Parsha Naso 2023/Lynn Jordan
The Blessing …. (What’s God speaking over you?)
Parsha Naso נשא - “Lift up”
(Numbers/Be-midnar 4:21-7:89)
Written by: Lynn Jordan
“The Blessing” ….
(What’s God speaking over you?)
In this week’s Torah portion, Parsha Naso,
“God spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them:
The Lord bless you and keep you!
The Lord cause His face to shine upon you
and be gracious to you.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you.
And give you peace.
And they shall write My name upon
the children of Israel and I shall
bless them.”
At the culmination of Shabbat services most rabbis recite the above
Priestly Blessing of Numbers 6:24-27
over the congregants.
This is also known as The Blessing, Birkat Kohanim or Aaronic Blessing.
With lifted hands, fingers connected to form the Hebrew letter shin “ש” (aka letter “w.”), palms outstretched and facing downwards at shoulder length, with the right hand slightly higher than the left, beneath the Tallit, rabbis speak this blessing over the attendees. This is called “Nesi-at Kapayim” or
“the raising of the hands.”
The letter shin means El Shaddai,
(God Almighty.)
— What a great teaching point and reminder of who covers and keeps us!
Perhaps, hand-raising started with Moses when he stood at the top of the hill, with hands uplifted, while holding the rod of God, during the battles between the Israelites and Amalek. When he raised his hands, the Israelites triumphed. When he let down his hands to rest, Amalek prevailed. (Exodus 17:11)
Additionally, it is a traditional, Jewish custom for parents to speak the Birkat Kohanim (the Priestly Blessing) over their children every Friday evening during Shabbat, as well as festival holidays.
HERE IS THE BREAKDOWN OF
THE PRIESTLY BLESSING….
What is God speaking over you?
God devised this prayer Himself. This is how you bless the people of Israel:
He promises the blessings of
Protection
Favor
Grace
Peace
Kingship
The name Lord (or Adonai/God) is spoken three (3) times as a reminder that God Almighty, He, and only He, is the Supreme Ruler. It is to remind us of His character and covenant with us.
God bless you and keep you….
Baruch (b-r-k) is a Hebrew word that means to kneel or bless. This is also related to the Hebrew word “bracha,” meaning blessing.
God blesses us with material things like wealth, health and physical possessions.
But, He also blesses us with spiritual blessings, such as the Ruach HaKodesh
(the Holy Spirit), eternal life, redemption, forgiveness, love, strength, liberty, wisdom, revelation, gifts, fruit, sight, hearing. The list runs the gamut.
– And, what is the gathering of things, without being shielded, protected and safeguarded?
Shamar is the Hebrew word that means to keep, to guard, have charge of, to protect, be a watchman.
Adonai is speaking that He’s going to Shamar us, to guard us, to shield us. Protect us. Be a Watchman over us.
“The Lord is my strength and my shield.”
(Psalms 28:7)
“The word of the Lord is tried. He is a buckler to all of them that trust in Him.”
(Psalms 18:30)
“The way of the Lord is perfect.
The word of the Lord is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”
(2 Samuel 22:31)
“The way of the Lord is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure;
He is a shield to all who seek refuge in Him.”
(Psalms 18:31)
Two verbatim scriptures, cross-referenced. God does not contradict His Word.
“He shall cover thee with His feathers and under His wings shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”
(Psalms 91:4)
When we align ourselves to Truth, Truth is the Word of God. When we submit ourselves to Truth, rather than submitting to anything contrary to His Word, the Truth rebukes the adversary. And, Truth acts as a shield and buckler for us.
A buckler was used in Medieval and Renaissance periods. A buckler is a certain kind of shield that was used as an in-hand, combat weapon. It would deflect the blow of an opponent’s weapons. And, bind the opponent’s arms or hinder his movements.
Face shine upon and be gracious….
This translates to a sign of favor and grace being upon us. Someone who is gracious is one who is kind and courteous, merciful and compassionate. The word “gracious” is derived from Old French in the year 1300 AD, and, was used as “filled with God’s grace.” People would say to the other, you are “filled with God’s grace,” instead of gracious.
12th century Modern French, it was called “gracieux,” derived from the Latin “gratiosus,” meaning enjoying favor; benevolent. “Bene,” meaning good.
God’s goodness is being extended
unto us.
Not, only is God a shield, but He surrounds us with favor as a shield,
“For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.”
(Psalms 5:12)
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
(Psalms 84:11)
With favor upon us, we will be, “.... like a well-watered garden and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”
(Isaiah 58:11)
This is the gracious favor that God speaks and has upon us in this blessing.
Lift up His countenance….
This is similar to favor. When God bestows His favor, He is raising His head.
Torah/the Bible refers to God in anthropomorphic terms. The prefix “anthro,” meaning, man/human; “morphic,” meaning, form/shape. Torah refers to God as having human characteristics. He is depicted as having a face.
When He lifts up His face, He is lifting up His favor towards us.
There is a woman named Esther in the
Old Testament. Out of all of the women, all of the virgins in the kingdom that
King Ahauserus could have chosen, he chose Esther. The king loved her more than all of the women. And, she found favor and grace in his sight, above everyone else. So much favor that the king put the royal crown on her head. And, made her Queen Esther.
— Who gave her this favor?
God did, of course!
Queen Esther was supplanted there by God. She was instrumental in saving the Israelites. She was instrumental in saving a nation from being annihilated.
God grant you peace….
Grant, used as a verb, means to bestow, transfer, permit, to assure, favor.
Syim (Heb. word) for grant. This means to put, to place, set, to appoint.
Shalom is ….
Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace.
Peace means calm, tranquil, no danger.
But, from the Hebrew perspective, peace means whole, wholeness, completeness.
Peace can be used idiomatically when spoken as a greeting: “Hello.” “Goodbye.”
Adonai is putting, transferring, bestowing peace, wholeness in us, completely, holistically:
Mind
Body
Soul
Spirit
Emotions
Intellect
The complete package of us.
Wholeness, completeness does not come by the things in which we do or engage ourselves. Real wholeness begins when we accept Christ into our hearts as our Lord and Savior.
He is the Be-all and End-all. Aleph and Tav. Alpha and Omega. The great High Priest. The Highest Ruler over every principality and power. He is the Living God of Glory. Besides Him, there is no other. He is the only One who was, is and is to come.
In Him, the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells. And, in Him, you have been made complete. Shalom.
God will place His name upon Israel….
Some people believe that this refers to people who wore amulets around their necks with the name of the Lord inscribed or written on them. An amulet is an ornament or small piece of jewelry that’s worn that was thought to give protection from danger, evil or disease.
Back in 1979, archeologist, Gabriel Barkay discovered in a burial cave in Jerusalem, two small silver scrolls, no larger than the size or diameter of a U.S. quarter. Inside of the two, silver scrolls were ancient Hebrew script with a slightly shorter version of the Priestly Blessing, written in them.
It’s said that these two, silver amulets are older than the Dead Sea Scrolls which are estimated at being written between 150 BC and 70 AD.
They shall write My name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them….
The Hebrew, actually, reads, “....and I will bless you.”
You being used in the plural form as “you all.”
Rabbi Ezra explained that “you” refers to the priests.
The priests bless Israel.
And, God, in turn, blesses the priests.
Shalom.