The Priestly Blessing

​The Priestly Blessing

The Lord said to Moses, 

“Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel, with this special blessing: 

‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. 

May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. 

May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.’ 

…from the Book of Numbers Chapter 6: verses 22–26 (NLT)


Traditionally, the priest blessed the people every morning, after the sacrifice at the Temple. 

Today, many synagogues end their service, with this blessing, as a benediction.

The Torah prescribed that only the descendants of Aaron (the kohanim) were allowed to convey this blessing, upon the people of Israel, and indeed this practice continues, in synagogue services today. 

During an (Orthodox) service, for example, the priests first remove their shoes and have their hands ritually washed by Levites (if any are present). This custom is based on the verse, "Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the LORD!" (Psalm 134: verse 2). 

The priest then ascends to stand before the Ark, and covers his head and arms with a tallit (a prayer shawl), while privately reciting the blessing: 

"Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who makes us holy with the holiness of Aaron, and has commanded us to bless His people, Israel, with love." 

When the priest has finished, the cantor will say, "Kohanim..." as a signal for the priest to begin.

Each priest then raises his hands, with the palms facing downward, and the thumbs of his outspread hands touching. 

The four fingers, on each hand, are sometimes split into two sets of two fingers each (thus forming the letter Shin (שׁ), which is an emblem for Shaddai, the Almighty, God), or sometimes they are arranged to form an overlapping lattice of 'windows.'  

Then, as the priest chants, the melody of the blessing, the cantor recites each word. This ceremony is sometimes called Nesiat Kapayim, the "lifting of the hands." 

According to Jewish tradition, the Divine Presence shines through (the windows in) the fingers of the priests, as they bless the people, and no one is allowed to look at this, out of respect for God.

Note, however, that the LORD does not command the kohanim (the priest) to bless the people using their own words, but rather, He provides the exact words for the blessing, prefacing the instruction with the words: 

"Thus shall you bless." …in verse 22.

This reveals that the blessing comes from the LORD Himself, and the priests are but the means for transmitting His gracious will. 

This is further indicated by the verse that immediately follows the birkat kohanim (the priestly blessing): 

"So shall they put My Name, upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."  …from the Book of Numbers Chpt 6: v27.


This is God's Word, from His Holy Scriptures.

Praise be to God!


Birchat Kohanim - The Priestly Blessings



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