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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman ה׳ · The kavana of the berakhot

כוונת הברכות — the intention in the blessings and the meaning of the divine Names

סימן ה׳ · סעיף אחד

כוונת הברכות

🌱 Introductory level · Beginners

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A first approach to the single seif: vocalized Hebrew text, clear English translation, pedagogical explanations on the kavana of the meaning of the words, on the intent at the Name הוי״ה (Havaya, the Tetragrammaton) and at the Name אלהים — in a register of elevation and devotion, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: Having the intent of the meaning of the words in the blessings, and the kavana when one pronounces the divine Names
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן ה' · סעיף אחד

Compiled by: Rav Yossef Haim Samama
DAAT · daattorah.com

This siman is one of the shortest in the Shulchan Aroukh — a single seif — and yet one of the most profound: it teaches kavana, the avodah she-balev (the service of the heart). To bless without intent is to utter words without a soul; to bless with kavana is to stand truly before Hashem. The siman lifts our gaze to the meaning of the divine Names that our lips pronounce each day. We study here, at the level of principle; for the precise conduct, we refer to the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline

A. The kavana of the meaning of the words — having intent of what one says in the berakha

B. The Name הוי״ה (Havaya, the Tetragrammaton) — the intent of its reading (אדנות, Master of all) and of its writing (היה הוה ויהיה)

C. The Name אלהים — תקיף בעל הכחות, the Mighty One, Master of all the powers

+ Practical cases and comprehension questions

The text of the seif (סעיף אחד)

Original text

יְכַוֵּן בַּבְּרָכוֹת פֵּרוּשׁ הַמִּלּוֹת. כְּשֶׁיַּזְכִּיר הַשֵּׁם, יְכַוֵּן פֵּרוּשׁ קְרִיאָתוֹ בַּאֲדֹנוּת, שֶׁהוּא אֲדוֹן הַכֹּל ; וִיכַוֵּן בִּכְתִיבָתוֹ בְּיוֹ"ד הֵ"א, שֶׁהָיָה וְהֹוֶה וְיִהְיֶה. וּבְהַזְכִּירוֹ אֱלֹהִים, יְכַוֵּן שֶׁהוּא תַּקִּיף בַּעַל הַיְכֹלֶת וּבַעַל הַכֹּחוֹת כֻּלָּם.

English translation

Let one have intent, in the blessings, of the meaning of the words. When one mentions the Name הוי״ה (the Tetragrammaton), let one have in mind the meaning of its reading — אדנות (Adonout), « He is Master of all »; and let one also have in mind the meaning of its writing in yod-hé — « He was, is and will be ». And when one mentions the Name אלהים, let one have in mind that He is the Mighty One (תקיף), Master of capacity and Master of all the powers.

One seif, three teachings: the Shulchan Aroukh gives here, in a single sentence, (A) the general rule of the kavana of the meaning of the words, then two major applications — (B) the kavana when one pronounces the Name הוי״ה and (C) the kavana when one says אלהים. We study each of them separately.

A. The kavana of the meaning of the words

The component (text)

יְכַוֵּן בַּבְּרָכוֹת פֵּרוּשׁ הַמִּלּוֹת.

Let one have intent, in the blessings, of the meaning of the words.

כַּוָּנָה (kavana) — the « intention », the directing of heart and mind toward what one performs or pronounces. Here specifically: פֵּרוּשׁ הַמִּלּוֹת, « the meaning of the words » — to understand and to have in mind what the words of the berakha say, and not to recite them by rote.

The central idea: a berakha is not a magic formula: it is words that say something. To bless is to acknowledge — to acknowledge Hashem as the source of all. The Shulchan Aroukh therefore asks that the lips and the heart say the same thing: that one thinks what one pronounces. This is the foundation of the whole siman.

The principle in one sentence: to bless with כַּוָּנָה is to make the word and the thought correspond. One does not « recite » a berakha: one addresses it to Hashem, knowing what one says.

B. The Name הוי״ה — reading and writing

The component (text)

כְּשֶׁיַּזְכִּיר הַשֵּׁם, יְכַוֵּן פֵּרוּשׁ קְרִיאָתוֹ בַּאֲדֹנוּת, שֶׁהוּא אֲדוֹן הַכֹּל ; וִיכַוֵּן בִּכְתִיבָתוֹ בְּיוֹ"ד הֵ"א, שֶׁהָיָה וְהֹוֶה וְיִהְיֶה.

When one mentions the Name הוי״ה (the Tetragrammaton), let one have in mind the meaning of its reading — אדנות, « He is Master of all »; and let one also have in mind the meaning of its writing in yod-hé — « He was, is and will be ».

הוי״ה (Havaya, the Tetragrammaton) — the most exalted Name, which we write here only in re-ordered letters (הוי״ה) and which we never pronounce as it is written. We read it אֲדֹנָי (Adonaï), that is, אֲדוֹן הַכֹּל, « Master of all ».

