Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Halakhah הֲלָכָה
God commands Aharon and his descendants to bless Benei Yisrael using these three pesukim:
יְבָרֶכְךָ ה' וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ:
יָאֵר ה' פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ:
יִשָּׂא ה' פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם:
May God bless you and protect you.
May God show a bright face to you and be gracious to you.
May God lift God’s face toward you and grant you peace.
This mitzvah is called בִּרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים (Birkat Kohanim, Priestly Blessing).
Before giving the בְּרָכָה (berakhah, blessing) to the community, the kohanim recite this berakhah:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בִּקְדֻשָּׁתוֹ שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן וְצִוָּֽנוּ לְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאַהֲבָה:
Blessed are you, God our Lord, ruler of the world, Who has sanctified us with the holiness of Aharon and commanded us to bless the people of Israel with love.
Since Birkat Kohanim has to be בְּאַהֲבָה (be-ahavah, with love), if a kohen is having a conflict with anyone in the community, and they feel they can’t have completely loving intention, they should leave the service before Birkat Kohanim (Mishnah Berurah 128:37).
The Gemara offers details about how and when it should take place (Talmud Bavli Sotah 38-39):
Kohanim keep their hands raised opposite their shoulders, with their palms facing the ground. If you’re on the receiving end of Birkat Kohanim, it’s not appropriate to look directly at the kohanim, but it’s also rude to turn away from them. So people face the kohanim, but look downward, often covered with a tallit.
In many communities outside Israel, Birkat Kohanim is only recited on holidays. Some Sephardic communities outside of Israel do Birkat Kohanim daily, based on the opinion of the Beit Yosef (Orah Hayyim 128).
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