May HaShem bless you and watch over you

(Numbers 6:24)

Sivan 11, 5778/May 26, 2018

Halfway through this week's Torah reading of Naso, nestled between descriptions of the Temple-based resolution of the matter of the sotah, a woman accused of infidelity to her husband, and the nazir, a nazirite who makes a vow to temporarily adopt certain restrictions upon him or her self, and the offerings that are required to be brought at the conclusion of the prescribed period, and a recounting of the gifts brought by the twelve tribal leaders to the Tabernacle, as part of the initial dedication of the Tabernacle, appear these verses:

"HaShem spoke to Moshe saying: Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying: This is how you shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them: 'May HaShem bless you and watch over you. May HaShem cause His countenance to shine to you and favor you. May HaShem raise His countenance toward you and grant you peace.' They shall bestow My Name upon the children of Israel, so that I will bless them." (Numbers 6:22-27)

This simple but elegant mention of the priestly blessing, (birkat kohanim, in Hebrew), appears to be unperturbed, unconcerned with and wholly disconnected from the subjects, mentioned above, which preceded and follow it in the Torah chronology. It has been mentioned before in Torah that Aharon and his sons were called upon to bless the people upon the inauguration of the Tabernacle, but only here is the precise wording of the blessing related, as well as the manner in which it is to be delivered. It stands apart from its textual surroundings and it should. Unlike the temporality of those subjects which precede and follow it, birkat kohanim is timeless, eternal, and forever above the fray. Transmitted daily in the Holy Temple, and to this very day, in fact, by kohanim in synagogues throughout the land of Israel, the priestly blessing compels us to rise above the often fractious turmoil of daily life, and to unite as one people, one nation, before G-d.

The mechanics of the three-fold priestly blessing as are such: the kohanim face the people, raise their hands in the prescribed manner, and recite the blessing. Prior to the recitation they make another, inward focused blessing, blessing the G-d of Israel 'Who has sanctified them with the sanctity of Aharon, and commanded them to bless the nation of Israel with love': unambiguous, unfettered, pure and whole-hearted love. This is not uttered as an aspiration but as a required condition for pronouncing the blessing. For in essence, the blessing is the opening of a direct passageway between G-d and Israel. This is made clear in the closing words of the above quoted passage: "They [the kohanim] shall bestow My Name upon the children of Israel, so that I [the G-d of Israel] will bless them." The kohanim, true to their role in the Holy Temple, are acting as a conduit, a means, by which G-d's blessing is bestowed upon the people.

To bless is to bestow goodness and lovingkindness and holiness upon the thing, the action or the person (or persons) that is being blessed. G-d created our world in order that He could bestow blessing upon it. This was the motivating force of G-d's supernal will and desire to create. And man, the crown of G-d's creation, is the most highly perfected receptacle of G-d's blessing. This is why the priestly blessing is of such paramount importance to G-d: It, through the actions of the kohanim, and the participation of the entire nation, enables G-d to fulfill His desire to bless His people, His creation. By performing with a pure heart, that which is required for G-d to fulfill His desire, we become truly open to and worthy of G-d's blessing.

In this way, blessings, either in the form of our blessing G-d upon performing a mitzvah (commandment), or our receiving G-d's blessing upon us, are the very heart of the spiritual and material life of Israel, for blessings are a direct path of give and take, enabling the blessing to be both given and received, a gift of unfathomable measure, a gift of love.

-The Temple Institute