Parashat Naso
By Cantor Arnold Saltzman
In Parashat Naso the Priestly Benediction,
also known as Birkat Kohanim is set apart in a
very important manner, punctuated with spaces not
unlike the text for Shirat Hayam ‘ the Song at
the Red Sea – and the Ten Commandments.
The kohanim, the priests, have the power to
bless the people, and this power comes from God and
is channeled through the kohanim, going back
through Aaron and Moses, the Patriarchs, Noah, and
Adam and Chava to whom God gave the
blessing ‘Multiply on Earth.’ (Gen. 1:28) The power to
bless originates in God.
The Priestly Blessing is a three-fold blessing. Some
explain that there are three phrases in order to
remember the patriarchs Avraham, Yitzchak and
Ya’akov, and that God blesses us because of their
merit.
The first blessing begins with ‘Y’varekhekha –
may God bless you’ ‘ understood by one tradition to
refer to one’s possessions. If a Read More >
