A Moment of Courage: Birkat Kohanim – The Aaronic Blessing

From the beginning of this war, every week, Rena and her husband Amichai continue their journey across the country to embrace and comfort bereaved families. Bereavement spares no one. They meet families that are rich and poor, small and large. They visit sprawling homes in villages or moshavim, and at the same time climb to the fifth floor of a tiny apartment. In this challenging journey, they have learned many powerful lessons that Rena shares in this series.

A Unique and Moving Experience

I would like to share an extraordinary experience from one of the condolence visits we were privileged to participate in. We never know in advance where we will end up. We simply get into the car and, during the drive, try to find a family in mourning who could use a warm embrace and a blessing.

We arrived in a city where a soldier had been killed just the previous week. Suddenly, we discovered another family — one whose son had fallen in the war several months ago, and whom we had not yet had the chance to visit.

We approached their home and rang the intercom. The husband answered, deeply moved to hear that we had come all the way from Kiryat Arba. He said his wife would come down shortly and asked us to wait about five minutes.

Indeed, the woman soon arrived, visibly emotional to receive from us a bottle of Hallel wine (‘Wine of Praise,’ named in memory of our daughter Hallel), to hear our story, and to find some comfort.

At a certain point, I suggested that Amichai bless her with the Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing). The woman became even more emotional, sharing that her father was a Cohen, and that this blessing brought her back to her childhood — to the memories of her father’s home, to the feeling of being blessed and protected.

The Birkat Kohanim is indeed a very special blessing, an ancient prayer first recited by Aaron, the first High Priest of Israel, in the wilderness:

“May the Lord bless you and guard you; May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; May the Lord lift up His face toward you and grant you peace.”
(Numbers 6).

Before delivering this blessing, the Kohanim recite an introductory blessing:

“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with the sanctity of Aaron And commanded us to bless His people Israel with love.”

 

The Kohen who lives in our times connects with this ancient blessing and commits to bestow it with love. If the Kohen does not have love in his heart, he cannot truly bless. Love is a complex trait, one that requires constant effort to cultivate.

It is easy to love those who are similar to us, those we naturally accept — but how difficult it is to love the “other,” the stranger, the different.
When the Kohen stands before the congregation, lifts his hands, and searches within himself for love — it is from that inner place that he transmits the blessing to others.

The Talmud teaches (Tractate Chullin): “Rabbi Yishmael said that while the Kohanim bless Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He, blesses the Kohanim. When the Kohen blesses, he loses nothing; on the contrary, he himself is blessed.” When a person gives from their abundance to another, it is precisely this act of giving that fills and enriches them.

We witnessed this reality time and again among the bereaved families — the desire to give, to uplift others, to enrich those around them. It was this spirit of giving that helped raise them up from the depths of grief.

And so, the gratitude of the bereaved mother, who unexpectedly merited the Priestly Blessing — in memory of her fallen soldier son — filled her with deep emotion.
We, too, felt blessed.

Rena Ariel is a Jewish educator, leader, and role model for many in Israel and around the world. She is the mother of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, whose tragic loss to terrorism has further inspired Rena to promote initiatives that emphasize unity, faith, and the sanctity of life in the Land of Israel. Rena can be reached for lectures or visits to Kerem Hallel at yekev.arielbyehuda@gmail.com