Table Talk

In the beginning of Parashat Naso, God tells Moses to count some of the Levite males between 30 to 50 years, and then he assigns them specific duties in the Mishkan, or Tabernacle.

In this parasha we also learn about the blessing the Kohanim used to bless B’nei Yisrael. This blessing is called Birkat HaKohanim.

Today, we recite this blessing every Friday night at Shabbat dinner when parents bless their children with these famous words:

יְבָרֶכְךָ ה’ וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ

יָאֵר ה’ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ

יִשָּׂא ה’ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם

Yevarechecha Hashem VeYishmerecha

Ya'er Hashem Panav Eleycha ViChoneka

Yisa Hashem Panav Eleycha V'Yasem Lecha Shalom

May God bless you and keep you. May God shine light on you and be gracious to you. May God turn toward you and grant you peace.

Every Friday night before Shabbat dinner my Dad blesses me with the Birkat Kohanim prayer. He puts two hands on my head as well as my siblings, and blesses me with this bracha. I think it is very meaningful that every week I have somebody very special to me, my Dad, asking Hashem to bless me and asking Hashem to give me a great life. When I grow up I want to do the same, to bless my family so that they have a good life and they are also blessed by Hashem like my family.

This parasha also deals with many laws. One of them is that if you steal money or don’t pay someone for work they have done, you are “committing treachery toward Hashem,” and so not only do you have to pay them back but you also have to add ⅕ to it. For example, if you steal 10 dollars from someone, you have to pay back 12 dollars as a penalty. That makes sense. But if you are stealing from a person then why does the Torah say you are sinning against Hashem?A simple answer is that you are hurting one of Hashem’s creations. But I think it is more than that.I think Hashem is upset because when you steal you are also stealing from Hashem. By stealing you are saying you don’t believe in Hashem or that you don’t care. That is why the commandment not to steal is in the Ten Commandments. But we know that everything comes from Hashem, so when you steal you are insulting Hashem as well. That is why the Torah tells us that to be forgiven for stealing you have to ask forgiveness from both Hashem and from the person you robbed.

In this parsha we learned about blessings. We feel that we have been so blessed to be able to grow up at Lehrman since we were babies. All of us will miss Lehrman so much.

Thank you and Shabbat Shalom!