Two intentions in a single Name: the Shulchan Aroukh asks, when one pronounces this Name, for two thoughts:

The meaning of its reading (אדנות): Hashem is אֲדוֹן הַכֹּל, the Master of all — everything is His, everything depends on Him.
The meaning of its writing (the yod-hé letters): הָיָה הֹוֶה וְיִהְיֶה — « He was, He is and He will be »: Hashem is above time, unchanging, yesterday as today and tomorrow.

הָיָה הֹוֶה וְיִהְיֶה — « He was, He is and He will be ». The very letters of the Name (made of the letters that compose these three words — past, present and future) teach that Hashem transcends time: in Him there is neither before nor after. To bless « Havaya » is to acknowledge the One who brings into being all things, from forever and for ever.

To keep in mind when saying the Name:

Reading אדנות → Master of all (אדון הכל)
Writing yod-hé → He was, is and will be (היה הוה ויהיה)

The same syllable thus carries, together, the lordship (He is Master) and the eternity (He is above time).

C. The Name אלהים — the Mighty One

The component (text)

וּבְהַזְכִּירוֹ אֱלֹהִים, יְכַוֵּן שֶׁהוּא תַּקִּיף בַּעַל הַיְכֹלֶת וּבַעַל הַכֹּחוֹת כֻּלָּם.

And when one mentions the Name אלהים, let one have in mind that He is תקיף (the Mighty One), Master of capacity and Master of all the powers.

תַּקִּיף בַּעַל הַכֹּחוֹת (takif baal ha-koḥot) — « the Mighty One, Master of all the powers ». The Name אלהים expresses strength and capacity: Hashem holds all the forces of the world, and no force acts except through Him. When one pronounces this Name, one therefore has in mind that He is the source of all power.

Two Names, one Hashem: the seif links two Names that illuminate one and the same truth. הוי״ה says that He is — Master of all, above time. אלהים says that He can — Master of all the powers. To acknowledge both is to know that all being and all power come from Him alone.

The seif, in summary:

(A) In every berakha → the intent of the meaning of the words
(B) At the Name הוי״ה → Master of all · He was, is and will be
(C) At the Name אלהים → the Mighty One, Master of all the powers

Practical cases

Case 1 — Kavana in the daily berakhot

Situation: one recites the ברכות השחר (the morning blessings), or says a berakha before eating or drinking.

Conduct: before beginning, one pauses for a moment to think of whom one is addressing and of what the words say. A berakha over a fruit, for example, acknowledges that it is Hashem who « creates the fruit of the tree ». The more familiar the berakha (and so recited quickly), the more precious the effort of כַּוָּנָה: one takes care not to say it « by rote ».

Case 2 — The intent at the moment of saying the Name

Situation: at the heart of the berakha, one pronounces the Name — « Baroukh ata Hashem… ».

Conduct: when saying the Name הוי״ה (the Tetragrammaton), one has in mind the two thoughts of the seif: He is Master of all (אדון הכל) and He was, is and will be (היה הוה ויהיה). And when a berakha mentions אלהים (for example « אלהינו מלך העולם »), one has in mind that He is the Mighty One, Master of all the powers. For the precise way of holding this kavana without interrupting the flow of the prayer, one refers to the ruling of the Rav.

Case 3 — A berakha said without kavana

Situation: one realizes that one has said a berakha (or the tefillah) by rote, without having had the intent of the meaning of the words.

Conduct: must one repeat it? It depends on the berakha and on the place (the first berakha of the Shema and the first verse, or the start of the Amidah, have a special status — see simanim 60, 61 and 101 on the kavana of the tefillah). This is precisely a case where one refers to the ruling of the Rav, and one may delve deeper in Level 4 — Daat HaRav.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:

What does the Shulchan Aroukh ask, in general, for every berakha?
What does « having intent of the meaning of the words » (פירוש המלות) mean?
When saying the Name הוי״ה, what is the intent linked to its reading?
And what is the intent linked to its writing in yod-hé?
What does אדון הכל mean? And היה הוה ויהיה?
When saying the Name אלהים, what is the intent required?
What does one do, in principle, if one said a berakha without kavana — and where does one inquire?

To go further

If you want to delve deeper into this siman:

📚 Level 2 — Lamdan: for pilpul — is the kavana מעכבת (indispensable) or only למצוה? ; the distinction between the reading and the writing of the Name הוי״ה ; the relation הוי״ה ↔ אלהים (transcendence and immanence)
✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: for review and quick memorization
👑 Level 4 — Daat HaRav (the Alter Rebbe): the shitah of the Shulchan Aroukh HaRav (3 seifim) — the meaning of the Names הוי״ה and אלהים and the way of the yiḥud (at the level of principle)

Back to the previous siman← Siman 4

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DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה
Talmid Chacham · Teacher of shiurim in halakha and Chassidut
סימן ה' · סעיף אחד · Level 1 — Introduction
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