High Holidays 5781: ”Intention and the Mitzvot of Tishrei” (1/3) with Dr. Shana Strauch Schick

Handout: https://drisha.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Handout_Intention-in-the-Performance-of-Mizvot_Part1.pdf

If, after a long day in shul on Rosh Hashana, my mind is wandering during shofar blowing, do I have to hear it again? Can the pergola in my backyard be my sukkah? In this three part lecture series, we will explore how intention factors into the mitzvot central to Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. 

In this first class, we will explore the talmudic debate as to whether one must have kavannah when sounding and hearing the shofar, and how this relates to the broader question of Mizvot Zerikhot Kavannah (do rituals need to be performed with intention) and how the rishonim and aharonim weighed in on this debate and decide the halakhah.