Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
What's going on here? מַה זֶה?
Our parashah introduces בִּרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים (Birkat Kohanim), the special formula for Aharon and his descendants to use for blessing Benei Yisrael. At the end of the section about Birkat Kohanim, God says: וְשָׂמוּ אֶת־שְׁמִי עַל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲנִי אֲבָרְכֵם (And the kohanim will place My name upon Benei Yisrael, and I will bless them).
Who is “them”? Who will God bless?
It’s a debate in the Talmud (Hullin 49a).
Rabbi Yishmael says “them” means the kohanim. God blesses them directly, and then they pass that along to Benei Yisrael.
Rabbi Akiva says “them” means Benei Yisrael.Benei Yisrael’s blessing doesn’t actually come from the kohanim. They ask God to bless Benei Yisrael, and God blesses Benei Yisrael directly.
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