Naso

The Priestly Blessing

Jenny R. Labendz, 5764

Sometimes when there's an obvious "best part of the parshah" I try to work on a devar Torah that brings some meaning to the neglected parts. This week, however, I decided that the best part of this parashah deserves its own devar Torah. I encourage you to read through the rest of the parashah over Shabbat and see what you can glean from it.

Let us turn our attention to Birkat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing (Bemidbar 6:22-27):

This three-part berakhah is well known to many of us, whether from our parents blessing us on Friday night or from the repetition of the ‘Amidah in daily shaharit. (In Israel every day and in the Diaspora on Yom Tov, the Kohanim dramatically issue this blessing from the front of the shul; other times, or in the absence of Kohanim, the person leading davvening says it.) It follows standard patterns of Biblical short poetry, comprising three lines of increasing length, and bottom line-it has a great ring to it. But what is it all about? What do the components of this compound berakhah mean? Are they merely synonyms of each other, employed for poetic power? Perhaps. But maybe there is more, and even if one standard meaning was not intended, or explicitly included within the Torah, the poetic power works precisely because we will hear different berakhot in the different words, and many ideas and pictures will be evoked for us.

When I looked through some of the medieval and modern commentators on these verses, I ultimately became most intrigued with the explanation of the Netziv, whom I have cited numerous times in previous divrei torah. The following is his interpretation of this berakhah, interspersed with my own thoughts.

The first line actually contains two berakhot: berakhah ("יְבָרֶכְךָ") - blessing - and shemirah ("וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ") - guarding. The Netziv understands the first term, berakhah, to include whatever is appropriate for each individual person to be blessed with. According to what God has already given you (i.e., according to your current station in life), thus shall you be further blessed. If God has made you a locksmith, may you have blessing in that pursuit. In other words, in this general berakhah for all of Israel, the first a clause speaks to us as individuals.

As to shmirah/guarding: every blessing, says the Netziv, requires guarding, protecting, so that it will not turn into a stumbling block. If you are a Torah learner, you need guarding from arrogance, and, of course, from forgetting your learning. If you are wealthy, you need guarding from developing an unhealthy, even evil, attitude towards your money, and, of course, guarding from theft or loss. The Netziv points out that every blessing needs such guarding. I think it is critical that in the same breath that this blessing refers to us as individuals, it reminds us that any such blessing can be taken to a dangerous extreme or channeled through ugly prisms. Any time we think of the blessings we want (or we have), we should remind ourselves of the need to be careful with them, to be aware of the sensitivities we need to develop. Every choice we make to pursue a given blessing must be made with the appropriate amount of responsibility and consciousness. I do not think it is a coincidence that the Netziv's first example is Torah learning.

Next: - "יָאֵר יְהֹוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ" - "May Hashem shine His face upon you." Here, the Netziv focuses on the word "Hashem", as does the Torah trope. Everyone should see that it is God who shines upon you, and not simply luck (or your astrological sign). What do you think it means to make manifest the source of your blessing? What would it mean for everyone to look at you and say, "Hashem has really blessed her," and for that sentiment to stem not just from their perspective, but from the clarity with which you exude yours?

The Netziv then does something interesting with the word "יָאֵר" - "May God shine." Regarding God's face, God is always turned to us; that is just the way it is. God is behind the scenes at all times (however we choose to understand God's being there). The only question is whether we recognize it. When we don't, life can be very, very difficult. But when we recognize God's presence in the world and in our lives, says the Netziv, then it will be a light for us. That is "יָאֵר": may we recognize Hashem's presence such that it will be a light for us, such that it will appear shining, and not cold and frightening.

"וִיחֻנֶּךָּ" - "and May He be gracious to you." This root, "חֵן", says the Netziv, refers all over the Tanakh to God receiving our prayers. And why did the Torah say this here, following the clause about God's shining face? Because when people see that you live in God's light, and you exude thankfulness for blessings from God, then they will want you to pray on their behalf. This clause adds: May your prayers on behalf of others be accepted as well. The Netziv takes as a natural given that if we are so blessed from Hashem, we will help others.

The Netziv understands the word "פָּנָיו" - "His face"-in the third line differently from in the second line. Here, it refers to God's attributes. The Netziv explains-likely informed by an amazing midrash in the Mekhilta-that the expression on God's face, as it were, changes according to the person God is facing. If you need compassion, God is compassionate. If you need "tough love," God looks at you more toughly. This part of the berakhah asks for God to bestow upon us God's merciful faces.

Finally, "שָׁלוֹם" - "peace". This, says the Netziv, is what strengthens or reinforces all of the above berakhot. Without peace, there is no pleasure in any blessing. It's interesting to me that of all things, he doesn't explain what we mean by "shalom." Especially living here in Israel, you come to realize that it's a word that can mean a lot of different things to different people and in different circumstances. Maybe the Netziv is tacitly suggesting that "shalom" is whatever it is that it seems we cannot do without -- that factor in life without which no pleasure can be felt, the feeling or reality that strengthens all of our blessings.

At the end, God says, "וַאֲנִי אֲבָרֲכֵם" - "and I will bless them." The Netziv comments: "At all times, according to the need and according to the blessing that shall be blessed."