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Numbers 4:21 - 7:89 This study of the weekly parsha is dedicated in the loving memory of Mrs. Ethel Sakash Belk, my mother, may she rest in peace. Story: A Shabbos Visit And what was so unique about this particular Shabbos? Nothing! The melodious words, "Bawr Kee - Naph Shee Ehs Hashem" erupted from this Shabbos Shool Chawn just about every Shabbos. The same people. The same a capella harmony! Week after week almost like clockwork . Dear readers, that is part of the blessings that flow out into the community from the Shabbos table. It is so very wonderful... We venture to the evening before, Erev Shabbos, a home across and down the street. The big front door is wide open. The Shabbos Shool Chawn is in plain view from the street. The Tahtee {father} reaches over and picks up his youngest child. Gently he places his right hand on the child's forehead and softly the words ring out, "Yi See Mah Chaw - Eh Loh Keem - Ci Ehf Rah Yeem - Vi Cee Mi Nah Sheh..." "May Hashem make you [my son] like {Yosief's sons] Ephraim and Menashe..." The words continue, "Yi Vaw Reh Chi Chaw - Hashem Vi Yees Mah Reh Chaw" "May Hashem bless you and safeguard you..." The blessing continues as other older children line up in front of their father for his blessing. The father gently passes the youngest child from his arms to the arms of his mother {Emah} who again blesses the child. Each child receives this wonder ful blessing from the youngest to the twenty-three year old, who already has three children of his own. From there we walk several blocks over to
a large bay window where Shabbos lights are glowing brightly.
An older gentleman and his wife are standing by the Shabbos Shool
Chawn. A cup of wine is lifted in his right hand, the words smoothly
flow out like a fine tailored suit, Baw Rooch - Ah Taw - Hashem
- Eh Loh Kay Nu - Meh Lehch - Haw Oh Lawm - Boh Ray - Pi Ree-
Hah Gaw Fehn!" "Blessed are You Hashem, our G-d, King
of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine." The purpose of our tour is to ask one simple question, Have you received your daily blessing? If we were to venture to Yisroel in the morning of any day to any observant shul, towards the conclusion of Shacharis {morning} prayers, we would hear the words of the Kohanim ringing out the priestly blessing for the congregants, similar to the blessing parents say each Erev Shabbos to their children. Blessings are a very large part of Yiddishkeit. Our sages teach that we should follow in the steps of Dovid Ha Melech, {King David} who offered 100 blessings to Hashem each day. Dear readers, Judaism is MUCH about blessing, blessing G-d for food, blessing G-d for children, blessing G-d for fragrances, blessing G-d... So what happens when a person doesn't grow up in an observant family? What happens when a person reaches, say, twenty-six? What have they missed? What's the BIG DEAL? Well, considering leap years and Holy Days, Bar Mitzvahs / Bas Mitzvahs and other great simchas, they have missed out on over 1,000,000 {ONE MILLION} blessings!! STOP and think about this... OVER ONE MILLION BLESSINGS! What a hole!... What a huge, gigantic hole!... So a child who has grown up in an assimilated home or in a home that does not practice offering blessings has been ROBBED OF OVER ONE MILLION BLESSINGS! We read in this week's parsha, "And spoke Hashem to Moshe, saying, 'Speak to Aharon and to [Aharon's] sons, saying {as in "say it often"}: Say this blessing [of Aleph to Sav, meaning this complete blessing] over B'nei Yisroel, repeating to them [Aharon and his sons, what blessing they were to say]: May Hashem bless you and safeguard you! May Hashem cause the countenance [from His face] to shine on you being favorable unto you! May Hashem lift you [with the glory of] His countenance and grant you His peace! And {as My agents/Priests} they {Aharon and his sons} shall bestow [the goodness from Aleph to Sav] upon B'nei Yisroel and I will bless them." [That is, I will agree with their blessing over B'nei Yisroel.] Numbers 6:22-27 So, holy reader, here we read that our Kohanim, our priests, are to bless us. This is in part what I am referring to when I say, 'Have you received your daily blessing?' In other words, every Jew should be living in Eretz Yisroel, attending morning prayers and receiving our daily blessing from the Kohanim as Hashem commanded. This is Hashem's desire for us!! The other part to receiving our daily blessing is living in an atmosphere, in an environment of blessing. My dear, dear readers, there is no way to understand what it is like to miss out on a blessing. And who can comprehend what it is like living in a home devoid of any blessings to G-d? Dear ones, when we raise our children in a less observant lifestyle or in assimilation, G-d forbid, we are denying blessing after blessing. Especially when offering a blessing is so easy. For a Jew, offering a blessing to Hashem or upon our children or over each other should be as natural as drinking a cool, refreshing glass of water on a hot day. My dear one, if you're lost, so to speak, about this blessing business we can help. If you want to learn a few of the most important blessings, JewishPath can bring blessings into your life. Don't expect to learn every blessing in one day but we can place you on the path to blessing. If you would like to join our Blessings for Beginners Class, please click HERE and you will be taken to another page where everything will be explained. You can join at any time... Now for those of us who are more advanced in our observance of blessings, we should also review The Power and Importance of Blessings. Every Jew should be desirous of the daily blessings Hashem intends for us and we must also be careful not to be careless or sloppy with our blessings. Good Shabbos! Dr. Akiva G. Belk JewishPath is a sponsor of B'nai Noach Torah Institute. As a sponsor we are permitted to offer one FREE E-Mail course on a limited basis per individual from BNTI's Introduction Courses. We invite you to visit and choose an E - Mail Intro Course. BNTI offers Intro Courses in Judaism and Spirituality {7 Noaich Laws}. BNTI Responses are NOT AUTO!!
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