The month before a holiday is special time. After reading sources below, which holidays are mentioned? Which are missing? Why?
ת"ר: משה תיקן להם לישראל שיהו שואלין ודורשין בענינו של יום הלכות פסח בפסח, הלכות עצרת בעצרת, הלכות חג בחג:
Moses established for Israel that they should enquire and give derashot concerning the subject of the day the laws of Pesah on Pesah, the laws of Shavuot on Shavuot, and the laws of Sukkot on Sukkot.
Prayer = Shmoneh Esreh or the silent amidah.
Kavanah can have many possible meanings: understanding, awareness, mindfulness, focus, concentration, intention
Practically speaking, is "kavanah" needed when one prays?
(טו) כוונת הלב כיצד? כל תפלה שאינה בכוונה אינה תפלה. ואם התפלל בלא כוונה חוזר ומתפלל בכוונה. מצא דעתו משובשת ולבו טרוד אסור לו להתפלל עד שתתיישב דעתו.
(15) Inner mindfulness: how does one attain it? Any prayer for which one is not fully mindful is not considered prayer. And if one prays without mindfulness, one must go back and pray [again, this time] with mindfulness. One who is confused or inwardly agitated is forbidden from praying until he settles himself;
.(א) מי שהתפלל ולא כיון את לבו יחזור ויתפלל בכוונה ואם כיון את לבו בברכה ראשונה שוב אינו צריך.
Whoever prayed and didn't focus should start over and pray with intention. And if he focused his heart during the first blessing, he doesn't have to start over.
Q: So which is it? Contradiction in the Rambam.
A1: Rambam is referring to two types of kavanah. What is kavanah?
1: Awareness before whom you are standing - if don't have this, isn't prayer (source 2)
2: Understanding what you are saying is ideal, but minimally in first bracha (Avot) - source 3.
Which type of kavanah is more important than the other?
(טז) כיצד היא הכוונה שיפנה את לבו מכל המחשבות ויראה עצמו כאלו הוא עומד לפני השכינה. לפיכך צריך לישב מעט קודם התפלה כדי לכוין את לבו, ואח"כ יתפלל בנחת ובתחנונים. ולא יעשה תפלתו כמי שהיה נושא משאוי ומשליכו, והולך לו. לפיכך צריך לישב מעט אחר התפלה ואחר. כך יפטר חסידים הראשונים, היו שוהין שעה אחת קודם תפלה ושעה אחת לאחר תפלה ומאריכין בתפלה שעה.
(16) How is intent (achieved)? A person should turn his heart from all thoughts and envision himself as if he is standing before the presence of God. Therefore he must sit a while before prayer in order to direct his heart and then he can pray with ease and supplications. And he should not treat his prayer like one who is carrying a burden and throws it down and moves on. Therefore he must sit a while after prayer and then take leave. The early pious individuals would wait an hour before prayer and an hour after prayer and would draw out their prayer for an hour.
(א) חמשה דברים מעכבין את התפלה אף על פי שהגיע זמנה טהרת ידים וכיסוי הערוה וטהרת מקום תפלה ודברים החופזים אותו וכוונת הלב.
Five things are necessary for prayer even though the time has arrived: purity of hands, covering of ervah, purity of the place of prayer and the items needed for it, and the intention of the heart.
If I had trouble focusing during my amidah, what then?
(א) הַמִּתְפַּלֵּל צָרִיךְ שֶׁיְּכַוֵּן בְּכָל הַבְּרָכוֹת, וְאִם אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְכַוֵּן בְּכֻלָּם, לְפָחוֹת יְכַוֵּן בְּאָבוֹת; אִם לֹא כִּוֵּן בְּאָבוֹת, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁכִּוֵּן בְּכָל הַשְּׁאָר, יַחֲזֹר וְיִתְפַּלֵּל. הַגָּה: וְהָאִדָּנָא אֵין חוֹזְרִין בִּשְׁבִיל חֶסְרוֹן כַּוָּנָה, שֶׁאַף בַּחֲזָרָה קָרוֹב הוּא שֶׁלֹּא יְכַוֵּן, אִם כֵּן לָמָּה יַחֲזוֹר (טוּר).
(1) One who prays needs to have concentration on all the blessings, but if he is not able to concentrate on all of them, he should at least concentrate on the blessing of the forefathers (the first blessing of Shemonah Esrei), but if he doesn't have concentration while saying the blessings of the forefathers, even if he has concentration on the rest [of the blessings], he needs to return [to the beginning] and pray. Gloss: Nowadays we do not return because there is a loss of concentration, and even when he returns [to the beginning of Shemonah Esrei] he will not have concentration; if so, why should he return (Tur)?
Q: If God is omnipotent, of what use is my prayer? Do I really think I can change God's mind?
גמ' שכשחטאו ישראל במדבר עמד משה לפני הקב"ה ואמר כמה תפלות ותחנונים לפניו ולא נענה וכשאמר (שמות לב, יג) זכור לאברהם ליצחק ולישראל עבדיך מיד נענה.
When Israel sinned in the dessert, Moshe stood before God and said a variety of prayers and supplications before Him, and wasn't answered. And when he said, "Remember Avraham, Yitzchak and Yisrael (Jacob) your servants, he was immediately answered.
What is most important part of amidah to understand?
Why that part?
How is tefilah, the ability to pray, a gift?
What is the verb "pray" in Hebrew? What type of verb (binyan) is it? Why?