A separate census for the Levites was taken from the families of Gershon, Kehoss, and Merari. There were 8580 men between the ages of thirty and fifty ready for Temple service. All lepers were sent out of the camp to three locations.

Four laws involving the kohen were presented:

1. If a person confessed to wrongfully keeping his neighbor’s property, he had to add one fifth to the original amount and also bring a guilt offering as atonement. If the owner died and left no heirs, the payment was made to the kohen.

2. A husband who suspected his wife of adultery should present his complaint to the kohen who would prepare a mixture of Holy water and Mishkan dust. The wife was made to swear that if she was guilty, then she would suffer harmful effects upon drinking the mixture. This was called “the water of bitterness”. The words of the oath were written on a scroll and were blotted out in the water.

3. The Nazir was a person who voluntarily agreed to abstain from wine, needed to let his hair grow long, and totally devote himself to the service of G-d. A sacrifice of atonement was also required since he was abstaining from things allowed by the Torah.

4. The kohanim were instructed to bless the people using a prescribed formula and ritual (nesias kapaim).

The Mishkan was dedicated in the thirteenth month after leaving Egypt and all of the Princes of Israel, from each of the twelve tribes, brought gifts. The Levites and Priests were excluded from this procession. At the end of the parsha, the Torah list all of the gifts brought by the Princes of the twelve tribes: “This was the dedication offering of the altar, in the day when it was anointed by the Princes of Israel; silver dishes twelve, silver basins twelve, golden pans twelve…” Every prince brought exactly the same gift for the altar dedication. Complete uniformity was the impression. And yet, G-d accepted each of them. What is the Torah trying to teach us by listing all of this? We learn, say the sages, that even though all of the gifts were exactly the same, each individual brought them with their own unique style and intention. This was worth more to G-d than the silver and gold. This teaches us that even when we pray, and all recite the same formula, each person feels the prayer differently. Each person brings to the prayer, their own unique kavannah to the fixed recitation (keva).

The Talmud writes that when we die, we will be asked to give an accounting of all that we accomplished; how many mitzvos, how much Torah study, how many good deeds, were we honest in business, and did we give Tzedakah. We won’t be asked, “Why weren’t you more like Moses and Aaron?” We will be asked, “Why weren’t you more like you?” In other words, “Why didn’t you live up to your full potential?” The mishnah, in Pirke Avot writes: “You are not expected to complete the job, but neither are you free to desist from it.” The mishnah means that there is a lifetime of work ahead us in the area of spirituality. It may seem endless in the amount of study and mitzvah performance we can engage in. G-d does not expect you to accomplish everything. However, being complacent or stagnant is not answer either. We must always keep striving for higher levels of performance, study, and spiritual enlightenment. We may have small goals in mind, but the main goal, is the journey itself!

In the Book of Koheles (Ecclesiastes), King Solomon writes: “There is no better means of approaching G-d than prayer, for in the very hour that Israel prays and praises G-d, lifting their eyes and hearts toward heaven, the Holy One, Blessed be He, looks down upon them, embraces them, and is overjoyed to hear their voices.”

Prayer has been called a “service of the heart”. Since the destruction of the Second Temple, prayer, synagogue service, and deeds of lovingkindness (gemilut chassadim), have replaced the rituals and offerings of that long ago era. We each pray in our own unique way.

There is a story about a Rebbe who was once chanting the Hineni prayer on Yom Kippur and felt that it had a more uplifting effect than usual. He scanned the congregation afterwards and noticed a poor man sitting way in the back. He hadn’t recognized the man before. He approached him and noticed that he wasn’t holding a machzor. The man replied that he couldn’t read and never learned how to pray. Still, on the Holiest day of year, he wanted to pray to the Almighty. But all he could recite was the alef beis. So he spoke to G-d and said, “Lord, I am a poor illiterate man. I feel that I have been honest in my dealings with people, but I can’t read Hebrew and I don’t know how to pray. So I will recite the alef beis over and over again, with all of my heart, and maybe You can fashion an appropriate prayer from the letters.” With that, the Rebbe embraced the man, kissed him on the cheeks, and declared, “Here is one who showed great kavannah in his simple prayers. Now I know that the Heavenly gates were opened for us and all of our prayers will be answered by G-d.

