What Kavanah Does R' Orlofksy Have When Saying Shema?

Hi, this is Rabbi Lopian, with our question and answer series. An anonymous asks, "Hi Rabbi Lopian, when I was in seventh grade, my rabbi mentioned that if you don't have in mind the meaning of the first person in Shema, you aren't Yotzei. He then proceeded to ask every kid in the class what they had in mind and responded to each one, 'No, that's wrong. You were never Makayem Mitzvas Krias Shema in your life.' When he finished going through the class, he gave a little speech about how if you're an Am Ha'aretz, you miss out on Mitzvas. What he failed to do is actually answer the question." >> [laughter] >> It's now 15 years later and while I remember all this vividly, I'm still not sure what true translation and Kavana I should have. I checked a number of Siddurim and they all gave slightly different translations. Can you please clarify this? Okay. We just finished Krias Shema in my Tefillah online class that I give. And we spent a lot of time on it. And we went through it. But I obviously you're looking for a thumbnail answer to this question. There's much more to say. So, I'm going to do it very simply. The Kavana that I have when I say Krias Shema. Shema Yisrael, listen all the Jewish people because what I have to say is important for everybody, including me. Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem who is our God Hashem Echad is one. And one does not mean one as opposed to two or three or four. Cuz in that case, you wouldn't say Echad, you'd say Rishon as Rashi explains the beginning of Bereishis. Vayera Elokim Yom Echad. Echad means unity. Totalness, infinity everything all together is Echad. Our God is not like any other god. Hashem Echad. He is one. >> [clears throat] >> All the other gods they want sacrifices. They want stuff from you. Read Odysseus about the gods and how they approached situations. It was all about what they needed and what they wanted. God has no wants and no needs. He's Echad. And therefore, he created the world for us and not for himself. Why? For us to get the greatest possible pleasure as the Mesillas Yesharim says. And that's what I think every morning. Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, our God is not like all the other gods. Hashem Echad. He is infinite and doesn't need anything and therefore, he made the world for us to get this tremendous pleasure of being close to Hashem. That's in a nutshell. That anybody can focus on. This is Rabbi Lopian with our question and answer series. Rabbi Lopian, Rabbi Lopian. Yes? Is the Lopian Pesach program still happening? Of course. My Pesach plans fell through. Do you happen to have any available rooms? Well the truth is, we were totally sold out by Tu BiShvat. But because of the current situation, the skies over Israel closed and there's a lot of people who had to cancel who were going to come in from outside of Eretz Yisrael. So, yes, we do have some rooms available. Is the hotel equipped with the proper safety equipment? It's very safe. We have bomb shelters, we have secure areas. I would not take people to a place [music] that it was dangerous. Rabbi Lopian, is there still going to be a day camp? Yes, we've got the counselors lined up. They're very excited to run it. I hope that they'll have a wonderful time at our Pesach program. How about bouncy castles? Bouncy castles? We're going to have bouncy castles the whole Pesach. We're going to have animal shows, we're going to have magic shows, we're going to have all kinds of fun things. Okay, I'll make sure to tell my parents. That's great. So, tell your parents to click on the link below. >> [music]