Kavanah

Kavanah or kavana (also pronounced /kaˈvonə/ by some Ashkenazi Jews) (כַּוָּנָה; in Biblical Hebrew kawwānā), plural kavanot or kavanos, (Intention or "direction of the heart") is the mindset often described as necessary for Jewish rituals (mitzvot).

Once the subject of great debate among medieval commentators, traditional Jewish sources now accept that fulfilling mitzvot without at least minimal kavanah is insufficient.

Different Jewish authorities see various levels of kavanah required for various rituals, and especially for prayer. Some prayerbooks (siddurim) list kavanot for particular prayers. Some particular kavanot are associated with particular holidays, for example Sukkot, Pesach, Shavuot, and others.

Kavanah in prayer may require understanding of the words of prayer, and not merely reciting the sounds. Some perceive this as especially difficult to achieve for many Jews today when they pray using liturgical Hebrew, which many Jews outside of Israel do not understand.

Some kavanot are particular to the tradition of Kabbalah, as a meditation, or in Hasidic Judaism. In Kabbalah, Kavanah often refers to the permutations of the divine name that aim at overcoming the separation of the forces in the Upper World.

Kavana

Kavana may refer to:

People with the name

See also

Kavana (singer)

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Kavana (born Anthony Kavanagh, 4 November 1977) is a British singer and actor who scored a number of hit singles in the late 1990s. In 2014, he became part of the supergroup 5th Story, who are taking part in the second series of The Big Reunion. In 2015, he took part in the fifteenth series of the Channel 5 reality series Celebrity Big Brother.

Career

He released two albums Kavana (1997) and Instinct (1999) and enjoyed a number of chart singles including "Crazy Chance". Other songs included "Thank You", "Special Kind of Something", "I Can Make You Feel Good" (his debut UK Top 10 hit, reaching #8), "MFEO" (another No.8 hit) and "Will You Wait For Me?".

He resided in Los Angeles, California for several years where he appeared in commercials, the MTV series Undressed, and had a publishing deal as a songwriter. In 2005, he appeared in the music video for Today, by his friend Melanie Brown, before returning to the United Kingdom.

Kavana (album)

Kavana is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Kavana. Kavana was discovered by Take That's manager Nigel Martin-Smith, and was subsequently signed to his label in early 1996. The album was recorded throughout 1996 and the beginning of 1997, being released the week following the album's fourth single, "MFEO". Kavana worked with many big name stars on the album, including Lulu ("Protected", who also provides backing vocals for the track) and Howard Donald ("Crazy Chance"). The album was released on 11 April 1997 to good critical reception, however only reached #29 on the UK Albums Chart. Subsequently, second pressing copies of the album have a "Reduced Price" logo printed on the booklet and were retailed shortly before the release of "Crazy Chance '97". However, again these failed to increase the album's chart position. Both "I Can Make You Feel Good" and "MFEO" became UK Top 10 hits, both peaking at #8 respectively.

Singles