סימן ה - דין כוונת הברכות ובו ג' סעיפים

Siman 5: Laws of Kavanah in Berachos, containing three seifim:

Recording: Seifim 1–3

1. In blessings one must have in mind the meaning of the words he utters^[1].

And when he mentions the Name, he should have in mind the meaning of how it is read, with alef dalet, from the word Adnus, that He is Master of all.

And he should further have in mind the meaning of how it is written, with yud hei, from the word Havayah, that He was, is and will be.

But in a place where it is also written with alef dalet, he need have in mind only that He is Master of all:

2. In a place where the Name is written with alef dalet, the alef is read with a chataf patach, for so it is pointed in Scripture.

But in a place where it is written with yud hei, some read the alef with a sheva, like the vowel of the yud of the Name Havayah, blessed be He.

And some read the alef with a chataf patach, like the vowel of the alef of the Name with alef dalet:

3. And when he mentions the Name Elokim, he should have in mind that He is strong and mighty, who has power over those above and those below:

Notes

1. The meaning of the words: The Rebbe writes to one who asked about concentration in prayer: "והעצה לזה להתבונן בפירוש המלות, כפשוטו עכ"פ, של התפלה" ("The advice for this is to contemplate the meaning of the words of the prayer, at least in their plain sense") (Igros Kodesh, vol. 15, no. 5702).