Slow down. You daven too fast

Today’s daf TB Berachot 13b discusses whether the person who recites the prayer Shema needs to daven it with Kavvanah or not. If one must recite the Shema with Kavvanah, does this ruling mean the entire Shema, the entire first paragraph, the first couple sentences, or just the first line Shema Yisrael HaShem Elokainu HaShem Echad?

Abraham Joshua Heschel defined Kavvanh thusly: “In its verbal form the original meaning seems to be: to straighten, to place in a straight line, to direct. From this it came to mean to direct the mind, to pay attention, to do a thing with intention. The noun kavvanah denotes meaning, purpose, motive, and intention. To have kavvanah means, according to a classical formulation, ‘to direct the heart to the Father in heaven.’ The phrasing does not say direct the heart to the ‘text’ or to the ‘content of the prayer.’ Kavvanah, then, is more than paying attention to the text of the liturgy or to the performance of the mitzvah. Kavvanah is attentiveness to God. Its purpose is to direct the heart rather than the tongue or the arms.” (Between God and Man, page 165)

I don’t know whether you had this experience are not. When I was in Hebrew school, teachers would give us time tests to see how quickly and accurately we could read a prayer. Perhaps this was good training because in some synagogues I’ve davened in, I can hardly keep up with the shaliach tzibur, the person leading the service. I once asked Cantor Kalmon Chaitovsky z’’l of Springfield, Massachusetts how he was able to daven so quickly. He answered with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face saying, “It’s easy. I skip two or three pages at a time.”

I teach that it’s not how fast you go through the prayers, it’s how the prayers go through you. Why do synagogues need windows according to Jewish law? One answer is that the world of prayer is the real world where all those who fall are supported (Psalm 145:14), the hungry will be satisfied (Psalm 145:16), and the brokenhearted are healed (Psalm 147:3). The world outside the windows is spurious. As God’s partner our task is to transform the outside world so that it matches the world of our prayers.

May our kavvanah lead us into a covenantal relationship with God and the opportunity to act in agreement with the Holy One Blessed Be He to perfect this world under the kingship of the Almighty.

BTW, obviously the entire Shema should be said with kavvanah; however, if you only recite the first line of the Shema Yisrael with kavvanah, you don’t have to redaven the three paragraphs to fulfill your obligation.