[Jewish] [Mindful Torah] Comentary on Parshat Naso and the Priestly Blessings

[Rabbi Steven Nathan]

Naso (Be'midbar/Numbers 4:21-7:89)

In the parashah, God commands Aaron and his sons to bless the people
with the words that have become so familiar to us, "May God Bless you
and keep you; May God's face shine upon you and be gracious unto you;
May God lift up the Divine face towards you and grant you Shalom/Peace."

Until this day, in more traditional communities, the Kohanim - those
believed to be descended from Aaron - stand in front of the
congregation and offer this blessing in the same way we believe the
ancient Kohanim did. They spread their hands out in front of them,
palms facing down, and their fingers separated in the special manner
reserved for the priests (though more familiar to many of us
as Spock's "live long and prosper" sign on Star Trek, which Leonard
Nimoy borrowed from his Jewish heritage). Then they recite the blessing
for all the "non-Kohanim" present. This ceremony has been viewed
throughout the centuries as mysterious and awe-inspiring. However, it
is also clearly hierarchical. The priests are "above" the people,
literally and figuratively, and act as conduits for blessing between
God and the people.

In his commentary on the priestly blessings, R. Levi Yitzhak of
Berditchev cites a short drash, or homily, attributed to the Baal Shem
Tov, 18th century founder of Hasidism. The B'esht (acronym for Baal
Shem Tov) cites Psalm 121:5, "The Eternal is your shadow." He then
states, "Just as a shadow does everything that a person does, so the
Creator, blessed be God, does, so to speak, everything that a person
does." Levi Yitzhak then adds to this the reminder that we should
always act in such a way that God would be proud of us. In other words,
God should not be embarrassed to be our "shadow." Then, in commenting
on the way in which the blessing is given, Levi Yitzhak
continues, "...when one prays only for oneself, one is only a
receptacle; that is, one's hands are spread out with the palms up and
the back of the hands down. But, when one prays only to give God
pleasure, then one is as one who pours blessing; that is, one's hands
are spread out with the palms down and the back of the hand up (see
description above)."

In his modern commentary on this interpretation, R. David Blumenthal
writes that Levi Yitzhak's three main points are, "...that true
blessing is a pouring-forth of an energy we receive, a channeling of
divine power; that this type of blessing gives God pleasure, it makes
God proud; and that such an act evokes a shadow movement by God, a
parallel response of poured-forth blessing from God."
("God at the Center," Harper and Row, 1988; p. 110).

How awesome - and how frightening - that human beings can be part of
this channeling process. Through our own actions, we cannot merely
receive blessings from God, but we can bring God's blessing to others.
Beyond that, if we believe, as do the mystics, that our actions
actually affect God in this divine-human "shadow play" what an awesome
responsibility each of us is given.

If we are to be a nation of priest/Kohanim, as the Torah teaches, then
I believe the lesson found in this week's parashah also applies to each
one of us. Keeping that thought, and the previous commentaries, in mind
I would like to offer you my own interpretation of this passage as a
blessing for all of us on this eve of the Shabbat of Parshat Naso
(Numbers/Be’midbar 4:21-7:89) where the Priestly Blessing is found.
Shadowplay and Blessing

I
stand here
arms and hands outstretched
uttering ancient words
blessing
shalom

I
feel the blessing
divine energy
flow through me
to you
to me
to God
a circuit
cycle
never-ending
blessing
as it flows
through me
you
God
I hear the voice
Sinai
echoing
resounding
in my soul
constant energy
flowing
long after hands descend
I feel blessing
energy
source of life
source of action
source of love

it does not pull
push
force
it animates
energizes
guideswhile
I struggle

I do not want
to follow the voice
do as it says

in this moment I have power
what I do
God must do
shadow puppeteer
peter pan
with a shadow
that cannot be lost
cannot be separated
God is always within me
I am always within God
such power
responsibility
am I worthy
is anyone
suddenly
cannot move
cannot act
cannot risk
what ifImake the wrong move
pull the wrong strings

I want to be
puppet
not puppeteer
I want to be
the shadow
not it's source

I breathe
I sit
I wait
afraid now
if I act
I may be wrong
then God must still follow
but the chain
of blessing
may be broken
all my fault

I breathe
I sit
I wait
I pray

finally
I listen

the voice
within around
guiding me

I feel the power
again
but now
I realize
I know
in my soul
it is not mine
it is not I

I am still
afraid
must act
the alternative
stagnation
is to die
to block the flow
of divine blessing

before I act
I pray
allow the blessing
the energy
to flow through me
may I
may we
be worthy
may I bring your blessing
to all
may I bring their blessing
to you
may they bring blessing
to me
to you
as well
may we bring
joy
pride
satisfaction
to God
to all
through our actions

as I pray
I hear
the voice of Sinai
in my heart
I feel
the power of sinai
in my soul
I see
the shadow of sinai
brightly hovering over me
I know
the One of Sinai
is here
within
around
me
us all
moving with us
guiding
protecting
reminding
we are not separate
we are
always together
always complete
always whole
always one
we are
the blessing
the blessed
living
with in
shalom




--
Posted By Rabbi Steven Nathan to Mindful Torah at 5/21/2010 04:25:00 PM
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.hampshire.edu/pipermail/jewish/attachments/20100521/fb073ba3/attachment-0001.htm>