Is Lack of Kavanah like Eating Out of the Sukkah?
We have seen that if someone did not have the intention to fulfill the command of Hashem, he may be required to do the mitzvah again with the proper intent. In addition, when it comes to certain mitzvos, since the Torah spells out the reason, we must have the reason in mind when performing the mitzvah. Therefore when sitting in the sukkah, we must remember that Hashem took care of us in the desert on the way out of Mitzra’im and provided us with dwelling places.
What happens if someone ate in the sukkah without the proper intention? If he did not fulfill the mitzvah, maybe we should say that it is considered as if he ate outside of the sukkah. Although the person technically ate inside the physical sukkah, since he was not fulfilling the mitzvah of eating in the sukkah, for all practical purposes it may be the halachic equivalent of eating out of the sukkah.
Wearing tzitzis without the proper kavanah
There is a similar question discussed regarding tzitzis. When a man wears a four-cornered garment, there is a requirement to put on tzitzis strings, and wearing such a garment without the required strings is violating this mitzvah. What happens if he wears tzitzis without the intention of fulfilling the mitzvah? Not only did he possibly lose out on fulfilling the mitzvah, it may be considered a violation of wearing a four-cornered garment without fulfilling the mitzvah of tzitzis.
In this very question there is a difference of opinion between the Mishnah Berurah and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach.
The Mishnah Berurah (Biur Halachah Siman 60) discusses someone who is serving as a chazzan or getting an aliyah. Oftentimes, he will quickly grab a tallis, and will not necessarily remember to have in mind that he is fulfilling the mitzvah of tzitzis. The Mishnah Berurah writes that this would seem to be violating the requirement of wearing a four-cornered garment without fulfilling the mitzvah of tzitzis. His only way out of the issue is by suggesting that the sole purpose of putting on the tallis is merely for k’vod hatzibur (showing honor to the assembly). In such a case, it may not be considered wearing the garment, similar to trying on a garment, where one is not required to put on tzitzis.
Based on this understanding, Rav Shlomo Zalman writes
that we can assume the Mishnah Berurah would say the same for the mitzvah of sukkah. If someone ate in the sukkah without the proper intention, not only has he lost out on the mitzvah of eating in the sukkah, he has also violated the prohibition of eating outside the sukkah.
However, Rav Shloma Zalman suggests that perhaps we can accept the Mishnah Berurah’s percpective when it comes to sukkah, but not when it cmes to tzitzis. Eating in a sukkah without the proper intention is similar to someone who put on tefillin without the correct intention. Tefillin is a chovas gavra (a requirement “for the person”), and although he physically had the tefillin on his body, he is considered a person who didn’t put on tefillin. On the other hand, tzitzis is a chovas mana (a requirement “for the garment”), meaning that it is the garment that requires tzitzis, when being worn. In this case, since the garment did have tzitzis on it, we cannot call it a violation of the requirement.
In Summary
The Mishna Berurah rules that wearing a four-cornered garment without the proper intention to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzis, may be violating the requirement of wearing a four-cornered garment without fulfilling the mitzvah of tzitzis. The same should be if one ate in the sukkah without the proper intention, and not only has he lost out on the mitzvah of eating in the sukkah, he has also violated the prohibition of eating outside the sukkah. However, there may be a difference between sukkah – a requirement “for the person”, and tzitzis, which is a chovas mana – a requirement “for the garment.”
Rabbi Scheiner
