In this weeks Parsha, Parashat Naso the Kohamin are commanded to bless the Jewish people.
It is interesting to note that the first of these three Brachos, “yivarechicha Hashem v’yishmirecha” speaks of blessing us in a material way.
Rashi explains that yivarechicha is a request from Hashem to “bless our possessions”. Yishmirecha is asking of Hashem to protect us from robbers in an attempt to steal our property. Hashem is both giver and guardian of our possessions. Rashi makes a similar point in Parshas Bereishis, where he states that Shabbos was blessed and made holy through the giving of the man. Again we see that the bracha is a giving of physical substance, not spiritual.
The Netziv explains that the bracha asks that Hashem should add and increase to what has already been given to us. He agrees with Rashi that yishmirecha is a form of protection. However, he views it as a spiritual protection, that we should not come to use our possessions for bad and that they should not be the source of our tzaar.
Seforno also feels that this is a blessing of physical. However, the ultimate end is the spiritual, for as we are told “im ein kemach ein Torah”.
Creds to Sha'alvim for Women
Question: Which other ways can the Kohanim’s blessings be related as both spiritual and physical blessings?
Fun fact: Parashat Naso is the longest parsha in the whole Torah with 176 pesukim!
Shabbat Shalom!
Rav Kook on Birkat Cohanim describes that "Yisa Hashem Panav E'lecha" is a physical and tangible piece of advice. This phrase can be interpreted to describe that judges should not allow their faces to be turned towards injustice. Judges are seen as messengers of God's laws so this bracha applies to them as well as, in a much more spiritual sense, the people at large.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to explain the blessing is by explaining the content of Birkat Kohanim . The first section focuses on material blessing. We ask for material blessing and for Hashem to protect our possessions. The Sforno explains that you need to take care of your physical goals in order to reach your spiritual goal. We are praying that Hashem bless and protect our material interests. The second section talks about other people perceiving you as a spiritually eager person. The Sforno explains that the blessing is that you should see the grace of Hashem and therefore you will be able to observe Hashem's miracles and Torah. The last Bracha focuses on peace. After praying for our physical and spiritual needs, we conclude with a Bracha of peace. According to the Sifri, we may only maintain our physical and spiritual needs in a peaceful environment. The Sforno explains that we pray for a full reward of peace in order that we should have in Olam Haba a full reward with no punishment. We need Hashem to help us achieve peace in Olam Hazeh. The Kil Yakar says that peace was the last Bracha because peace completes everything. The first two Brachot were missing something and the last Bracha brings it all together. A similar phenomenon occurs at Creation where man was created last and everything created before man was created primarily for man. Peace is so important that even dead people want it but since they cannot have it, they want living people to have it. If there is no peace among the living, then the dead people cannot rest. Accordingly, we pray to Hashem to provide us with peace and order.
ReplyDeleterav t'leisher explains that the spiritual aspect of the kohanims' blessings are pretty self-explanatory as we know that they are sent to hashem (hence the term "spiritual blessing".) but the less obvious aspect of the physical blessing is one dependent on our actions. what our actions reflect is one parallel of the blessings the kohanim have recited. although one may chose to ignore the meaning of the blessings and act unaccordingly, the fate and impact the blessings bestow upon us are a direct correlation of what our ideals and values should revolve around. all blessings are always supposed to include a spiritual and physical aspect to appeal to all jews in the most meaningful way to connect and strengthen our relationship with hashem.
ReplyDeleteSefer HaChinuch, in his discussion of this blessing raises a question. His question is based upon the assertion that the Kohanim do not actually bestow their blessing upon the congregation. Instead, Hashem bestows the blessing.[3] An analysis of the actual blessing seems to support this assertion. The passages above are the text of the blessings recited by the Kohanim. As the text indicates, the Kohanim do not actually pronounce a blessing upon the people. Instead, they appeal to Hashem to bless the people. In short, this mitzvah does not required that the Kohanim bless the people. Instead, it requires that the Kohanim ask for Hashem to bless the nation.
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