The
Torah assigns to the
priests (in Heb.
Kohanim,
descendants of Aaron) the
privilege and
responsibility of
offering God's blessing to the
people of
Israel:
The Lord spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron and his sons:
Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them:
The Lord bless you and and keep you
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace
Numbers 6:22-27
This Priestly Blessing (Heb.
Birkat Kohanim), is also
exchanged between
family members on Friday night. However, liturgical use of the blessing can be be offered only by descendants of Aaron (as indicated by the last name Cohen, Kahn, Cohn, etc.) and only in Hebrew. In Israel, the blessing is offered every day; in the
Diaspora, only on major holidays, including
Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur. During the Saturday service in the
synagogue (
Mussaf) the priests are called to the
bima1 by the
cantor with the the one word "
Kohanim!," (meaning "Priests!"). After saying a blessing (to which the
congregation answers amen), the Kohanim are prompted, word by word, to say the special priestly blessing.
The
traditions and
laws regarding this sacred act are quite important. A cohen must have the proper intention when blessing the congregation. If he functions while intoxicated, or without that proper intention, he is severely punished. The
Levi'im,
hereditary members of the
Tribe of Levi, help prepare the priests by
washing their hands.
The priests'
hands and
face must be covered with a
tallit or prayer shawl. The hands of the priests must be displayed in a special way, forming the Hebrew letter
shin, the initial letter of the word
Shaddai, which means "Almighty." This is accomplished by:
- Holding the little and ring fingers together
- Holding the middle and index fingers together
- Separating the first group from the second group of fingers with a space and the thumb and the rest of the hand with another space; at this point the gesture resembles Mr. Spock's raised hand in Star Trek when he says "Live long and prosper". Some say it is the letter V, but in reality it could be a shin
- Repeat the arrangement with the fingers of the other hand
- Bring the hands together at about eye level, the thumbs and index fingers touching.
Traditionally a
niggun (musical prayer without words) is chanted by the priests before the last word of each blessing.
___________________
1 =
bima: a raised
dias on which the
Torah scroll rests.