04 Jun TO BLESS AND BE BLESSED

We were just blessed on Shavuos by the
kohanim. How uplifting it was to receive
their bracha, and listen to their melodious
chants. It truly felt that we were the
recipients of HaShem’s brachos.
This week’s parsha, Nasso, tells us of
Birchas Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing.
The Kohanim begin by reciting the following
bracha: Blessed are You HaShem, our G-d,
King of the universe, Who has sanctified us
with kedushas Aaron, the sanctity of Aaron,
and commanded us to bless the people of
Israel b’ahavah, with love.
Kedushas Aaron – the sanctity of Aaron.
Exactly what is the holiness of Aaron?
Pirkei Avos, Ethics of the Fathers, teaches us
to be “the students” of Aaron. Ohev Shalom,
a lover of peace, rodeph sholom, a pursuer
of peace, ohev es habriyos, loving of all
mankind, u’mekarvan laTorah, and bringing
them closer to Torah. (Pirkei Avos/Ethics
1:12)
To be from the students of Aaron. A student
is always learning, growing, and developing.

A student doesn’t stand still, but strives to
ascend the ladder of knowledge and
character. To be a student of Aaron means to
always be working on oneself, in a constant
state of self-improvement. Working on
becoming a true person of peace, a man of
shalom.
Rodeph shalom – pursuing peace. Rodeph
literally means “to run after”. The Midrash
tells us that when Aaron was aware of two
people who disagreed with each other, he
would run to one and say “Your friend really
wants to make up with you”. He would then
go to the other disagreeing party and repeat
the same words to him. When the two would
subsequently meet, the road for peace was
already paved by Aaron.
Ohev es habriyos – to love all of mankind.
In Aaron’s eyes, everyone was good. He
loved every human being, seeing the tzelem
Elokim, the holy image of HaShem in each
person. He was able to look at every person
and see the goodness within.
U’mekarvan laTorah – and brought them
closer to Torah. When people observed
Aaron’s great love and respect for his fellow,
when they saw how important shalom
between brothers was to him, they wanted to

follow in his footsteps and live a Torah
life. People would observe Aaron’s
peaceful ways, and say if that is what it
means to be a Torah Jew, count me in.
Aaron didn’t just “talk the talk”, but he
“walked the walk”. In his own personal
life, Aaron was a man of love. From
Aaron we learn to genuinely fargin, to
be happy for the blessings and good
fortune in another’s life. To be proud
of one’s family member or a friend’s
accomplishments.
Aaron was the older brother, yet it was
Moshe who was chosen by HaShem to be
the leader. It was Moshe who was in the
limelight. When Moshe was concerned
about speaking to Pharaoh, HaShem’s
response was that his brother Aaron would
join him. HaShem tells Moshe that when
Aaron would be coming to greet him,
“v’somach b’leebo, he will be happy in his
heart”. (Shemos/Exodus 4:14). Aaron had
genuine heartfelt happiness for his younger
brother’s accomplishments. He was a
farginner. Nowhere does it say that Aaron
was jealous, questioning why it was Moshe
and not him, why was he passed over.
Instead, Aaron came with ahavah, with love,
proud of his brother. Rashi teaches that
because Aaron felt such genuine happiness
for Moshe, he merited to wear over his
heart the choshen, the breastplate of the
Kohain Gadol, the High Priest, upon which
were inscribed the names of the twelve
tribes, from whom he had much love.
We live in a world where we are so
concerned about sibling rivalry. When we
raise our little ones, we feel compelled to
do exactly for one child what we do for
another. Always making sure that if we
give one child a gift, we do the same for
the others. For example, if we give a
birthday present to one, we feel the need to
give a little something to the siblings.
While our intentions may be good, we are
subconsciously raising children to always
want what the others have. No wonder that
when they become teenagers and then
adults, many maintain that desire to have
whatever others have.
Birchas Kohanim begins with the reciting
of a bracha “… And has commanded us to
bless His people b’ahavah, with love.”
With love. We have so many mitzvos –
daily mitzvos, like washing our hands
upon rising in the morning, and reciting
Birchas HaShachar, the morning prayers.
There are mitzvos that are unique to
Shabbos, like candle lighting and making
Kiddush. Mitzvos in honor of the holidays
– such as eating matzah on Pesach, sitting
in the succah, reciting Megillas Esther,
blowing shofar, and kindling the Chanukah
menorah. Yet, none of the brachos recited

prior to performing these mitzvos include
the term “b’ahavah”, to observe the mitzvah
with love.
The Zohar tells us that the kohain’s blessings
must come from the heart and be sincere. To
bless everyone standing before him, each
member of Am Yisroel with love. To
“fargin” – to be happy for another’s joy,
well-being, nachas and mazel. To be selfless,
and rise above any feelings of jealousy or ill
will. To have a pure, giving heart towards
all.
One of the most special childhood memories
I have, are my parents’ brachos, every Friday
night and especially Erev Yom Kippur. As is
customary in many families, we would line
up, oldest to youngest, and receive a bracha
from our father, as he lovingly placed his
hands upon us. We would then go to our
mother, and she too, would bless us, and
then whisper a personal prayer to each of us
– always knowing exactly what we needed
to hear.
Before each of the Yomim Tovim, holidays,
we would go to our grandparents, Mama and
Zeide, to receive brachos from them. As is
the Hungarian custom, we would kiss
Zeide’s hand and thank him for his brachos.
Blessings that were given with ahavah, with
love. A love that was palpable.
My mother would tell us to reciprocate with
words of blessing to Mama and Zeide. To
wish them gezunt, good health, and wish
them to be at our weddings, and see much
nachas from all of us.
I am often asked what I miss the most about
my parents. They were larger than life
personalities, both so accomplished. I miss
so many things, but high up on that list are
their brachos. Brachos that calmed my spirit,
and gave me the feeling that everything will
be OK, safe and secure. Brachos that were
given with love.
B’ahavah. With love. While we may not all
be kohanim, we should still relate to each
other with love. We can offer blessings to
one another. We can pray and be there for
each other.
We can all give blessings b’ahavah, with
love.