Parashat Nasso
May 21, 2021
10 Sivan 5781
Parashat Nasso
Numbers 4:21 - 7:89
Dear Friends,
In looking back on what I have written in the past about this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Nasso, I find that I am always drawn to the same part -- the priestly three-fold blessing.
May Adonai bless you and protect you!
May the light of Adonai’s Face shine upon you and be gracious to you!
May Adonai’s bestow God’s favor upon you and grant you peace!
(Numbers 6:22-26)
What lens can I use to shed light on these blessings that are such an integral part of our liturgy that adds to the depth of meaning that they provide?
The best place to begin is with those whom one considers to be one’s teachers. After reading what both Rabbi Shai Held and Rabbi Yitz Greenberg have to say, I have a clearer sense. These phrases are more than just blessings that we have come to bestow upon one another in God’s stead. These blessings give us insight into the nature of blessings, how they are given, and how truly difficult they can be to receive.
Both Rabbi Greenberg and Rabbi Held speak of the importance of love in the transmission of blessings. The priests to whom these blessings are given are told that they must transmit these blessings with love. Where does that love emanate from? Is love something we manufacture through willing it to appear or is it something more mysterious, not something to be taken for granted, something that needs to be made explicit? There are those for whom it is difficult to express love, though they may feel it.
We live in a time where fear, hate and anger appear to surround us. How do we teach about love and what do we say? Is love like an untapped well within each of us? Is love what is meant when we refer to the belief that each of us has a spark of the Divine and that is the love that resides within each of us?
Rabbi Held refers to the fact that, as teachers and parents, we are channels of love -- not the creators, but the transmitters. To think of oneself as a channel of love allows us the incredible realization that there is no end to the love we can bring into the world through our deeds and our actions. The challenge is to find the ways in which love abides within each of us. We can also relate to the truth that love and blessings are not always easy to receive. Those who have suffered, especially those who have suffered greatly, cannot always be open to love even if freely given. The impact of the three fold blessing is perhaps felt most keenly in this situation. In order to feel the love, we must feel safe and protected. In order to be able to receive blessing, we need to be able to feel that which is gracious and kind in the world. Last, when we can access that Divine spark that resides within each of us, we can be granted peace.
The words are easy to say. But to allow blessing to enter in, we must lay aside our fears and anger and recognize the Divine spark that is within each of us: love.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi LInda Shriner-Cahn