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Harav Hagaon Shmuel Friedman Shlita

Drawing Down the Blessing

Parshas Nasso

Harav Hagaon Shmuel Friedman Shlita

It’s now Motza’ei Shavuos, the time of tashlumin, when we’re still under the hashpa’ah of Yom Tov. As we say, והַשִּׂיאֵנוּ ה’ אֱלֹקֵינוּ אֶת בִּרְכַּת מוֹעֲדֶךָ, we should all be blessed with the continued berachos of Yom Tov.

I heard from R’ Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi an insight that he heard Rav Eliyahu Lopian say publicly, on Shavuos, in front of the Knesses Chizkiyahu yeshiva in Kfar Chassidim, quoting the Zohar as well as R’ Chaim Volozhiner. We say that Torah is matzil, and it brings hatzlachah in both ruchniyus and gashmiyus. Torah is what gives us all the nachas. Everything comes from Torah.

But the way it works is that the Torah is stored in chests and containers in Shamayim. The Torah that brings success and uplifts us is all stored in heavenly treasuries. And what brings it down from Shamayim? It comes down specifically through tefillah. Torah is the greatest berachah in the world and the source of all success in life, but it must be accessed through tefillah.

The Shefa Descends, Through Birkas Kohanim

In this week’s parshah, we have the mitzvah of Birkas Kohanim, which consists of three pesukim. After these three pesukim the Torah says: וְשָׂמוּ אֶת שְׁמִי עַל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲנִי אֲבָרְכֵם.

Every morning, immediately after reciting Birchos HaTorah, we learn Torah — just as we perform every mitzvah immediately after the berachah — saying pesukim, a Mishnah, and a Baraisa (Magen Avraham).

But why did Chazal choose the pesukim of Birkas Kohanim, specifically, to be said after Birchos HaTorah? The Mishnah Berurah explains that it is because these pesukim have berachah in them.

The Tur writes that the Anshei Mishmar would say Birkas Kohanim every morning before the ketores and before being maktir the eivarim of the korban tamid, so that the tamid would be accepted b’ratzon. So, too, writes the Tur, Chazal established the minhag of saying the pesukim of Birkas Kohanim after Birchos HaTorah, before Parshas HaTamid, to mention the blessings of Klal Yisrael before the korban tamid.

Perhaps we can suggest another explanation.

The Targum Yonasan sees a deeper meaning in these three pesukim. He interprets the words יְבָרֶכְךָ ה’ וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ to mean:יְבָרְכִינָךָ ה’ בְּכָל עִסְקָךְ וְיִטְרִינָךְ מִן לִילֵי וּמְזַיְיעֵי וּבְנֵי טִיהַרְרֵי וּבְנֵי צַפְרִירֵי וּמַזִיקֵי וּטְלוֹי — Hashem should give you success in all your endeavors and protect you from all types of harmful forces.

On the second passuk, יָאֵר ה’ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ, he writes:יַנְהַר ה’ סְבַר אַפּוֹי לָךְ בְּמֵעַסְקָךְ בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא וְיִגְלֵי לָךָ טְמִירָן וְיֵיחוֹס עֲלָךְ — Hashem will shine His countenance upon you as you toil in Torah and reveal to you its hidden secrets. And on the third passuk, יִשָּׂא ה’ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם, he gives this interpretation: יַסְבַּר ה’ סְבַר אַפּוֹי לָךְ בִּצְלוּתָךְ וִישַׁוֵי עֲלָךְ שְׁלַם בְּכָל תְּחוּמָךְ — Hashem will look favorably upon you when you daven, and grant you peace in every area of your life.

The Sforno, on the passuk of יָאֵר, similarly explains: יגלה עיניך באור פניו להביט נפלאות מתורתו וממעשיו אחר שתשיג צרכיך בברכתו — Hashem should illuminate your eyes with His countenance to see wonders from His Torah and His deeds, once you have obtained your needs with His blessing.

So it’s very fitting to say these pesukim of Birkas Kohanim after Birchos HaTorah, as they are a special berachah for success in Torah learning.

The Rishonim offer a remarkable insight: In the entire parshah of Bechukosai, the letter samech does not appear. Why? To teach us that the sixty letters (samech having the gematria 60) of Birkas Kohanim are not dependent on any conditions. In Bechukosai, all the berachos are conditional: אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי תֵּלֵכוּ. But Birkas Kohanim ends with a pledge —וַאֲנִי אֲבָרְכֵם — conveying that Hashem will bless us unconditionally, even if we are not worthy.

The Maor VaShemesh asks: Why, in Birkas Kohanim, do we first speak of gashmiyus and parnassah and only afterward discuss Torah? He answers that it is because it is a great berachah for someone to have parnassah in abundance and still remain deeply engaged in Torah — that’s a major nisayon, and a tremendous zechus.

