Gaea's

Perhaps the most famous blessing is found in this week’s Torah portion. The Birkat Cohanim, the priestly benediction is recited by the priest and by parents to their children every Friday night. (Numbers 6:24-26) The benediction is divided into three sentences each containing two important elements; God’s blessing, and a prayer to avoid possible pitfalls of the blessing.

In the first part, the priest states: “May the Lord bless you and keep
you.” The Sifrei understands this to refer to monetary benefits. But
money has the potential to corrupt. Therefore a blessing for money is
not complete unless accompanied by an assurance of protection from its dangers. Hence the last word of the sentence, “May the Lord guard
you.”

In the second section, the priest states: “May the Lord cause His
light to shine upon you.” The light of the Lord is often associated
with Torah knowledge (Proverbs 6:23). However, while one can know
every word of Torah, one can still lack the ability to interact and
engage others in an appropriate manner. Hence, this blessing concludes with the word, ve-hunekah, from the word hen, grace. This last statement is telling us to remain gracious to others because knowledge often makes one insular — even arrogant.

In the final part, the priest states,” May the Lord lift His face to
be near you.” This blessing expresses the hope that one should always feel the presence of God, for too often we sense that God’s face is hidden from us. (The Hebrew word yeesah, to lift, is the opposite of God being lowered or hidden.) Although we hope to always be absorbed in God’s presence, sometimes even that experience can distort one’s perception of how to change the world. Too often, people have done dastardly things in the name of God. Therefore, the text concludes, with a blessing of a grounded belief in God, of shalom, coming from the word shalem, whole. This threefold blessing reminds us that there is no absolute good. Every step forward always contains the possibility of unforeseen problems. May we be blessed with this
awareness.

Related posts:

1. Dvar for Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89)
2. Dvar for Chukat-Balak (Numbers 19:1-25:9)
3. Dvar for Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1)
4. Dvar for Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1-24:18)
5. Dvar for Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:30)
6. Dvar for Shlach (Numbers 13:1-15:41)
7. Dvar for Bamidbar (Numbers 1:1-4:20)
8. Dvar for Beha'alotcha (Numbers 8:1-12:17)
9. Dvar for Tetzaveh (Exodus 27:20-30:10)
10. Dvar for Matot-Masei (Numbers 30:2-36:13)
11. Dvar for Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26)
12. Dvar for Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26)
13. Dvar for Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16)
14. Dvar for Tazria-Metzora (Leviticus 12:1-15:33)
15. Dvar for Shlach (Numbers 13:1-15:41)
16. Dvar for Bamidbar (Numbers 1:1-4:20)
17. Dvar for Toldot (Genesis 25:19-28:9)
18. Dvar for Chukat (Numbers 19:1-22:1)
19. Dvar for Netzavim-Vayelech (Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30)
20. Dvar for Beshalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16)