say that the morning prayer may be recited until noon? Because, although the daily morning offering is typically brought early in the morning, it may be sacrificed until noon.--Brachot 26b

There are two different origin stories for praying three times a day. Service either correspond to a different patriarch or to the daily sacrifices. How do the different origin stories relate to our themes of kevah vs. kavanah and communal vs. personal?

PRAYER LAB
Google the words zman tefilah and see what you can learn. Is there any way you might apply this information in your own life?

Today, Mincha Gedola (the earliest time we can start mincha) is 12:26, and Plag haMincha (the latest time we can start mincha) is 4:02 pm. Let’s pray mincha together. Pay attention to how the four ideas we discussed (kevah, kavanah, personal and communal) influenced your experience. You’ll have an opportunity to share afterward if you like.