One Minute Halacha Daily - 70 The Mitzvah of Kiddush-2. 71 Kavonos when Saying Hashem’s Name

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#70 The Mitzvah of Kiddush (Part 2)

A woman is obligated in the Mitzvah of Kiddush just like a man. However, if a Bar Mitzvah boy wants to make Kiddush for his mother and it is uncertain whether he has already reached the Halachic definition of maturity, otherwise known as Shtei Saarois, he is not allowed to make Kiddush for his mother because he has a lesser obligation of Kiddush than his mother or his father do. If it is on Friday evening and the woman davened already, then it is a bit of a different situation, and there may be room for leniency. The same rule applies in a girls’ camp or a seminary. If a younger girl who is already Bas Mitzvah but about whom it is uncertain if she possesses the signs of Halachic maturity wants to make Kiddush for an older girl, it can be a serious problem, unless it is Friday evening and the older girl has already davened Maariv.

#71 Kavonos when Saying Hashem’s Name

According to Halacha, every time one says Hashem’s Name in davening, there are specific Kavonos, intentions, that one should have in mind. When one says the Name Hashem, spelled Yud Kei Vov Kei, pronounced Alef, Daled, Nun, and Yud, one should have in mind that Yud Kei Vov Kei signifies that Hashem is Hoyo, Hoiveh,VeYiyeh, that Hashem was, is, and will be for eternity. Alef, Daled, Nun, and Yud alludes to the fact that Hashem is Adoin HaKoil, the Master of everything. When one says the Name Eloikim or a derivative of that Name such as Eloikeinu, etc., they should have in mind thatHashem is omnipotent, He has the ability to do everything He wants in both the higher and lower worlds. It is very difficult to have all this in mind every time one davens and says Hashem Eloikeinu, and it is therefore proposed that in the beginning of the day, one should have these Kavonos in mind for the entire day, for every time they say Hashem Eloikeinu or a similar Name. However, in the first Posuk of Shema and in the first Brocho of Shemonei Esrei, one should explicitly have these Kavonos in mind.

Practical Halacha: One minute a day. By Horav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, shlita, member of the Badatz of Crown Heights. 

Text Prepared by E.R. Elkaim