God's Blessing Flows Through Us

God's Blessing Flows Through Us 

Parshat Naso: Numbers 4:21-7:89

 

Parshat Naso contains some of the most powerful words of our people:

 

“Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them:

Yivarechecha Adonai viyishmirecha /May the Eternal bless you and protect you!

Ya'er Adonai panav elecha veechuneka /May the Eternal deal kindly and graciously with you!

Yeesa Adonai panav elecha viyasem lecha shalom /May the Eternal bestow favor upon you and grant you peace!

Thus they shall link My name with the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:23-27)

 

These words, are read every year the Shabbat after the holiday of Shavuot and Matan Torah, the Giving/Receiving of the Torah. They are given to the Kohanim as an eternal charge. The Kohanim, the Priests, are told that one of their responsibilities will be to bless the people; these words are the exact words with which to do so. This section of instruction ends with the phrase, “and I will bless them.” This indicates that the blessing comes not from the Kohanim but rather flows through the Kohanim. The words with which the Kohanim are instructed to bless us, also tell us something important: that the Kohanim are the vessels through which God’s words come to us.

 

When the Israelites lived in the land of Israel and the Temple existed, the Kohanim were able to fulfill their charge and bless the People during a ceremonial Temple service. Once the Second Temple was destroyed, the Kohanim were unable to perform many of their formal roles, including the ritual blessing.  Over time, Judaism evolved/adapted and sometime in the early 17th century the custom of parents blessing their children on Shabbat with these words began to be mentioned in books. (See "Brautspiegel," a popular treatise on morals, written by Moses Henochs; a book which appeared in Basel in 1602.) It is not surprising we took one of our most sacred moments of blessing and innovated using it as a blessing in the home, of our children. The Talmudic Sages began this process of innovation in exile in order to make sure that our heritage, the Torah and its teachings, would survive despite the fact that we no longer had a Temple in which to worship.

  

From Kohanim blessing the Children of Israel at the Temple to parents blessing their children around the dinner table, we have drawn a direct line from the biblical injunction for the Kohanim to bless to recreating that moment of sanctity in our homes, around our tables. We are taught that every Jewish home is a Mikdash Me’at, a miniature Sanctuary, a small holy place. It is as if the table at which our families gather, eat, and celebrate holidays takes the place of the altar. 

  

I have blessed my children nearly every Shabbat of their lives.  It is always the holiest moment of my week – whether the blessing occurs around the dinner table, on the run as the grandchildren are being put to bed, by letter, email, text, phone call or even video chat. The realization that I am transmitting these holiest of words, even in the most chaotic of moments of blessing, brings me peace. It is a profound feeling to know that I am a link in the chain of our long history and our tradition. The words of the blessing, God’s words, flow through us because, as is stated in 6:27b, “and I will bless them.” My greatest desire is that these words will continue to flow through my grandchildren and the generations to come.

 

 Shabbat Shalom!

First posted at https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/88447-2/

Parashat Naso - Human actions impact God

 “Speak to the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any wrong toward a fellow man, thus breaking faith with the LORD, and that person realizes his guilt, he shall confess the wrong that he has done. He shall make restitution in the principal amount and add one-fifth to it, giving it to him whom he has wronged.” (Numbers 5:6-7, Parshat Naso)

Look at the words I underlined, “When a man or woman commits any wrong toward a fellow man, thus breaking faith with the LORD…” This statement highlights something very interesting. We are taught that there are two discrete categories of interaction – Bein Adam L’Makom, actions between Human and God and Bein Adam l’Chavero, actions between people.

We see this in the 10 Commandments. The first tablet concerns actions between Humans and God and the second tablet concerns actions between people. [Commandment #5, honoring one’s parents, is a bridge commandment and fits into both categories. We’ll talk about that one another time.] Interactions between humans and God do exist in the realm of both intention and action but intention often takes precedence. One even gets credit for intending to do a mitzvah even if something occurs that prevents one from doing it!  Interactions between people usually include intentions (good or bad) but ultimately, it is the effect or impact of one’s actions that take precedence.

So, if these two sets of actions are understood to be discrete, then how do we explain this teaching: “When a man or woman commits any wrong toward a fellow man, thus breaking faith with the LORD…”?

The Sages teach that these categories are not quite as discrete as we might think, there is an important way in which they overlap. As we are all created in God’s image, when we do a wrong action against a fellow human (murder, theft, fraud, etc), we are not just committing a sin against humanity. We are in fact committing a sin against God. We are not only making God’s presence in this world smaller; we are also harming God in the world.  Racism is one such act.

As my teacher Rabbi Shai Held wrote,

“Racism is a crime against humanity. It denies the dignity and infinite worth we all share.

Racism is also a crime against God.

It denies that God is creator of us all (theologically, it's a heresy).

Stand up and decide. You can be a believer or a racist but you cannot be both.

You can *claim* to be both. Heck, you can even serve as clergy in many churches, synagogues, or mosques. But make no mistake: racism and bigotry are the enemies of authentic religion.

Time to stand up and be counted.”

Soon we will be entering the period of soulful preparation in advance of the High Holidays. It is a time to re-evaluate who we are and what impact we have on this world.   I know that there is always more for us to do, to learn, to understand – about how to be better allies, how to be good listeners, and generally how to make our world a better and fairer place. I readily admit that I’m not certain what this will look like – which is all the more reason that no one person can do "it" alone. To that end,  I ask you to be my partner as we all learn to stand up and is counted.  

Wishing everyone health, happiness, peace and love as we head into Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbah Arlene