BRACHOT

 Oscar Wilde once made an interesting observation when he said "Anybody can sympathize with the suffering of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend's success". 

  To be happy with others achievement and success, is the true test of being made in the image of 

G-D. 

  Too often man faces many dangers; the first is that we may not get what we want, and the second is that we may get what we want. Success surrounds itself with many pitfalls that are often not anticipated, however at all cost we must persevere and move forward.

 Our Parsha this week is Nasoh, wherein we will read of the Birchas Kohanim, the Blessings recited by the Kohanim on different occasions. The opening Bracha is, "May the Lord Bless you and keep you".  The opening words are יברכך הי, May G-D Bless you, and is interpreted to mean, with earthly possessions and the word וישמרך, and keep you. There is a fascinating comment on this Bracha, which states that it means, May Hashem keep these possessions from possessing you. 

   What a fantastic insight, we all too often search for riches and the end result is, we do not possess them, but rather they possess us. This is a terrible indictment of our society, which requires an ever vigilant agenda bringing about a strong moral hashgafa, to ward off some of these prosperity perils. 

   I sense now a greater understanding of the conclusion of the Bracha, 

    וישם לך שלום, for life to be a blissful one, for life to be sensitive, for life to be our glowing force , it needs שלום, a true peace between man and man and more so the individual himself needs to find his true inner peace , which can only come about when Man/Woman are experiencing the Hashraa't Ha-Shechina. In essence, the  Birchas Kohanim, is more than a transmission of Blessing, it is a direct meeting with the Shechinah. 

  What an awesome experience the Priestly Blessings are, it presents an intimate encounter in which we come face to face with the Almighty Himself. In fact the Rambam considers Birchas Kohanim, as a דבר שבקדושה, requiring greater diligence on our part and equally on the part of the Kohanim. 

  In fact our Chazal state, that G-D actually hovers over the fingers of the Kohanim, and as the Kohen stretches forth his fingers over the congregation, it is Hashem Himself pouring forth his Shefah, and His Brachot. 

  How awesome this sounds, but even more how awesome is it for Hashem at that moment in our Tephillos, to be in our midst and telling the Kohanim 

" I will take it from here" and conclude the Bracha, with words of Shalom, a word that signifies Peace  and even more reflects a state of Shlaymut, completeness that only comes at this moment  of Hashraas Hashchena. 

   Let us pray that all our Tephillos, and Brachot are Mekuyam, and that Hashem  will always dwell with us pouring forth his benevolence and his Chesed, in a way that will bring the Mashiach in our time quickly.