kavanah means heartfelt intent during prayer, as opposed to roteness. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
Why this word is great
KAVANAH — [Noun] The directed focus and heartfelt intention required to authenticate prayer and religious acts. Borrowed from Hebrew כַּוָּנָה (kavaná, "intention, direction"), from the root כ־ו־ן (k-w-n), meaning "to be firm, established, or directed". Unlike keva (the fixed, statutory vessel of liturgy) or rote (the hollow echo within it), kavanah is the vital current one must personally pour into the vessel to make it sacred. It is the deliberate pause to truly see the bread before a blessing, the conscious warmth of a hand cupping a candle flame where wax and wick become part of the prayer, and the steady will that transforms a mundane act into an offering—the quiet rebellion against the hollowing of ritual, the fragile human effort to mean what one says in a universe that may or may not be listening.
noun
- Heartfelt intent during prayer, as opposed to roteness.“The Gaon of Vilna (Ha-Gra) also opposed saying the formula Leshaym Yihud as well as Hineni mukhan umezuman ("Behold I am prepared and ready") since precepts do not require kavanah.”