Using Kavanah Cards
How do you use your Kavanah Cards? I'd love to hear your Kavanah Card ideas, favorite rituals, and stories, so please email me.
Shabbat Practices for Families
Kavanah cards can be used in many fun and creative ways. (If you’ve used Angel Cards, you will recognize some of these.) Kavanah Cards can be used to spark conversation about the week that has passed. Before passing the bag of cards around, you might want to give people some direction (one of the meanings of kavanah, as it happens).- When the family is gathered to light Shabbat candles, each member can draw a card and take that Kavanah into Shabbat with them. Some may want to relate their “pick” to their mood, hopes or thoughts. This ritual offers an invitation to share news and celebrate milestones. Arrange them each in their stands by the candles for a Shabbat gallery.
- Families can make acrostics for their names, or focus on the Gematria and figure out combinations which add up to their ages. This could be a special activity for a child’s birthday, as he or she moves into a new number-year.
- On Shabbat when there is more time to be playful at the table than on more rushed weeknights, play Kavanah Card Charades. Each person acts out the card they draw.
- Your family can compose its own Birkat Hamazon, the blessing after the meal, using a few of the text sides. Try singing your mini-Birkat Hamazon to melodies you like, or make up a melody.
- At Havdalah, a family can draw a “Kavanah for the week“ and focus on that quality all week long. This includes both modeling it and observing it. Suppose the family draws Nedivut/Generosity . Each night at dinner family members can share their observations as well as actions, like “I shared my cupcake at lunch“. There could be debate, as well. Is there such a thing as being too generous? If one has selfish motives for generosity, is it genuine? Perhaps stories or texts could be located to include.