The Kohen as a channel for Hashem’s blessings

The Kohanim do not merely give a blessing of their own. Rather, they serve as a channel for Hashem’s blessings. The Torah says, “Va’ani avarchem” (“And I will bless them).” Hashem is the One Who blesses, but this is on condition that the Kohanim have in mind to transmit the blessings with love and compassion (see Rambam, Hilchos Tefillah 15:7). We can compare this to electricity: just as a wire must be free of resistance in order for the current to flow, so must the Kohen must be connected to the trait of Divine love in order for the blessing to pass through him to the people.

The blessing of parents: a tradition of love

Just as the Kohanim bless the people, parents customarily bless their children every erev Shabbos with the words: “May Elokim make you like Ephraim and Menasheh” (for boys), or “May Elokim make you like Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah” (for girls). “May Hashem bless you and guard you. May Hashem shine His face toward you and show you grace. May Hashem lift His face toward you and grant you peace.”

Although they are not Kohanim, parents are empowered to use these words because their love and compassion for their children carry the force of the love required of the Kohanim. A parent does not need to be taught to love his child. This love is implanted within him, enabling him to serve as a channel for Hashem’s blessing to his children, the children of Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

The requirement of “be’ahavah,” “with love,” in Birchas Kohanim is rooted in the very essence of the Kohen’s role: to unite Am Yisrael with Hashem through love and compassion. This tradition, whose root is in Aharon HaKohen, teaches that the power of blessing is actualized only when it is given with genuine love.

“Bless us, our Father, all of us as one, with the light of Your countenance.” Amen, may it be His will.

II

The connection between Birchas Kohanim and the Nesiim

We will now explain why the section of Birchas Kohanim in our parashah precedes the section of the korbanos of the nesiim. Rashi in Parashas Shemini (Vayikra 9:22) explains that Aharon HaKohen recited Birchas Kohanim at the inauguration of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), as it says, “Aharon lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them.” Rashi specifies that Aharon used the three verses of Birchas Kohanim: “Yevarechecha,” “Ya’er,” and “Yisa,” just as they appear here in our parashah.

But this is hard to understand. Why does the section of Birchas Kohanim appear specifically in Sefer Bamidbar? And why is it placed immediately next to the section of the nesiim? The nesiim brought their korbanos at the inauguration of the Mishkan, beginning on the first of Nissan, in the second year after Yetzias Mitzrayim (the Exodus of Egypt). Sefer Bamidbar opens one month later. Why does the Torah return to this event? And in particular, from all the mitzvos that were present during the days of the inauguration of the Mishkan, why was the mitzvah of Birchas Kohanim specifically chosen to precede this section here? After all, this mitzvah is not limited to the inauguration of the Mishkan but applies for all generations! What lesson emerges from this juxtaposition?

The eternal message of Birchas Kohanim

As we said, Birchas Kohanim is a mitzvah performed by the Kohanim with love, in the manner of Aharon HaKohen, who possessed a special power to unite the Jewish people and bring peace among them. Aharon carried the choshen upon his heart, with the Shem Hameforash and the Urim and Tumim, and he was constantly performing something akin to Birchas Kohanim: blessing all of the Bnei Yisroel, praying for their unity and peace, and for their connection to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The final three words of Birchas Kohanim, “veyasem lecha shalom,” “and He shall grant you peace,” are Hashem’s gift of peace.

Peace is what unites us. In Shemoneh Esreh, after Birchas Kohanim, we continue this theme in the final blessing: “Grant peace, goodness and blessing, life, grace, kindness, and mercy, upon us and upon all Israel Your people. Bless us, our Father, all of us as one, with the light of Your countenance.” And the blessing concludes with peace: “Blessed are You, Hashem, Who blesses His people Israel with peace.” We conclude with: “He Who makes peace in His heights, may He make peace upon us and upon all Israel, and say, ‘Amen.’”

