Kavanah Primer: Avos (1st Berachah of the Amidah)

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 2 hours 6 minutesSynopsis: The halachah states: “One who davens must have kavanah during all the berachos, but if one is unable to have kavanah in all of them, one should at least have kavanah in Avos” (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 101:1). Last year, in my Machshavah Lab tefilah shiurim for women, I gave an eleven-part series aimed at elucidating each word of the berachah of Avos based on the classical meforshim (1/3/25–5/16/25). This morning (10/26/25), as a YBT Sunday shiur, I condensed all eleven parts into a single session.If you’re looking for a shiur that will help you cultivate kavanah in every word, this is the one for you! And if you’re interested in an in-depth analysis of all the sources referenced here (and more), check out the original eleven-part series.-----מקורות:משנה ברורה - שולחן ערוך או"ח קא:אטור - או"ח ה:א; קיג:טרמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים א:נג, סא; ג:יח; נגאבודרהם - ברכות השחררבינו בחיי בן אשר - כד הקמח: ברכהספר העיקרים ב:כוספר החינוך - עקב: מצוה ת"לרשב"א - שו"ת ה:נברבינו בחיי בן אשר - שולחן של ארבעמחזור ויטרי סימן פחרש"י - דברים ו:דעץ יוסף - אבותספורנו - דברים י:יזרמב"ן - בראשית יד:יחאבודרהם - אבותאבן עזרא - ישעיהו סג:זספורנו - בראשית יד:יטאברבנאל - בראשית יד:יז-כרלב"ג - במדבר י:ט-יGoldmintz – The Rav on Tefillah: An Anthology of Teachings by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik on Jewish Prayer, pp.207-208רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר שופטים, הלכות מלכים ומלחמות יב:ד-הרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תשובה ט:בר"י בר יקר - אבותקרבן תודה - פסחים דף קיז עמוד ב-----The Torah content for the remainder of October is sponsored by Yael Weiss in honor of her parents, and in celebration of her father’s birthday (September 25 / 17 Tishrei).  -----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/YU Torah: yutorah.org/teachers/Rabbi-Matt-SchneeweissPatreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" : thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" : machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" : rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comWhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0H