The Relegation of Intention in Talmudic Ritual Law

• In Event: Examining Ritual: Passover, Prayer, and the Meaning of Intention

Abstract

The role of intention in the performance of ritual acts is a perennial subject of theological and legal argument and features prominently in talmudic discourse. In a number of individual cases, the Mishnah consistently rules that a given mizvah must be performed with requisite intention in order to discharge one’s obligation. Yet in the Bavli, the dicta attributed to Rava, “mizvot ein zerikhot kavvanah,” which categorically rejects the necessity of intention in the fulfillment of mitzvoth, becomes a dominant view. This article traces the path from the Mishnaic position to its antithesis in late stammaitic strata by reconstructing the formation of various sugyot discussing the necessity of intention in ritual practice. It further describes how “mizvot ein zerihot kavvanah” is first introduced by the stammaim to explain the underlying rational behind a particular ruling of Rava, but then assumes its own independent status as a legal concept in later strata where the principle is invoked to clarify disputes having no direct relevance to the issue of intention. By applying source critical methodology to map the historical development of this halakhic principle through mishnaic, amoraic, and stammaitic legal discourse, this study sheds light on the evolving relationship between intention and ritual performance in early rabbinic thought.

author

• Shana A. Strauch Schick, Haifa University