Talk:Priestly Blessing

message: It was added because, users without a Jewish background might have a hard time to actually understand what it actually is about. ems 14:25, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree. The introduction does not impart why this practice is important or what it signifies, and the rest of the writing needs to be tightened up. Yoninah 16:07, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Clean up notice

message: Suggest two separate articles to distinguish the words, which are widely used in a variety of contexts in liberal Judiasm and Christianity, from the ceremony, which includes kohanim, special hand positions, etc., and is done only in Orthodox and some Conservative synagogues. --Shirahadasha 20:26, 25 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Priestly Blessing vs. ''Nesiat Kapayim'' 

message: At least here in Germany, the blessing (in German translation of course) occupies a prominent role in Lutheran Christian services. Maybe this should be mentioned and discussed here if somebody knows more about it. -- 212.63.43.180 (talk) 15:31, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Not only in Germany: In many protestant denominations all over the world. Adding the -tag. -- 88.73.102.78 (talk) 21:07, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I continue to think it would be useful to have two separate articles, one on the words and one on the Jewish religious ceremony. Best, --Shirahadasha (talk) 02:49, 11 July 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: It's a standard blessing in English-language Catholic services, particularly the burial mass. Ellsworth (talk) 00:40, 4 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Incomplete tag 

message: As I noted on the Vulcan Salute talk page, the same photo used here of a person's hands is not accurate.  The thumbs should be extended more and touching.  Please correct this. It may be that the photographer "copied the picture" (what picture?) but one should be careful about imitating kabbalah diagrams and such, because "mistakes" were often purposely made by the artists to avoid profaning sacred things.  Rooster613 (talk) 17:04, 3 February 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: The photo provided is very confusing - for one thing I think it obviously has been altered or that the person somehow has his elbows touching (which must be very uncomfortable) ... but also, yes, the two thumbs should be touching each other.  Thumbs touching is a basic requirement of the traditional hand sign.Sussmanbern (talk) 21:05, 15 October 2011 (UTC)
replies: text:  I too noticed that the :File:Kohanim_hands_blessing_photo.jpg photo depicts an incorrect gesture. Maybe a registered user can create and upload a replacement image. --82.170.113.123 (talk) 13:24, 7 February 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: not so accurate photo 

message: Is it appropriate to talk about the influence of the Priestly Blessing in Christianity?  Christian priests and pastors use the same passage to bless, for instance. Crushti (talk) 00:38, 16 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Influence 

message: When viewing this page on a mobile phone (an Android), the hebrew text is backwards. It is written left to right rather than right to left in mobile view.--Wikigold96 (talk) 16:50, 6 April 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: It's the same on my phone, however I think it's a problem with the Android browser; there's little we can do here to fix that. -- Lindert (talk) 20:06, 6 April 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't know because it's backwards in the Wikipedia app on my phone, too (running Droid, Gingerbread) --Wikigold96 (talk) 20:20, 30 May 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Mobile 

message: Should something be said about the tradition of arm position? That is, when making the blessing in the separate-arm position instead of the thumbs-together in front position, the arms should be raised only as far as the ears, so that the hands making the "shin" gesture are not above the head. This was only in the Diaspora. I belief that in Israel it was proper to raise the arms more vertically, with the hands higher than the head, as the Priest did on the Temple Mount. Is anyone able to support this with citation? Perhaps Mishnah? -- PraeceptorIP (talk) 16:01, 29 June 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Arm position 

message: Would anyone like to add Bob Dylan's Forever Young to the Popular Culture section? 
"1973’s “Forever Young” is obviously inspired by the Birkat Kohanim" 
http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/249338/with-new-album-released-time-to-grapple-with-dylans-christian-period
"May you grow up to be righteous, may you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth and see the light surrounding you.
May you always be courageous, stand upright and be strong,
and may you stay forever young.
Forever Young 
Bob Dylan’s lyrics aren’t taken from this week's parasha, Naso, although they seem to echo the ideas of the central-piece of the parasha, the priestly blessing in Numbers 6, vs 24 to 26. This blessing is probably familiar to you, as it is used by some communities at the end of the Shabbat morning service, and is the liturgy used in Birkat Kohanim, the duchanen ritual, which is performed by some communities on Yom Kippur in the Diaspora and throughout the year in Israel." 
http://limmud.org/publications/tasteoflimmud/5771/Naso/
EDLIS Café  13:14, 13 November 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Popular Culture Addition?  

