![]() The problem is that nowhere in the Torah do we find that the Kohanim were commanded to bless the people �with love�! The blessing that the Kohanim recite before performing the mitzvah of Birkas Kohanim is as follows: �Blessed are You L-ord, our G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with the holiness of Aaron, and has commanded us to bless His people Israel with love�. the blessings to be recited before the performance of the commandments, were very exact in their wording of those blessings - which raises the following question: Now we know that the Sages who instituted Birkos HaMitzvos, i.e. After each verse, the congregation responds Amen. They cover their heads with their talleisim (prayer shawls), recite the blessing over the performance of the mitzvah, turn to face the congregation, and then the chazzan (leader of the service) slowly and melodiously recites the aforementioned three-verse blessing �May G-d bless you ��, with the Kohanim repeating it word by word after him. The mitzvah of Birkas Kohanim is performed as follows: At the required time during the Services, the Levites (male descendants of the Biblical tribe of Levi) in the congregation wash the hands of the Kohanim and then the Kohanim remove their shoes, and walk up to the platform in front of the ark, at the front of the synagogue. ![]() This commandment of Birkas Kohanim� also referred to as Nesi�as Kapayim (�Raising of the Hands�), or in Yiddish, duchanen (a reference to the duchan, or platform, from which the Priests blessed the people in the Temple) � was first performed by Aaron, the Kohein Gadol, in the desert over 3320 years ago, and is still performed till this very day by his descendants, the Kohanim, in synagogues all around the world. May G-d lift His countenance to you and establish peace for you.� Let them place My Name upon the Children of Israel and I shall bless them� (see Numbers 6:22-27). May G-d illuminate His countenance for you and be gracious to you. Kohein Jewish males who descend from the biblical Aaron the Kohein Gadol, or High Priest) to bless the Jewish people.Īs G-d commands Moses, �Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: So shall you bless the Children of Israel, saying to them: �May G-d bless you and safeguard you. ![]() In this week�s Torah portion, Parshas Naso, we find the commandment of Birkas Kohanim (the Priestly Blessing), the mitzvah for Kohanim (sing. ![]()
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