Weekly Message

28 May 2026

In this week’s parashah, Naso, we learnthe origin of the priestly blessing (birkat kohanim), which is part of our liturgy to this day.  God instructs Moses to teach Aaron and his sons: “In this way you shall bless the children of Israel. . . ‘May YHWH bless you and keep you, may YHWH cause his face to shine on you and be kind to you, may YHWH raise his face to you and grant you peace.'”

The Mudzhitzer Rebbe interpreted the introductory words — “In this way you shall bless the children of Israel” — to mean that the priests were to bless all the children of Israel, without singling out the great or distinguished. For a blessing to do its work, to bring God’s presence into the world, it must be inclusive. It must express the recognition that all of us are images of God. We receive God’s presence together, or not at all. A blessing that excludes is not a blessing, because a God who excludes is not God.

May our community always be a place of true blessing.