We have been discussing the concept that shalom is the vessel for blessing. The Ktav Sofer in Bereshit (15,5) quotes an interesting a Midrash, that points out the word כה/Ko, which means “like this.” God told Avraham,
הבט נא השמימה וספור הכוכבים וכו' ויאמר לו כה יהיה זרעך
Look up to the heavens, and count the stars, and God told Avraham, “like this will be your children” The midrash asks, From where did the Jewish people merit the Beracha of Kohanim, in which it says כה תברכו Ko Tebarechu Like this you should bless?
From this pasuk where it says, כה יהיה זרעך
Like this will be your children
This may seems like it’s just a cute play on words, “like this” by the blessing and “like this” by God’s promise…So to explain further, the Ktav Sofer mentions another Midrash, which asks why the Jewish people are compared to stars. He answers that just like stars have no jealousy or arguments, so too the Jewish people. Each star has a name, a title, and they all get along.
And, as we have said, there is no better vessel for blessing than peace.
So the reason that the Jewish people merited the blessing of the Kohanim, where it says, אמור להם יברכך
Tell to them to bless You, in singular, is because the only way for the blessing to come down is if there is peace. That means that they have to be like one man, with one heart. We say, in singular form,
ויחן שם נגד ההר
the Jewish people camped opposite the mountain.”
It’s written in the singular form, because they were at peace, and whenever there is peace, Rashi says, they use the singular form.
Similarly it says, כל נפש לבית יעקב
The soul of Bet Yaakov, not “souls.”
What gave us the ability to have the blessing of, “ Ko Tebarechu,” this special blessing of Birkat Kohanim, is Ko Yihyeh Zarecha- Your children will be like this.
Your children will be like the stars. And just like the stars have no arguments, your children will have no arguments. This is how we got the blessing of Birkat Kohanim. Because we are together as one unit, as one person.
That is why this is written in the singular form. This is extremely important. Everyone knows what a great segula Birkat Kohanim is. People stand with their hands open waiting to get the blessing. And that is beautiful, but the only problem is that you need to have the shalom. When you stand there with your hands open, waiting to get blessed, if you aren’t thinking about everybody else, you are standing there is an individual. When you open your hands, you have to think that you are accepting the blessing for the entire congregation. It’s not just about you. The secret of Birkat Kohanim, says the Ktav Sofer, is the singular form. It’s all about the Jewish people being united as one individual.
Have a wonderful day.