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thread_title:  External links modified (January 2018) 

message: *   *   *   Commentary on the Priestly Blessing   *   *   *
	The Priestly Blessing is limited to communal recitation. Grammatically expressed in the singular, the Priestly Blessing is in actuality a collective singular encompassing the whole people of Israel. Its twice daily inclusion in the Amidah liturgy parallels the Temple’s twice daily sacrifices and further validates its linkage with the defunct Temple Service. Thus, the Amidah’s inclusion of the Priestly Blessing maintains an image of Temple service beyond the time of its existence.
	Considered one of our liturgy’s most ancient formulations, it’s structured in a pattern of increasing complexity. It contains three words in the first strophe; five in the second; and seven in the third.  Long before our modern liturgy was adopted and well before the Amidah had been woven into the warf and woof of other prayers, the congregation was dismissed with this blessing.   
	Traditionally, those who trace their patrilineal lineage to the priestly tribe (i.e. – kohanim) recite the Priestly Blessing in a ceremonial way whenever the Amidah is repeated by the prayer leader – a practice traceable back to Temple Days.  Covered by their tallit (ritual prayer shawls), the kohanim stand facing the congregation. With arms extended to emulate Aaron at the dedication of the Tent of Meeting, the fingers on both hands are held to form the letter “shin” – the first letter Shaddai, one of God’s names.     [If no kohanim are present, the prayer leader pronounces the blessing.]  
	Beyond the simple (yet difficult to attain) beauty of the Priestly Benediction’s Pshat (simple, or surface) meaning of peace, the ritual details of the Priestly Blessing also connote a mystical dimension. Having the kohanim cover their faces and raise their fingers as just described is connected with the idea that, though physically hidden from mankind,  God’s presence ‘shines out’ during the ceremony; that His presence emanates from between the symbolically-spread fingers like light “through the lattices” illuminating our lives and brightening dark places.   
	At first blush, the idea of priests as an intercessory conduit for God’s blessings seems alien to Judaism which defines each congregant’s having an egalitarian status before God and a direct personal relationship with God.  As the Priestly Blessing is considered by some as the most ancient of our prayers, some ascribe the Priestly Blessing an amended derivation of an as yet unknown Canaanite prayer.  
	R. Scherman’s notes to Torah portion Nasso (Numbers (6:27) affirm that it is God, not the Kohanim, who is blessing the congregation:
                                   “Let them place My name upon the children of Israel,
                                                 And I shall bless them.”    
The Kohanim, explained Dr. Hertz, were “merely the channel through which the blessing was conveyed to the Israelites.”  
	The liturgical presentation of the Priestly Blessing emerged over time. Originally present only in the Temple, by the first century CE it was also performed in synagogues, with the ritual varying slightly to distinguish between its presentation in our holiest site and peripheral venues. In the Temple it was recited without interruption while it was delivered as three separate blessings in synagogue settings with the congregational response, “Amen” marking each blessing. In the Temple, the tetragrammaton was used, but not in synagogues.   
	It was after the Temple’s destruction that the Priestly Blessing morphed into an element within the Amidah. Elbogen explained that not only were the kohanim deprived of their traditional role as Temple priests, but that R. Yohanon ben Zakkai established new rules for their functioning. Among these, the kohanim were obliged to:
	                  * remove their shoes and wash their hands in preparation for the birkat kohanim; 
	                  * say a pre-blessing before reciting the three-fold benediction; and 
	                  * pray silently when approaching and leaving their position before the congregation.   
	In generations following the Temple’s destruction as kohanim no longer functioned as priests, but lapsed into ordinary citizens, the pronouncement of the three-fold blessing by the prayer leader, not necessarily himself a kohan, also emerged.   
	The structure of the Priestly Blessing revolves around units of three. Both the Priestly Blessing and the 19th benediction consist of three strophes with five terms in common: 
                                “blessing,” “light,” “countenance,” “grace,” and “peace.”
In each of the three strophes, the tetragrammaton appears as the second word and serves as the subject of the opening verb.
	Before going on to a discussion of the 19th benediction itself, a brief word on the congregational response to each of the three Birkat Kohanim blessings:
                                        Kein y’hi ratzon.    -   So may it be His will.
	When the Priestly Benediction was incorporated from a stand-alone 3-part blessing into the Amidah’s 19th benediction, it’s uniqueness was recognized an additional congregational response. Rather than the usual “Amen” that follows many blessings (e.g. - morning blessings a/k/a birkat hashachar), following each of the three priestly blessings we add “So may it be His will.”  Why do we add this phrase here?
	By itself, “Amen” is used following a Bracha to confirm one’s belief in the statement.  In the case of the Priestly Blessing, says Sperling, the three-fold blessing is prefaced with our request that God bless us, “as pronounced upon this congregation.”  Accordingly, we insert "kein y'hi ratzon", meaning "we, too, ask of Him (yitbarach) that He do so, and so should be His will (yitbarach).  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.153.40.71 (talk) 14:36, 22 May 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Historical/Theological History of the Priestly Blessing 

message: "The triple invocation of YHWH in the three verses gave rise to various interpretations, which connect them to the three Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), or to three attributes of God: Mercy, Courage, and Glory."
In what religion? Seems to be a rather Christian interpretation, if anything. God is brave?!! Isaac is (goes to be sacrificed), but not God. And how is Jacob the incarnation of glory? Or does it jump back and forth: once it's an attribute of God in his actions towards a biblical character (mercy, glory), and once the attribute of that character himself (mercy??, courage)? (Who actually does "mercy" refer here to, God or Abraham?) It's unsourced, so cannot be checked. Arminden (talk) 12:20, 17 July 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: These are all good questions, in my view too. If they can't get explained, clarified, and/or sourced somehow, maybe they should be removed. Thank you, warshy (¥¥) 19:52, 17 July 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Unsourced, illogical & confusing interpretation