The blessing of the kohanim is called the “birchat kohanim” or the“nesias kapaim” (which means the raising of the hands). The kohanim raise their hands, and separate their fingers, forming a V-shaped pattern. If you recall the television show “Star Trek”, the Vulcan Science Officer, Mr. Spock (Played by actor Leonard Nimoy who grew up as an Orthodox Jew) displayed this same hand gesture. In fact, Nimoy recalls that he designed this Vulcan salute from his memories as a child observing the kohanim while they “duchanned”. A “duchan” is just another word for a platform (like a bima) and so, the custom became to call the priestly blessing, “duchanning”.

When the kohanim place their open hands together, it appears as through they are peering through the windows of the Temple, to bless the congregation. They begin by facing the ark during the chazon’s repletition of the musaf Amidah, when the chazon calls the kohanim, they turn around, and have their heads covered with their talit. The congregation is instructed to bow their heads as they are blessed. Any kohen, regardless of their level of observance, can participate in the act of duchanning.

There are three blessings in the formula: “May the Lord bless you and guard you. May the Lord turn his face toward you and be gracious. May the Lord lift up his countenance to you and grant you peace.” The entire blessing consists of fifteen Hebrew words. This alludes to the name of G-d (yud-hay), which has a numerical equivalent (gematria) of fifteen. The first blessing contains three Hebrew words, the second contains five Hebrew words, and the third blessing, contains seven words (in a progression of 3-5-7).

The first blessing, with three words, requests G-d’s blessing. This alludes to the blessing given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. G-d not only blessed them, but also watched over them. Why this double intent? Isn’t G-d’s blessing enough? Imagine yourself giving permission (i.e. your blessing) to your children to go outside and play. By doing so, you cannot be sure that they will stay out of mischief and harm. You also need to watch over them. The same is true for G-d. He may bless us (with health and wealth), but we still need for Him to watch over us at all times, like a loving parent.

The second blessing contains five words. This alludes to the Torah. When someone turns their face towards you (most chumashim translate this verse as “May G-d’s face shine upon you”), it is a sign of friendliness. You do not greet someone by turning away from him. The great Talmudic sage Shammai, says “Greet everyone with a friendly face”. Since we are to emulate G-d (G-d doesn’t really have a “face”; this is just another example of the Torah using anthropomorphic language. Remember, the sages say that the Torah speaks “in the language of Man”), we should follow in His ways. Since G-d shows a kind face to us (so to speak), so should we be kind to our fellow.

The word used for face is panav, spelled with an extra letter yud. This alludes to the divine component in greeting your neighbor with a smile. The Torah was given by G-d in His graciousness. It teaches us all of the mishpotim and chukim that we need to know in order to live as a Nation. Just as G-d has been gracious to us, so too, should we, be gracious to others. King Solomon writes in Mishlei(Proverbs): “Better off is the poor man who follows the straight path(of righteousness), than the rich man who is depraved”. He also said: “One man gives freely and grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give and only suffers want.”

The last blessing contains seven words. This alludes to the seven days of the week. The last part of the blessing asks for G-d to grant us peace. This is the peace of the Shabbos. We are commanded to both guard (shomer) and remember (zachor) the Shabbos. Remembering involves a conscious reminder while guarding involves more responsibility. A shomer has to actively watch what has been deposited with him. We have been given the gift of Shabbos. It is our duty to act like shom’rim and guard it, each to the best of his/her ability. Observe what you can, but do it with all of your heart and strength. We pray for G-d to lift up his countenance. This alludes to G-d withholding his anger. In Bereishis, we read how Cain was upset and angry. He had his face downcast. If one raises his face (countenance), then it implies that his anger has subsided.

When the entire blessing is recited, we are reminded of all that G-d has done for us and all that we can do for Him. What does G-d expect from us? As the prophet writes: “And what does the Lord expect from you? To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly in the ways of G-d”. The total gematria in all three blessings adds up to 2718. This has a digit sum of eighteen (which spells chai; life). When the kohanim bless the people, they are granting them spiritual life by fulfilling a divine commandment.

As agents of G-d, the kohanim acted as teachers, doctors, and ritual performers. In a sense, they provide the lens (through the opening in their hands) through which G-d watches over His people. The fingers are separated and joined by the thumbs forming a triangle. Engineers know that a triangle is one of the strongest shapes. It supports itself against both tension and compression. When the separate elements of Judaism are brought together in unity, when a Kohen, Levite, and Yisroel, are brought together in prayer, in spiritual unity, nothing is stronger than this eternal triangle. As a kohen, I pray that the blessings of the Lord be upon each of you and your friends and family also.

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