Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Brachos 13a - What Type Of Kavana?

The Mishna at the beginning of the second perek says that if one was reading the Torah and the time for shma arrived אם כוון לבו - if he has "kavana", he is yotzei.

The mishna doesn't tell us what type of kavana is necessary. That is what makes things fun....

In the hava amina  of the gemara the "kavana" to which the mishna is referring is to be yotzei the mitzva of krias shma and proves from here that one needs to have kavana to fulfill mitzvos in order to be yotzei - מצות צריכות כוונה. It could be that according to this understanding the mishna chose a case where the person is reading the Torah to teach that if one does a mitzva with an additional purpose [besides to fulfill the mitzva] he is still yotzei [as the mishna brura writes 60/9]. Thus, in an instance where he intended both to fulfill his obligation and to read the Torah he is yotzei.

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The shulchan aruch [ס"ס ס"ה] writes that one who reads shma and doesn't have kavana for the pasuk of shma yisrael, isn't yotzei. The mishna brura explains that kavana here is NOT referring to kavana to fulfill his obligation but kavana to accept upon himself עול מלכות שמים שמים which is absolutely required for the first pasuk of shma yisrael. If this is true then what is the proof of the gemara from the words אם כוון לבו that מצות צריכות כוונה  - that one needs kavana to fulfill his obligation. Maybe when the mishna says אם כוון לבו it is referring to kavana to accept עול מלכות שמים??

וצריך עיון

[גבורת יצחק עמוד קסח]