For the week of Friday, May 14

This week’s Torah portion includes one of the most frequently invoked of all biblical passages, the “birkat Kohanim,” or priestly blessing. These famous words, containing lines of three, five, and seven words, are found in chapter 6, verses 24 to 26. The simplicity of the blessing is precisely the source of its power. The verses ascend from 15 to 20 to 25 consonants. One modern commentator refers to it as a “rising crescendo” that reaches its climax with the blessing of shalom.

Originally the blessing was part of the daily ritual in the Temple in Jerusalem. After the destruction of the Temple, the ritual continued to be re-enacted by the kohanim as part of the synagogue service. Nowadays it is part of the daily service in Israeli synagogues, and it’s used in festival and High Holiday services in America, in a ritual known as “duchanen,” (from the ‘rostrum’) from which the blessing is pronounced. If you have attended a traditional synagogue, you would see the kohanim with their tallitot raised over their heads, and the fingers of their hands raised to form the letter “shin,” the “sh,” which symbolizes God’s name. 

But the source of the blessing is in fact, God. “They shall link my name with the people of Israel and I (God) will bless them.” (6:27)

God is the source of the blessing, the source of all of our blessings.

Come be with us this Shabbat and enter into the world of blessings as we study this wonderful Torah portion.