The connection to the korbanos of the Nesiim

Peace is the central message of Birchas Kohanim, which unites us as a people. It seems to me that Birchas Kohanim at the inauguration of the Mishkan served this very purpose: to unite the shevatim of Israel. Only through this were Bnei Yisrael spiritually prepared to receive the Shechinah. Indeed, after Aharon’s blessings, and then an additional blessing from Moshe and Aharon together, the Shechinah descended and a fire consumed the korbanos that Aharon had first offered. From this, the blessings of Aharon, the nesiim, as representatives of all Israel, were inspired. They were united and prepared for the inauguration of the Mishkan through the bringing of their beautiful gifts representing the twelve shevatim, as we will see in the following section.

III

The deeper meaning of “This is the inauguration of the Mizbe’ach (Altar)”

Regarding the matter of why the Torah details the korban of each nasi individually and afterward summarized them all together, we will first explain the following  according to the approach taken by our sages throughout the generations, beginning with the words of Chazal in the Midrashim, continuing through the Rishonim such as the Ramban, and on through Acharonim such as the Chidushei Harim:

The reason the Torah details the korbanos of each individual nasi, even though the korbanos were completely identical, is to inform us that each one brought his korban with his own unique intention, not as an imitation of the one who brought before him. In my humble opinion, here too, measure for measure, Hakadosh Baruch Hu showed each one a unique love by designating words of Torah for each of them individually. And the fact that the Torah then returns and combines them all together is not only to say that they were all beloved and important before Hashem; rather, in my humble opinion, it goes far beyond this. It was a kind of rectification of the unification of the stones, where each stone declared, “Upon me shall the tzadik (righteous one) rest his head.” As we explained in Parashas Vayeitzei regarding the stones that Yaakov Avinu placed around his head, these stones alluded to the shivtei Kah (the tribes of G-d, the tribes of Israel), who were separate, but then elevated themselves to total participation—mirroring the unity of Bnei Yisrael, who share only one mizbe’ach. So too here, the nesiim, each representing his shevet, certainly wanted on behalf of his shevet that “upon me the Tzadik of the world should rest His Shechinah (Divine Presence).” But Hakadosh Baruch Hu rests His Shechinah only when they are included within one another in complete unity, in the secret of “avanim” (“stones”), which can be read as “a-banim,” meaning “achdus habanim,” the “unity of the children” around one mizbe’ach. Only then is it “this is the inauguration of the mizbe’ach,” through the mutual inclusion of all the korbanos and donations of the nesiim.

The concept of “Zos Chanukah”

To understand the concept of Zos Chanukah on which, as is known, we read in the Torah the combined total of all the korbanos of the nesiim, and after davening, there is also a special mitzvah, brought as halachah (Torah law)  in the Tur and Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 677, to burn in one bonfire all the wicks and oils that remained from all eight nights:

We will preface with the famous question of the Beis Yosef: why did Chazal establish Chanukah for eight days? Since there was enough oil for one day, the miracle lasted only seven days!? It seems to me that although there was enough oil naturally for one day, within that very “natural order” there was the constant miracle of the ner hamaravi (the western lamp), which served as testimony to all who entered the world that the Shechinah resides among the Jewish people. But because this miracle was constant, and we became accustomed to it, we are no longer moved by it, nor by all the miracles for which we thank Hashem when we say, “for Your miracles that are with us every day.” Therefore, Chazal established Chanukah for eight days in remembrance of all the miracles associated with the menorah: the first seven days of Chanukah correspond to the miracle where they lacked sufficient oil by natural means, and the eighth day corresponds to the permanent miracle of the ner hamaravi.

The concept of the total integration on the eighth day is that we must include the feeling of wonder expressed in “Al Hanisim” for all types and forms of miracles: the revealed miracles that appear only rarely, the constant miracles to which we have become accustomed, and the hidden miracles. In this way, the feeling of wonder we experience whenever we recite “Al Hanisim” regarding “those days” will also be felt by us “at this time” throughout the entire year, when we say, “and for Your miracles that are with us every day, and for Your wonders and Your goodness at every moment.” Thus, following Chanukah, we extend the thanksgiving for miracles into “this time” – i.e., for the fact that the Shechinah rests among the Bnei Yisrael constantly, every day, at every moment, and at every hour.

