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God Is In The Moment
by Velvel "Wally" Spiegler

Chapter two of Berachot, the first tractate of the Talmud, opens with the following Mishna, “He who was reading in the Torah, and the time for reading [the Shema] arrived, if he has directed his heart, he has fulfilled his obligation.” The Hebrew word that best typifies “directed his heart” is kavannah. It’s not a commonly used word but its importance in attaining in spiritual depth is enormous. Whether performing Mitzvot, praying fervently, or doing our everyday activities like going to work, caring for the children, accomplishing household chores, kavannah is the art of living in the moment.

I can remember, many times, standing in prayer with my mind gyrating in so many directions simultaneously that I was somewhere else, but not there. I would flirt with thoughts of the past or wonder what my future holds. But prayer requires kavannah. As Maimonides put it, “any prayer without kavannah is no prayer”. Kavannah is a state of mind that’s rarely achieved; it’s the split second of the present moment—here it is; now it’s gone. Yet with this apparent paradox, the present is where we face God. In this Torah passage, God explains to Moses that He is unavailable in both the past and the future, “You cannot see my face, no man can see Me and live. Behold there is a place near me and when my presence passes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover my hand over you until I have passed. Then I will remove my hand and you shall see my back, my face shall not be seen” (Exodus 33:20-23).   

 Some definitions of kavannah that come to mind are attention, awareness and mindfulness, but more precisely it is the ability to concentrate on one single object for extended stretches of time, rather than being scattered. My mind is scattered right now. I have too many thoughts to contend with, Passover, income taxes, early spring gardening, business obligations, our grandchildren’s upcoming birthdays and writing this article. How can I pull out of this tailspin? The practice of concentrating on one thing at a time has always helped me to center myself.
Kavannah can be useful in some situations or a burden at other times. With practice, total attention can be turned off or turned on at will; it’s the ability to move in and out of doing or being. Most of the time we’re in such a frenzied state of doing—thinking, working, cooking shopping—that we’ve lost sight of our alternate state of existence, being. Shabbat is one day devoted to being rather that doing. Kavannah, also is the short-term state of being. In prayer, kavannah enables us to focus our attention on lavishing God with praise. It is required for prayer; for in those split-second moments of awareness, we stand face to face with the Source of Creation. There are times, however, when this state of mind is unrealistic, like when you’re reconciling your bank statement, driving to work or crossing the street.
How can we cultivate kavannah? A simple meditation practice comes first to mind. It requires nothing more then sitting comfortably, with eyes either open or closed, and just focusing on one solitary object at a time. The object could be virtually anything: your breathing rhythm, a candle flame, the ineffable name YHVH, a flower, or a melody. The time period could start with just a few moments and gradually increase to twenty or so minutes.

Paying attention to the sensations of your body: feelings, sounds, touch, sight, to the exclusion of everything else around you, is another way to expand awareness. Your physical sensations, which could include aches and pains, holds within those insightful messages from unconscious sources. Finally, listening carefully to what others are saying without busily constructing thoughts in response. When you can concentrate entirely on someone else’s words, you nullify your own ego, another form of kavannah. What’s most important is the faithful practice of such training and to refrain from berating yourself for backsliding. At those moments, just gently, lovingly and without self-criticism return to your practice.
In Hebrew, kavannah appears to originate allegorically from a root that means, “to take aim”, as in directing the heart. It is the essential ingredient in religious disciplines. The Talmud tells of pious ones who would come [to the synagogue] an hour prior [to the service] and would pray as to direct their hearts towards Heaven. In addition, special meditations (kavannot) were introduced before performing certain Mitzvot, often beginning with ‘Behold I am prepared and ready to fulfill the command of my creator…’ for example before putting on the Tephillin (Artcroll siddur p.6-7.

The source of our stress, illness and emotional problems is the failure to live in the moment. Guilt, anger and sadness stem from concerns of the past; worry and fear originate from obsessing about the future. Kavannah is a divine gift, but we need to learn how to use it. Wouldn’t it be worthy of us all to cultivate kavannah? Just think, it would take the dreary rote and monotony out of Jewish ritual. We would then be able to experience that still place within where we encounter God, heal our pain and hear our prayers answered.