The Chida writes that וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ refers to protection in Torah learning, since in order to learn Torah a person requires special shemirah from the yetzer hara.

We see that all three pesukim of Birkas Kohanim are related to Torah. That’s why it’s so fitting that immediately after Birchos HaTorah, we say Birkas Kohanim — as a tefillah and segulah for siyata d’Shmaya and hatzlachah in Torah learning.

What is the berachah of shalom that we are blessed with, in the final words of Birkas Kohanim — וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם? The Shelah HaKadosh explains that each person is an olam katan, a miniature world, and there is an internal war between a person’s body and soul. Talmidei chachamim, however, are constantly making peace between their guf and neshamah, and by achieving internal harmony, they exert an influence on the entire world, spreading peace. So this berachah of shalom encompasses both physical and spiritual wellbeing.

Aside from the general segulah of Birchos HaTorah, which is a known segulah for success in Torah — for yourself and to have children who are talmidei chachamim — there’s another idea here. In addition to the tefillah of והערב נא, which is a request for experiencing sweetness in learning, we say the pesukim of Birkas Kohanim to draw down berachah v’hatzlachah in our learning, along with all the blessings that Torah encompasses.

Everything Comes From Hashem

What is the significance of the passuk we say after Birkas Kohanim, וְשָׂמוּ אֶת שְׁמִי עַל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲנִי אֲבָרְכֵם? How do the Kohanim “place” the Name of Hashem on Klal Yisrael?

The Baal HaAkeidah explains this based on the Dovid Hamelech’s words (Tehillim 33:18-19) הִנֵּה עֵין ה’ אֶל יְרֵאָיו לַמְיַחֲלִים לְחַסְדּוֹ לְהַצִּיל מִמָּוֶת נַפְשָׁם. When does a person experience salvation — לְהַצִּיל מִמָּוֶת נַפְשָׁם? When he lifts his eyes to Hashem, anticipating His kindness: לַמְיַחֲלִים לְחַסְדּוֹ. That dependence on Hashem’s chassadim is what saves a person from his tzaros. The essence of Birkas Kohanim, he says, is to teach Klal Yisrael that everything comes from Hashem: יְבָרֶכְךָ ה’, יָאֵר ה’, יִשָּׂא ה’.

When the Kohanim say Birkas Kohanim, they are instilling in Klal Yisrael the recognition that all the blessings depends on Hashem’s granting them—and that recognition itself makes them worthy of berachah. When the person receiving the berachah internalizes deeply that Hashem does everything, then he becomes deserving of berachah, and that is what it means that Hashem is maskim to the berachah of the Kohanim: וַאֲנִי אֲבָרְכֵם.

The Sefer HaChinuch writes, regarding the mitzvah of Birkas Kohanim:

גם צונו בטובו הגדול לבקש ממנו הברכה ושנשאל אותה על ידי המשרתים הטהורים כי כל זה יהיה זכות לנפשותינו ומתוך כך נזכה בטובו.

When we ask Hashem for His berachah, and we realize that the blessing is coming from Him, that is a zechus for our souls, and it is this act that draws down His blessing.

When the Brisker Rav came to Yerushalayim, there was no kohen in his minyan, and he arranged that for Rosh Hashanah, at least during Mussaf, a kohen should be present. But when the time came, the kohen had not yet arrived, and the tzibbur was getting impatient. The Brisker Rav told them to wait, and when someone said, “It’s tircha d’tzibbura,” the Brisker Rav didn’t respond. Eventually, the kohen came, and they davened Mussaf.

After davening, the Brisker Rav turned to the tzibbur and said, “We have much to learn from the chassidim. They are willing to travel great distances and endure significant hardship just to receive a berachah from their Rebbe, yet here we have an explicit passuk in the Torah —וְשָׂמוּ אֶת שְׁמִי עַל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲנִי אֲבָרְכֵם — and we can’t wait a few minutes for a kohen to come and bless Klal Yisrael?”

To summarize, Torah is the greatest berachah, but that berachah is stored in Shamayim. What brings it down from those heavenly treasure houses, as R’ Eliyahu Lopian noted, is our tefillah and bakashah.

Although the Torah encompasses all the berachos in the world — every type of hatzlachah, in gashmiyus or ruchniyus, and every bit of refuah or nachas — that blessing has to be brought down through our tefillos. To that end, we say Birkas Kohanim each morning after Birchos HaTorah; here in Eretz Yisrael, we are zocheh to receive Birkas Kohanim daily from the Kohanim themselves.

We should be zocheh to receive all the blessing through this berachah of Birkas Kohanim, along with all the hatzlachah the Torah brings, with the hashpa’os of Shavuos continuing throughout the whole year.

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