Yitro: Receiving with Intention

How do we prepare ourselves to pay close attention to something important?
What are the obstacles and distractions that prevent us from paying attention?
What does it mean to pray with kavanah (intention)?
What helps us to have kavanah in our prayer? What makes it more difficult?
With which of the rabbis below do you most closely identify and why?

What role does silence play in our lives? What role does it play in prayer?

שמות י״ט:ט״ז-י״ט

(טז) וַיְהִי֩ בַיּ֨וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֜י בִּֽהְיֹ֣ת הַבֹּ֗קֶר וַיְהִי֩ קֹלֹ֨ת וּבְרָקִ֜ים וְעָנָ֤ן כָּבֵד֙ עַל־הָהָ֔ר וְקֹ֥ל שֹׁפָ֖ר חָזָ֣ק מְאֹ֑ד וַיֶּחֱרַ֥ד כׇּל־הָעָ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר בַּֽמַּחֲנֶֽה׃ (יז) וַיּוֹצֵ֨א מֹשֶׁ֧ה אֶת־הָעָ֛ם לִקְרַ֥את הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים מִן־הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֖וּ בְּתַחְתִּ֥ית הָהָֽר׃ (יח) וְהַ֤ר סִינַי֙ עָשַׁ֣ן כֻּלּ֔וֹ מִ֠פְּנֵ֠י אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָרַ֥ד עָלָ֛יו יְהֹוָ֖ה בָּאֵ֑שׁ וַיַּ֤עַל עֲשָׁנוֹ֙ כְּעֶ֣שֶׁן הַכִּבְשָׁ֔ן וַיֶּחֱרַ֥ד כׇּל־הָהָ֖ר מְאֹֽד׃ (יט) וַיְהִי֙ ק֣וֹל הַשֹּׁפָ֔ר הוֹלֵ֖ךְ וְחָזֵ֣ק מְאֹ֑ד מֹשֶׁ֣ה יְדַבֵּ֔ר וְהָאֱלֹהִ֖ים יַעֲנֶ֥נּוּ בְקֽוֹל׃

Exodus 19:16-19

(16) On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder, and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the horn; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. (17) Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain. (18) Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for יהוה had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently. (19) The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him in thunder.

Exodus Rabbah 29:9: R. Abbahu said in the name of R. Yochanan: When the Holy Blessed One gave the Torah no bird twittered, no fowl flew, no ox lowed, none of the ophanim (angels) stirred a wing, nor did the seraphim (burning celestial beings) chant ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’. The sea did not roar, and none of the creatures uttered a sound. Throughout the entire world there was only a breathless silence as the Divine Voice went forth speaking: “I am the Eternal your God” (Exodus 20:2).

R. Samson Raphael Hirsch (19th century Germany) to Exodus 19:16-19: The nation learns that when a person enters into the service of God, with full knowledge and consciousness, they rise to a heightened level of which there is none in the world, and their standing before God is one of closeness without intermediary…. all the forces of nature are making noise—the noise of earthquakes, thunder, shaking mountains, “the sound of the shofar getting louder (Exodus 19:19)”—but Israel is inclining its ear to listen only to the speaking of God with Moshe

Yalkut Midreshei Teiman (Yemen, date unknown), p. 104 “Do not take the name of YHVH in vain” (Exodus 20:7)—from here our sages said that anyone… who prays without kavanah (intention)… we attribute to them as if God said: “…for God will not forgive [those who take God’s name in vain]” (20:7).

משנה תורה, הלכות תפילה וברכת כהנים ד׳:ט״ז

(טז) כֵּיצַד הִיא הַכַּוָּנָה. שֶׁיְּפַנֶּה אֶת לִבּוֹ מִכָּל הַמַּחֲשָׁבוֹת וְיִרְאֶה עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא עוֹמֵד לִפְנֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה. לְפִיכָךְ צָרִיךְ לֵישֵׁב מְעַט קֹדֶם הַתְּפִלָּה כְּדֵי לְכַוֵּן אֶת לִבּוֹ וְאַחַר כָּךְ יִתְפַּלֵּל בְּנַחַת וּבְתַחֲנוּנִים וְלֹא יַעֲשֶׂה תְּפִלָּתוֹ כְּמִי שֶׁהָיָה נוֹשֵׂא מַשּׂאוֹי וּמַשְׁלִיכוֹ וְהוֹלֵךְ לוֹ. לְפִיכָךְ צָרִיךְ לֵישֵׁב מְעַט אַחַר הַתְּפִלָּה וְאַחַר כָּךְ יִפָּטֵר. חֲסִידִים הָרִאשׁוֹנִים הָיוּ שׁוֹהִין שָׁעָה אַחַת קֹדֶם תְּפִלָּה וְשָׁעָה אַחַת לְאַחַר תְּפִלָּה וּמַאֲרִיכִין בִּתְפִלָּה שָׁעָה:

Mishneh Torah, Prayer and the Priestly Blessing 4:16

(16) What is meant by [proper] intention?
One should clear one's mind from all thoughts and envision himself as standing before the Divine Presence. Therefore, one must sit a short while before praying in order to focus one's attention and then pray in a pleasant and supplicatory fashion.
One should not pray as one carrying a burden who throws it off and walks away. Therefore, one must sit a short while after praying, and then withdraw.
The pious ones of the previous generations would wait an hour before praying and an hour after praying. They would [also] extend their prayers for an hour.

