Parashat Naso contains the famous Birkat Kohanim- The blessings that the Kohanim give the Jewish people. The Sephardic custom is to give this blessing every day of the year.
The Sefer Akedah asks what exactly the benefit is, of being blessed by the Kohanim, if in truth, the Kohanim aren’t the source of blessing. God says, “ואני אברכם -And I will bless the Jewish people.”
So, if God is blessing the Jewish people, what is the purpose of the Kohanim blessing them too?
He answers that a person’s success, and goodness greatly depends on the fact that he has a very clear picture of, and is very steadfast in, his Emunah; and that all of the goodness, and all of the success, comes directly from one source- Hashem. It’s not because of any happenstance, or because of a person’s personal strength, or because of good Mazal.
In order to help the Jewish people, keep the proper mindset and focus, we have Berachot. This does not just refer to Birkat Kohanim. He says that every time we make a beracha on a food, it’s not because God needs our blessing, but rather, in order for us to remember this. We need to have a constant reminder. So, the source for our Berachot is that we are giving ourselves a blessing. We aren’t blessing Hashem, we are bringing blessing upon ourselves, through the right hashkafa/mindset.
This is what happens with Birkat Kohanim. The main purpose of this blessing is for us to get the message. This might explain why the Rishonim say that not only is it a Mitzvah for the Kohanim to bless us, but it’s a mitzvah for Yisrael to be blessed, which means to listen to, and focus on, the words of birkat kohanim. It’s not a time to just close your eyes and daydream, while blessings are being poured on your head.
According to the Sefer Akedah, it’s necessary to get the message of Birkat Kohanim, and this is what brings the beracha down.
Thank you to Rabbi Ebstein from Lakewood sharing an additional, beautiful thought: What is so special about the Birkat Kohanim? Why is the Kohen the one to give this blessing?
It seems that any Rabbi can get up and give a speech on the topic, which will set the correct mindset for the listeners. Why do we need the Kohen to give this blessing?
He answers based on the fact that the tribe of Levi (of which the kohanim are an elite sect) is dedicated to serving Hashem. They have no job or source of income. Hashem supports them. They get tithes and different portions from the rest of the jewish people, but ultimately, they are the living example of what it means to live a life of bitachon.
This is the way that the Kohen gives us the lesson. A person may be able to, as they say, “talk the talk,” but he doesn’t necessarily walk the walk. In order for a speaker’s words to have impact, he has to be a
נאה דורש ונאה מקיים
A nice speaker but also a nice keeper-Which means that you keep what you say.
Therefore, the kohanim were chosen, because they are the ones that are able to both speak about bitachon and live a life of bitachon to the utmost, dedicating themselves to serving Hashem, and serving the people, without a natural source of income.
Rabbi Ebstein further adds that this is possibly the reason that the term used for Birkat Kohanim is, “Noseh Kapayim, they lift up their palms.”
Simply, we can understand this to mean that they lift up their hands when they are blessing the people. But it can also be compared to when Moshe Rabbenu would lift up his hands when he prayed for the Jewish people, the goal of which was to teach the people that they should focus on Hashem and that they should put their faith in Hashem above.
All of this can be found in a pasuk in Mishleh, Perek כח, where it says,
אִ֣ישׁ אֱ֭מוּנוֹת רַב־בְּרָכ֑וֹת
The man of Emunah has an abundance of blessing.
The Alshech explains that someone that doesn’t rely on his own handiwork, but rather, relies on Hashem, is the person that will bring the beracha down. I once heard that this is the reason that Shabbat is called Mekor HaBeracha- the source of the blessing. Since Shabbat is the day of the week that we all take off, we all become like Kohanim. On Shabbat we all realize that Hashem is in charge of our parnassa. Therefore, we have a concept of
אִ֣ישׁ אֱ֭מוּנוֹת רַב־בְּרָכ֑וֹת
The man of Emunah has an abundance of blessing. This is the blessing that comes down on Shabbat.
B’ezrat Hashem, we should strengthen our bitachon and bring blessing upon ourselves and Klal Yisrael.