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Parshat Naso
2003
Expressing our Love
This week's parsha, Parshat Naso, is the longest parsha of the Torah. It contains many fascinating topics including description of the Sotah ritual, the laws of the Nazarite, and the dedication of the Tabernacle. Immediately before Torah describes the consecration and dedication of the Tabernacle, it gives the instructions for the Priestly benedictions. This ritual may be familiar to many of us from holiday services in Synagogue. This ritual has a lot to teach us about our relationship to our fellow human and to God.
Numbers 6:22-27
The Lord spoke to Moses. Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them:
The Lord bless you and protect you!
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you!
The Lord lift up His countenance to you and grant you peace!
Thus they shall place My name with the people of Israel and I will bless them.
Your Priestly Blessings Navigator
1. Why do the blessing focus on God's face? If we believe that God has no body, what does God's face represent?
2. How do the priests place God's name on the people?
3. Why are the priests commanded to bless the nation?
Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 38b
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi taught: "How do we know that God desires the priestly blessings? For it says 'they shall place My name on the Children of Israel and I will bless them.'"
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi further taught, "every priest who blesses is blessed. And any priest who does not bless is not blessed, as it says, 'I will bless those who bless you'" (Genesis 12:3).
Rashi
They shall place My name - The Torah makes the matter dependent on the priests. This blessing is the placing of [God's] Name on His nation. The Torah does not make this a need of the Children of Israel but a need of God's.
Your Talmud and Rashi Navigator
1. Why does God desire the priestly blessing? Does the fact that the priests are the conduits of blessing limit God in any way?
2. Why does a priest who blesses the nation receive a blessing? Is the priest's blessing different than the blessing they bestow?
A Word
Another commandment for the priestly blessings is that the priests must say them with complete love for the congregation that they are blessing. This may explain why God desires the priestly blessings. The love that one individual feels for another person or for a group is a unique feeling that cannot be replicated. It is true that many people may speak of their love for the same object - "I love my school;" "I love my camp"; "I love my family" - but the meaning of that love for each individual who expresses it is totally unique. God loves the Jewish people, but the love with which the priests bless the nation is unique. Keep in mind that during Temple times the priests did not own any land and they were supported by the tithes and gifts that the rest of the nation provided them. At the same time, only the priests had access to much of the Temple service and they offered sacrifices on behalf of the nation. This symbiotic relationship is unique to the relationship between the priests and the nation, and God wishes for His blessing of the people to be transmitted through this partnership.
In Pirkei Avot, Values of Our Fathers, Hillel our sage implores us: "Be a disciple of Aaron [the priest], loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and drawing them near to the Torah" (1:12). We are meant to emulate Aaron and the priests by expressing our love for others. By doing so we can serve as the unique conduits of God's blessing.
Prepared by Elliot Kaplowitz, Iyyun Fellow, Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Learning.
Learn More
Additional commentaries and text studies on Naso at MyJewishLearning.com.
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