Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Parshat Naso
12 Sivan 5772 / June 1 – 2, 2012
Bamidbar 4:21 – 7:89
12 Sivan 5772 / June 1 – 2, 2012
Bamidbar 4:21 – 7:89
Sealed with
Peace
by Joey Yadgar, MH Great Neck
by Joey Yadgar, MH Great Neck
In Parashath Naso we are introduced
to the Priestly Blessing that Aaron and his Sons, and all Kohanim (Jewish
Priests) today, are to bless the Jewish people with. The blessing is as
follows:
'May G‑d bless you and guard you.
'May G‑d shine His countenance upon you and be gracious to you.
'May G‑d turn His countenance toward you and grant you peace.'" (Bamidbar 6:24-26)
'May G‑d shine His countenance upon you and be gracious to you.
'May G‑d turn His countenance toward you and grant you peace.'" (Bamidbar 6:24-26)
What is the source of this blessing?
Is it a blessing from the Kohanim to the Jewish people of Israel?
After looking one Pasuk further in
the Torah, we find our answer. The Pasuk says, ‘They shall bestow My Name upon the children of Israel, so
that I will bless them.’ We find that the blessing is directly from
Hashem, and the Kohanim are the agents through which the blessing is given.
Why doesn’t Hashem bless us directly rather
than through Kohanim? We will find our answer after we further look into the
meaning of these three Pasukim.
One of the most well-known
commentaries to the Torah is Rashi. He gives a brief explanation about the
meaning of these three verses above.
Rashi explains that in the first
Pasuk, 'May G‑d bless you and
guard you.’ is a blessing
asking Hashem to bless and protect all of our possessions as Hashem is the provider
of all of our possessions. The blessing continues with, 'May G‑d shine His
countenance upon you and be gracious to you.’ Here the Kohanim ask Hashem
to show us a pleasant and radiant countenance upon our faces, and to show favor
to us. Finally, the blessing concludes with, 'May G‑d turn His countenance
toward you and grant you peace.’ Rashi explains this verse as a request to
Hashem to suppress his wrath, and for Hashem to grant us peace.
It is the
ending, ‘…and grant you peace,’ where we find the essence of the entire
blessing; without peace, we would not be able to enjoy all of Hashem’s other
blessings.
The
Kohanim are reminded of the importance of peace in the introductory blessing
recited by the Kohanim before the Priestly Blessing; this introductory blessing
ends with the words “… to bless His
nation Israel with love." Hashem is teaching the Kohanim and the
Jewish People of Israel an important lesson; that only when we are united
through peace and love, the Kohanim will be able to act as agents between
Hashem and the entire Jewish Nation, and as a result we will all be able to
receive Hashem’s blessings. Therefore, in order to convey this message, Hashem
decides to not bless us directly, but rather use the Kohanim to give us the
Priestly Blessing.
Rabbi
Eli Mansour of Brooklyn goes on to explain that the Priestly Blessing consists
of fifteen words. The first fourteen words correspond to the fourteen joints in
the hands of the Kohanim with which they hold outstretched when performing the Priestly
Blessing. (It is no coincidence that the numerical value for the Hebrew word
for hand, Yad, is fourteen)
What
does the fifteenth word, “Peace” correspond to? Rabbi Mansour explains
that the word peace corresponds to the palm of the hand. It is through the palm
that we are able to make peace through the common gesture of a handshake. Additionally,
without the palm, the hand is unable to hold anything, and it is therefore
needed to receive all of Hashem’s blessings.
May the
Priestly Blessing be a constant reminder for the entire Jewish nation to be
united with love and peace so that we can continue to receive Hashem’s infinite
blessings, and may we all celebrate the coming of Mashiach in Jerusalem
speedily in our days!
Shabbat
Shalom.
Sources used: chabad.org, torahmitzion.org , atorahminute.com,
dailyhalacha.com, Rabbi Alex Israel, Hakham Ya’aqob Menashe, and Rabbi Eli
Mansour
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