Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim)

The priestly blessing empowers us to make a three-step climb.

The chazzan reaches the moment, the Kohanim turn around, lower their prayer shawls over their eyes, raise their hands towards the crowd and the Priestly Blessing begins. What an amazing religion we have where certain people have been specifically assigned...

In commenting on one of the blessings in the Priestly Benediction, the Talmud reveals an important aspect of the Jew's attitude to Judaism.

The kohanim remove their shoes and extend their hands, fingers parted and palms stretched outwards; the congregation hide their faces under their prayer shawls. What is the deeper significance of this celestial ritual?

At 176 verses, Naso is the longest of the parshiyot. Yet one of its most moving passages, and the one that has had the greatest impact over the course ofNaso is the longest parshiyot history, is very short indeed and is known by almost every Jew, namely t...

One of the Kohanim in our synagogue this past Shavuot is not a regular attendee. That’s alright, of course; every Jew is welcome in shul, no matter how often you visit and no one is marking attendance. He’d brought his family for the reading of the 10 Com...

Whether as a kohen blessing the congregation, or any person studying Torah, or indeed carrying out any mitzvah, G‑d responds, at every moment of life...

Question and answers on events in the Parshah, complete with the source verses, so you can see the question inside the text. For Shabbat table discussion

The L‑rd spoke to Moses saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: This is how you shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them: "May the L‑rd bless you and watch over you. May the L‑rd cause His countenance to shine to you and favor you. May the ...