Monday Torah Tweet (Nasso)

Monday Torah Tweet (Nasso): Aaron’s blessing tells us to face our communal obligations.

This week’s parasha contains fifteen of the most powerful words in Torah:  the Priestly Blessing. We quote these in the morning amidah and we bless our children with them at the Sabbath table. In 1979, silver amulets from 2700 years ago were found in Gai Hinnom in Jerusalem, containing this same blessing. These amulets are the oldest artifact yet found containing scriptural text. What is the power in these words?

The passage begins with G-d telling Moses to instruct Aaron and his sons to state this exact blessing:

May the Lord bless you and keep you
May the Lord shine his countenance upon you and give you grace
May the Lord lift his countenance to you and give you peace

The passage then continues: “They shall place my name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them.”

This blessing is poetry in every sense. In Hebrew the fifteen words are arranged in three lines of 3, 5 and 7 words. Each line begins with the letter yud. The name of the Almighty is the second word of each line. The passage is always easily identifiable in any Torah because the lines are arranged in such a fashion as to outline a hand. The priestly blessing is always accompanied by the priests raising their hands. When we bless our children with this blessing on Friday night, we touch their heads with our hands.

The words surrounding the priestly blessing make it clear that the source of the blessing is G-d, and that the priests are mere conduits. “They (the priests) place G-d’s name on the children of Israel and I (G-d) shall bless them (the children of Israel).” The priests, who are required to face the people “face to face”, repeat the words dictated, and through this G-d blesses the people.

But, how does that make sense? Is the mere repetition of fifteen words sufficient to bestow blessing?

It is important to note that this blessing comes after a long series of laws dealing with holiness and sacrifice. In other words, it is not that these words of blessing have any inherent magic. Rather, this is the manner in which the priests convey G-d’s blessing to a people trying to live a life of mitvot and honesty.

At the very end of the parasha the text tells us that Moses heard the voice of G-d speaking to him from between the two cherubim on the top of the Ark of the Covenant.

There is a dispute in the gemara as to how the cherubim were arranged. Were they facing each other or facing away from each other. The resolution of the dispute was as follows: when Israel was conforming to G-d’s will, the cherubim faced each other; when Israel was not conforming to G-d’s will, they faced apart (TB Bava Batra 99a). Clearly Chazal is speaking metaphorically. When we, as a community, confront each other “face to face” and function as a community, attempting to live a communal life of obligation and mitzvot, we receive G-d’s blessing for our endeavours. When we face away from each other and break the bonds of community and mitvot, we cannot receive blessing for our actions.

In the fifteen words of the blessing, recalling the fifteen steps up to the temple in Jerusalem, we have a sacred and ancient blessing sent by G-d and conveyed by the descendants of Aaron. When we as a community attempt to live a Torah life we begin to merit the blessing contained herein.

Mikael Swayze, CR&YS Faculty Member (School of Professional Practice)