ברכות ל׳ ב:ה׳

רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא צַלִּי וַהֲדַר צַלִּי. אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַבִּי זֵירָא: מַאי טַעְמָא עָבֵיד מָר הָכִי? אִילֵּימָא מִשּׁוּם דְּלָא כַּוֵּון מָר דַּעְתֵּיהּ, וְהָאָמַר רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר: לְעוֹלָם יָמוֹד אָדָם אֶת עַצְמוֹ, אִם יָכוֹל לְכַוֵּין אֶת לִבּוֹ — יִתְפַּלֵּל, וְאִם לָאו — אַל יִתְפַּלֵּל.

Berakhot 30b:5

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba prayed and then prayed again. Rav Zeira said to him: Why did the Master do this? If you say because the Master did not focus his mind the first time, didn’t Rabbi Eliezer say: One must always evaluate oneself before praying? If one is able to focus their heart on prayer, one should pray, but if not, if one is unable to do so, one should not pray.

תלמוד ירושלמי ברכות ב׳:ד׳:ט״ז

רִבִּי יִרְמְיָה בְשֵׁם רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר נִתְפַּלֵּל וְלֹא כִוֵּן לִבּוֹ אִם יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁהוּא חוֹזֵר וּמְכַוֵּן יִתְפַּלֵּל וְאִם לָאו אַל יִתְפַּלֵּל. אָמַר רִבִּי חִייָא רוּבָּא אֲנָא מִן יוֹמָי לֹא כַווְנִית אֶלָּא חַד זְמָן בָּעִי מְכַוְּנָא וְהִרְהָרִית בְּלִבִּי וְאָֽמְרִית מַאן עֲלֵיל קוֹמוֹי מַלְכָּא קְדָמִי אַרְקַבֶּסָּא אוֹ רֵישׁ גָּלוּתָא. שְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר אֲנָא מָנִית אֶפְרוֹחַיָּא. רִבִּי בּוּן בַּר חִייָא אָמַר אֲנָא מָנִית דֵּמוֹסִיָּא. אָמַר רִבִּי מַתַּנְיָה אֲנָא מְחַזֵּק טִיבוּ לְרֹאשִׁי דְּכַד הֲוָה מָטֵי מוֹדִים הוּא כָרַע מִגַּרְמֵיהּ.

Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 2:4:16

Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: If one prayed without intent and knows that the second time they will pray with intent, one may pray a second time; otherwise one should not pray. The great Rebbi Ḥiyya said: I never managed to pray with intent, but one time I made an effort to concentrate and I started to think and said to myself, who enters first before the king, the tax collector or the Exilarch? Samuel said: I counted chicks. Rebbi Abun bar Ḥiyya said: I counted stone rows. Rebbi Mattaniah said: I am thankful to my head that when I come to modim it bends down by itself [note: do we think this means he was praying with intention or that he fell asleep?]

Sefer Ha-Batim of R. David Ha-Kokhavi (13th -14th century Provence), Beit Tefillah, Sha’arei Tefillah, Sha’ar 7, #20: Rav Natronai Gaon (9th century Baghdad) wrote that all this [the specific exceptions to reciting the Amidah] is in the early generations when their hearts were prepared for tefillah… But in our day we do not cancel tefillah because of distraction, for it may come from a place of “not for its own sake” to a place of “for its own sake.”

Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, "Struggling to Pray with Intention," Parashat Yitro 5783, Hadar Institute: In today’s world, there are so many distractions, so much noise. The first step to achieving kavanah is to work to tune out the noise – both literally and figuratively. How do we do this? Rambam, based on Mishnah Berakhot 5:1, suggests sitting for a little (מעט לישב צריך ( before praying. Perhaps music helps tune out the distractions. Maybe it is as simple as turning off one’s buzzing phone or closing one’s eyes. When Israel received the Torah, they were overwhelmed by the presence of God. Today, it is harder to experience that feeling. But the moment of prayer offers an opportunity to attempt to experience God’s presence before us, and to tune out the distractions. And even if we can’t always achieve kavanah, we shouldn’t forego the opportunity to try.

"Keeping Quiet" by Pablo Neruda
Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still
for once on the face of the earth,
let's not speak in any language;
let's stop for a second,
and not move our arms so much.
It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines;
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.
Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would not look at his hurt hands.
Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.
What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about...
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with
death.
Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

Leah Berkowitz