Dear Friends,
“May God bless you and keep you!” (Numbers 6:24)
So commences the beautiful and famous “Priestly Blessing,” offered at nearly all joyful life-cycle events, from a Brit Milah (circumcision) to baby-namings, B’nai Mitzvah, weddings, and Kabbalat Ger (when one becomes Jewish).
For me, it links today’s joy to that of every past generation, all the way back to the biblical day!
Few statements of invocation or blessings capture in a single sentence the essence of what we need and desire from our God relationship. We want to be blessed, and we want to be sustained.
Of course, there are numerous explanations of what “blessing” might entail. Some ancient and modern sages argue that it implies physical, tangible stuff: God should bless one with a good roof, plentiful harvest and revenue, and physical security from dangers or enemies. Others suggest it means a spiritual gift: God should bless one with meaning and fulfillment, wholeness, and inner satisfaction.
In truth, irrespective of the teachings of scholars and sages, I have come to realize that the idea of the blessing is not found in the explications of thinkers and writers, but rather in the feelings of those who behold and receive the blessing.
New parents apply its beautiful poetry to the potential they imagine in their newborn child. They may experience a sense of forever or support in their new, hefty responsibilities.
Newlywed couples (hmmm…) may feel a connection to the joy of their union being blessed and their marriage being supported and kept by a divine oversight.
A person new to Judaism might feel the wisdom and support of the ages flowing to them as they bear the Torah and receive that blessing, upon them alone for the first time, and find a settling in their newly evolving identities.
In truth, the Priestly Blessing is not a single blessing, even though it commences with the same three words each time it is uttered. Rather, it is myriad blessings, each one a unique, magical experience for each recipient.
Having uttered it countless times, I do so each time with a profound awareness that, though I have uttered it countless times, it's meaning is only sacred and significant at this one singular moment!
It belongs to the ones whose heads are bent before me! Only they get to decide what it may mean!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
“May God bless you and keep you!” (Numbers 6:24)
So commences the beautiful and famous “Priestly Blessing,” offered at nearly all joyful life-cycle events, from a Brit Milah (circumcision) to baby-namings, B’nai Mitzvah, weddings, and Kabbalat Ger (when one becomes Jewish).
For me, it links today’s joy to that of every past generation, all the way back to the biblical day!
Few statements of invocation or blessings capture in a single sentence the essence of what we need and desire from our God relationship. We want to be blessed, and we want to be sustained.
Of course, there are numerous explanations of what “blessing” might entail. Some ancient and modern sages argue that it implies physical, tangible stuff: God should bless one with a good roof, plentiful harvest and revenue, and physical security from dangers or enemies. Others suggest it means a spiritual gift: God should bless one with meaning and fulfillment, wholeness, and inner satisfaction.
In truth, irrespective of the teachings of scholars and sages, I have come to realize that the idea of the blessing is not found in the explications of thinkers and writers, but rather in the feelings of those who behold and receive the blessing.
New parents apply its beautiful poetry to the potential they imagine in their newborn child. They may experience a sense of forever or support in their new, hefty responsibilities.
Newlywed couples (hmmm…) may feel a connection to the joy of their union being blessed and their marriage being supported and kept by a divine oversight.
A person new to Judaism might feel the wisdom and support of the ages flowing to them as they bear the Torah and receive that blessing, upon them alone for the first time, and find a settling in their newly evolving identities.
In truth, the Priestly Blessing is not a single blessing, even though it commences with the same three words each time it is uttered. Rather, it is myriad blessings, each one a unique, magical experience for each recipient.
Having uttered it countless times, I do so each time with a profound awareness that, though I have uttered it countless times, it's meaning is only sacred and significant at this one singular moment!
It belongs to the ones whose heads are bent before me! Only they get to decide what it may mean!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
