Priestly Chores

June 5, 2009
Rabbi Seymour Rossel

     In 1979, while excavating some burial chambers hewn into the rocks on a ledge called Ketef Hinnom outside of Jerusalem, archaeologists discovered two little scrolls of silver. They were buried with other jewelry and many other artifacts that seemed to indicate they came from the time of the first Temple. It took several years to study these miniature scrolls. The silver was very thin, practically a foil, and each of them had to be carefully unrolled. But when they were unrolled, it was immediately clear what they were.

     The larger of the two scrolls, about the size of a modern-day cigarette, was inscribed in ancient Hebrew, with the Priestly Benediction almost exactly the same as the one which we read from the Torah this week in the portion of Naso from the Book of Numbers. The smaller scroll contained the same Priestly Benediction, but contracted a little, joining the first part of the second blessing to the last part of the third blessing. This could have been an error on the part of the scribe who made the amulet, but more likely is the possibility that the scribe just wanted to fit the blessing on his smaller piece of silver and contracting the two sentences was a convenient way to do this.

     These two scrolls show that Judeans, just before the destruction of the First Temple, believed in the protective quality of the special three-fold blessing now found in the Torah. This does not necessarily mean that the Torah was already in existence, or that the Book of Numbers already existed, but when we look closely at the little section we read from the Torah this evening, it means that what we know about the Priestly Benediction from other sources is probably accurate.

     Let's look at this a little more closely. The section begins, "Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them." The first thing we notice is that Torah says that God spoke these words to Moses as an instruction to the Israelite priests -- Aaron and his sons. Later sources tell us that the words of the Priestly Benediction were pronounced by the priests every day in the Temple. Sometimes they were also pronounced outside of the Temple. When they were pronounced inside the Temple, the true name of God -- Yod, hey, vav, hey -- "Yahveh" -- was spoken, the priests raised their arms above their heads, and they spoke all three blessings as one pronouncement. When the blessings were given outside the Temple, the name Adonai was substituted for Yahveh, the priests did not raise their arms above their shoulders, and the three blessings were spoken one at a time, with the people answering "Amen" after each blessing. This is the same practice that has continued down to our own time.

     Most important was the idea the Priestly Benediction was a way of blessing the people of Israel. This idea is repeated at the very end of the section when God says, "Thus they shall link My name with the people of Israel, and I will bless them."

     There are two important ideas here. The first is blessing. There is only one Hebrew verb for "blessing," berachah. We use it in all of our formulas for blessings when we begin Baruch. It is connected to the Hebrew word berech which means "knee." So it probably stems from the practice of bending the knee to praise God, just as other nations bow or bend the knee to show deference to a human king. When the blessing comes directly from God, we understand it to be a decree. When the blessing comes from human beings, it is a prayer for God to make the blessing come to pass.

     The Priestly Benediction is commanded by God to be pronounced on the people of Israel as a decree, not a prayer. As the Torah says, with these three sentences the priests are able to "link [Adonai's] name with the people of Israel" with the promise that "[Adonai] will bless them." So the Priestly Benediction is not wishful thinking or prayerful supplication, it invokes God's blessing immediately.

     At the same time, it is clear that it is not the priests who are making the blessing. The priests of Israel are not magicians or intermediaries. They are only functionaries. They pronounce the Priestly Benediction, but once they link God's name to the people of Israel, it is God who guarantees the blessing.

     In the absence of the Temple, the priesthood could only function in narrow ways. Cohanim, the priestly section of the Israelites, eventually came to pronounce the three-fold blessing daily in the synagogue. But it is clear that anyone can pronounce this blessing to link God's name with the Israelites, especially because we are a "kingdom of priests and a holy people."

     The rabbi is thus ordained to make the same pronouncement as the ancient priests made. And, if a rabbi is not available, any Israelite may make the same blessing for the people. All this is true because the person making the blessing is only God's instrument. The blessing is understood as a decree of God, true from the moment it is uttered.

     Now, if the Torah tells us that the blessing should be "linked to" the people of Israel and if it is so powerful that God ensures it coming true, no wonder people decided to wear it around their necks as an amulet. This was a true link to God. We still wear Jewish stars and mezuzah cases with scrolls containing the Shema as jewelry. And we still consider them "good luck" pieces, amulets that have some protective value. Anyway, a more literal reading of "linked to" the people is the priests "shall place My name on." So it may be that the people took this literally, meaning that wearing the Priestly Benediction was being commanded.

     In the Dead Sea Scrolls, there is a brief commentary on the Priestly benediction. The Torah states y'varechecha Adonai, "may [God] bless you"; the commentary adds, "with everything good." The Torah states v'yishm'recha, "and keep you"; the commentary adds, "from all evil." The Torah states, ya'eir Adonai, "may God illumine you"; the commentary adds, "illumine your heart with insight into life." The Torah states, v'yichunekah, "and grace you"; the commentary adds, "with knowledge of eternal things." The Torah states, Yisa Adonai, May God lift up"; the commentary adds, "be gracious [to you]." The Torah states, panav eilecha v'yaseim l'cha shalom, "countenance to you and bring you peace"; the commentary adds, "everlasting peace" (1QSb 3. 3f.).

     As a rabbi, I am called upon to offer the Priestly Benediction on many occasions. I try to keep in mind its history whenever I pronounce it. I try to read the words freshly whenever I pronounce them. I try to feel the power that Jews have felt from this decree of God throughout the generations. And, to be perfectly honest, I am always awed by the sound and the majesty of these simple words, these three sentences that link heaven and earth. And let us say: Amen.