(22) The Eternal spoke to Moses: (23) Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them: (24) May יהוה bless you and protect you!

(2) Say to them — so that all of them should hear the blessing. (3) אמור is written plene (with ו after the מ) thus indicating: you shall not bless them hurriedly and hastily, but with intention and with a whole heart (Midrash Tanchuma, Nasso 10).

יברכך

with material wealth. The reason this is the first of the blessing is explained by our sages in Pirkei Avot 3,15 אם אין קמח אין תורה, “if there is no wheat, there is no Torah."

(1) [The Eternal] יברכך Bless you — that your property may increase (Sifrei Bamidbar 40). (2) וישמרך And may He protect you — that no robbers come upon you to take away you property. For a human being who gives a present to his servant cannot guard him against everybody, and if a band of robbers attack him and take it away, what pleasure can he, then, derive from this present?! The Holy Blessed One, however, both gives and guards — against everybody (Midrash Tanchuma, Nasso 10). Many Midrashic interpretations are given of this verse in the Sifrei (Sifrei Bamidbar 40).

(1) (Numbers 6:24) "The Eternal bless you": with possessions "and keep you": with possessions. R. Nathan says: May He bless you with possessions and keep you — in body. R. Yitzchak says "and keep you": from the evil inclination, as it is written (Proverbs 3:26) "For the Lord will be with you in your trust, and He will guard your feet from entrapment." Variantly: "and keep you": from all evil, viz. (Psalms 121:4-7) "He neither slumbers nor sleeps, the Keeper of Israel … at your right hand … By day the sun … The Lord will keep you from all evil." Variantly: "and keep you": from mazikkin (destructive agents), viz. (Ibid. 91:11) "For His angels will He charge for you to keep you in all your ways."

"May God bless you." Included in this is whatever is appropriate for each person to be blessed with....For one who deals in Torah, in his study. For one who deals in commerce, in his merchandise. Thus is included in this general blessing "May God bless you" an additional blessing for each person about what he has.

"And protect you." For every blessing requires protection so that it does not become an obstacle, God forbid. One who masters Torah needs protection from pride, desecration of God's name and the like. And similarly, that person not forget his or her learning. A property owner needs protection that his or her wealth not be a detriment ... and similarly, protection from theft and loss. And likewise for everything that is in need of blessing, protection from whatever causes trouble is requested.

May the Face of יהוה shine upon you — i.e. May God show you a friendly (literally, "happy") face — a beaming face.

(1) May יהוה grant light to your eyes to see and appreciate all the wonderful things God has done and keeps on doing. You should become aware that all that you achieve is due to God's blessing.

(1) May the Face of יהוה shine upon you. God will give you "light" of the eyes. Rabbi Nathan says: This refers to the light of the Shechinah, as it is written (Isaiah 60:1-2) "Arise, shine, for your Light has come. For the darkness will cover the earth, and a thick mist, the peoples, but upon you the Eternal will shine, and God's glory will be seen upon you," (Psalms 67:2) "God will favor us and bless us. God will cause His countenance to shine upon us, Selah,"...."and be gracious to you": in (the granting of) your requests, as it is written (Shemot 33:19) "And I shall be gracious to whom I shall be gracious, and I shall be merciful to whom I shall be merciful." Variantly: Let Him grant you grace in the eyes of man, as it is written (Bereshit 39:21) "And He granted him grace in the eyes of the overseer of the prison," and (Esther 2:14) "And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her," and (Daniel 1:9) "And G-d granted Daniel grace and mercy," and (Proverbs 3:4) "You will find favor and goodly wisdom in the eyes of G-d and man." Variantly: "and be gracious to you": with understanding, insight, mussar, and wisdom. Variantly: "and be gracious to you": in Torah study, as it is written (Proverbs 4:9) "It (Torah) will set a chaplet of grace upon your head,"Variantly: "and be gracious to you": with gifts of "grace," as it is written (Psalms 123:2) "Behold, as the eyes of servants to their masters; as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so are our eyes to the Lord our God, until He grants us grace," and (Ibid. 3) "Grant us grace, O Lord, grant us grace, for we are fully sated with contempt, and (Isaiah 33:2) "O Lord, grant us grace, for in You have we hoped."

May the Face of יהוה be lifted up to you — This expresses the idea: May the anger of God be suppressed (B'midbar Rabbah 11:7).

(1) May God's Face be lifted up to you ישא יהוה פניו אליך giving you a vista of the world to come which awaits you. The line is similar in essence to what David said in Psalms 36,10 כי עמך מקור חיים באורך נראה אור, “with You is the fountain of life; by Your light do we see light.” It also reflects the statement of our sages in (Babylonian Talmud, B’rachot 17) that in the world of the future the righteous sit with their crowned heads and enjoy the radiations of God’s glory. (2) וישם לך שלום, the serenity of peace which is equivalent to an infinite, unbroken and undisturbed existence, not tainted by punishment, something which is a feature of life in the world to come.