Maharal Tzintz

Parashas Naso

It is stated in our parashah:

וְאִם־אֵין לָאִישׁ גֹּאֵל לְהָשִׁיב הָאָשָׁם אֵלָיו הָאָשָׁם הַמּוּשָׁב לַה‘ לַכֹּהֵן׃ – “But if the man has no redeemer to whom the debt may be returned, the returned debt shall be Hashem’s, for the Kohen” (Bamidbar 5:8). Rabbeinu, the Maharal Tzintz, explains that the verse alludes to fundamentals of emunah (faith) – the hashgachah pratis (Divine providence) of Hakadosh Baruch Hu over all Creation. Before explaining the matter, we will briefly review the halachos of gezel ha’ger (stealing from a convert):

The halachos of gezel ha’ger

a. Robbing a ger (convert) who died: If a person stole money from a ger tzedek (true convert), and the ger died without heirs, he is exempt from paying the debt, since there is no one to pay.

b. A false oath concerning theft: If a person stole from his fellow and swore that he did not steal, and then admitted that he had sworn falsely, then in order to atone for the false oath, he is, in principle, obligated in three things:

1. Payment of the principal debt: to pay the original amount stolen.
2. An added fifth: to add a fifth to the principal. (For example, if he stole 100 shekels, he adds 25 shekels, paying a total of 125 shekels.
3. A Korban Asham (Guilt Offering): to bring to the Beis Hamikdash a korban called an “Asham Gezeilos.”

This law – that repayment of the debt is given to the Kohanim – is stated explicitly in the verse: “The guilt-payment” – meaning the monetary repayment – “returned to Hashem, to the Kohen.” The unusual wording of the verse is intended to reassure the thief and inform him that his repentance is accepted, even though he is paying the money to the Kohanim rather than to the person from whom he stole.

Rabbeinu explains:

When a person steals from another, the victim will ultimately suffer no actual loss if the thief fails to repay him. This is because Hashem governs the entire world and has the ability to give to each person or withhold from him. Thus, if one person takes from another, Hashem takes from the thief and restores to the victim, for “a person cannot touch that which is prepared for another.”

If so, why is the thief obligated to repay what he stole?

Rabbeinu answers that the purpose of repayment is not that the victim should receive the money. Rather, Hashem desires that we not rely on Him to restore the money on our behalf, but that we ourselves return what we stole. As the Gemara (Sanhedrin 8a) states on the verse, “For judgment belongs to G-d”: thieves are not merely sinning; they’re “troubling” Hashem, so to speak, to restore the stolen items. Therefore, Hashem commands the thief to return the theft himself, as if to say, “Do not trouble Me to restore it — you must return it yourselves.”

Here, however, the verse comes to reassure the one who stole from a convert and later repented, because all of the above applies to an ordinary thief, but in a case where one stole from a convert, and the convert subsequently died, leaving no one to return the stolen items to, Hashem says:

“Do not worry about your atonement. Although you did not personally restore the stolen object to him, I Myself restored to this convert that which was stolen from him. He lost nothing at all.”

At this point, the thief’s obligation is no longer toward the convert. Rather, it is now a debt owed to Hashem, Who, through Divine providence, restored to the convert the money that had been taken from him. Since the debt is now owed to Hashem, He commands that it be given to the Kohanim, and through this it is considered as though the debt to Hashem has been fully repaid.

This is the meaning of the words: “The guilt-payment returned to Hashem — to the Kohen!” Since Hashem directs the world and grants each individual his allotted portion, the debt once owed to the convert has now become a debt owed to Hashem. The thief must repay this debt to the Kohen, and in doing so, he truly fulfills his obligation and merits complete and genuine atonement.