The Key to Giving a Good Blessing: D’var Torah for Parshat Nasso
Our understanding of one tiny word will provide us with the key to giving a good blessing.
In Parashat Nasso, Hashem presents us with the words of the priestly blessing, so well known: “Yevarechecha Hashem Veyishmerecha,” – “may the Lord bless you and keep you,” and so on. But these words are prefaced with the statement, “Ko tevarchu et B’nei Yisrael”, – “in this way, you must bless the people.” But we’re not told what the meaning of the word “Ko” – “in this way,” actually is.
So let me present you with three beautiful Peirushim. The first is from the book Me’am Loez. He says, if you have a look at the passage immediately before this, it’s all about the importance of the Nazarite not drinking wine and never becoming intoxicated. And therefore, Me’am Loez says, just like the Nazarite: “KO,” – “in this way,” means: without the necessity to take artificial stimulants, without becoming intoxicated. The Kohen just needs to allow the words to flow genuinely from his heart. That is how you give a blessing.
A very different peirush Is given by the Rambam. He says, “in this way, you must bless,” means, with these exact words. What happens if a Kohen gets carried away and he wants to double the number of words? Or double the number of blessings? Can he enhance the prayer in this way? No, says the Rambam. This is the set formula – whether you are blessing one person or many people. Whether it is a man or a woman. Whoever it is, under whatever circumstances – the formula remains the same.
And then there’s a beautiful third peirush I want to share with you. It was given by the Maggid of Mezrich. And he says, “Ko tevarchu,” – “in this way you must bless,” means: “ke’mo she’heim,” – “according to the way that they are.” He says that when you are blessing somebody, you must accept the person for who she or he actually is. Which means that to give a good blessing, you need to love other people. You need to empathise with them. You need to be accepting of them. Indeed, this is the reason why the Kohen, before blessing the people, says, “levarech at amo Yisrael, be’ahava,” – “thank you God for giving me this precept to bless the people of Israel, be’ahava” – with love. Without true love, you cannot give a genuine blessing.
So, who are the best people to give blessings to others? It’s those who really love others.
Shabbat shalom.
