Devar/5768/Behaalotcha
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< Devar | 5768
עברית
English
The LORD bless thee, and keep thee
The LORD make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee
The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (Num 6:24-26)
These familiar words come from our parasha, in which God commands the children of Aaron, So shall they put My name upon the children of Israel. One of the jobs of the Kohanim is to bless the rest of the people, specifically in this manner. The Kohanim are not permitted, anywhere, to add any blessing to these three verses. (Laws of Prayer and Kohanic Blessing 14:12)
It would be logical to say that if they need to bless the people, that it would be proper to use any formulation of blessing, in any language. But it isn't so -- only with these specific words are the Kohanim permitted to bless the people. The Kohanic blessing, everywhere, may only be said in the Holy tongue, as the verse states: "So shall they put My name upon the children of Israel" (Num 6:23): So the transmitters of the tradition heard from Moshe our teacher -- "So shall they put", standing; "So shall they put", by the lifting of hands; "So shall they put", in the Holy tongue; "So shall they put", face to face; "So shall they put", out loud; "So shall they put", with God's explicit name, and that is, if they are in the Temple, as we said before. (Laws of Prayer and Kohanic Blessing 14:12)
If so, what is the meaning of the verse, "So shall they put"? It is clear that this blessing does not emanate from the will of the Kohanim, but rather from the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, who commanded them to bless. If it depended upon the Kohen, we would think that only special Kohanim would be able to bless, but and do not wonder and say, 'what benefit can derive from the blessing of such an ordinary person?' -- because the reception of the blessing does not depend on the Kohanim, but rather on the Holy One, blessed be He, as the verse states, "So shall they put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them." (Num 6:26) -- the Kohanim do the commandment which they were commanded , and the Holy One blessed be He, in His mercy, blesses the Jews as He will. (Laws of Prayer and Kohanic Blessing 15:9)
May God soon bless His people with the building of the Temple, in which we will merit to hear the Kohanim bless the people with the explicit Name, as the verse states, "So shall they put My name".
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