The oldest Jewish blessing is known as the Priestly Blessing, or birkat Kohanim, since historically the kohenim were the conduit of the blessing for the Jewish people.
(כג) דַּבֵּ֤ר אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹן֙ וְאֶל־בָּנָ֣יו לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּ֥ה תְבָרְכ֖וּ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אָמ֖וֹר לָהֶֽם׃ {ס}
(כד) יְבָרֶכְךָ֥ יהוה וְיִשְׁמְרֶֽךָ׃ {ס}
(כה) יָאֵ֨ר יהוה ׀ פָּנָ֛יו אֵלֶ֖יךָ וִֽיחֻנֶּֽךָּ׃ {ס}
(כו) יִשָּׂ֨א יהוה ׀ פָּנָיו֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְיָשֵׂ֥ם לְךָ֖ שָׁלֽוֹם׃ {ס}
(כז) וְשָׂמ֥וּ אֶת־שְׁמִ֖י עַל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַאֲנִ֖י אֲבָרְכֵֽם׃ {ס}
(23) Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them:
(24) יהוה bless you and protect you!
(25) יהוה deal kindly and graciously with you!
(26) יהוה bestow [divine] favor upon you and grant you peace! (
27) Thus they shall link My name with the people of Israel, and I will bless them.
At present time, birkat Kohanim is used to bless groups of Jews in two ways:
A. Kohenim will bless the community on holidays in the diaspora and everyday in Israel.
B. Parents bless their children on Friday nights, and often just before Yom Kippur begins.
יברכך. שֶׁיִּתְבָּרְכוּ נְכָסֶיךָ:
יברכך May God bless you — that your property may increase (Sifrei Bamidbar 40).
וישמרך. שֶׁלֹּא יָבֹאוּ עָלֶיךָ שׁוֹדְדִים לִטֹּל מָמוֹנְךָ; שֶׁהַנּוֹתֵן מַתָּנָה לְעַבְדּוֹ אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְשָׁמְרוֹ מִכָּל אָדָם, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁבָּאִים לִסְטִים עָלָיו וְנוֹטְלִין אוֹתָהּ מִמֶּנּוּ, מַה הֲנָאָה יֵשׁ לוֹ בְּמַתָּנָה זוֹ? אֲבָל הַקָּבָּ"ה, הוּא הַנּוֹתֵן, הוּא הַשּׁוֹמֵר; וְהַרְבֵּה מִדְרָשִׁים דָּרְשׁוּ בוֹ בְּסִפְרֵי:
וישמרך AND MAY God GUARD you — that no robbers come upon you to take away thy property. For a human being who gives a present to his servant cannot guard him against everybody, and if a band of robbers attack him and take it away, what pleasure can he, then, derive from this present?! The Holy One, blessed be He, however, both gives and guards — against everybody (Midrash Tanchuma, Nasso 10).
יברכך יהוה, זו ברכה האמורה בתורה ברוך תהיה מכל העמים (דברים ז יד) ברוך פרי בטנך וגו' (דברים כח ד) ברוך אתה בבאיך וברוך אתה בצאתיך (דברים כ״ח ו) ברוך אתה בעיר וברוך אתה בשדה הרי הן מבורכין מניין אף שמורין ת״ל וישמרך.
ר' יצחק אומר אתה אם מבורכין הן שמורין הן ואם שמורין הן מבורכין הן ומה ת״ל וישמרך אלא וישמרך מיצר רע שלא יוציאך מן העולם.
Translation to Sifrei Zuta 6:24 (above)
"May God bless you"--this is the blessing as it is stated in the Torah: blessed shall you be among all the nations (Deut. 7:14), blessed shall be the fruit of your loins (Deut. 28:4), blessed shall be in your comings and blessed shall be your goings (Geut. 28:6), blessed shall you be in the city and in the field. From these we learn that God seeks to bless you. How do we know that God protects us? For that we have the last word in the verse, "may He protect you."
Rabbi Isaac says--You, God, when you bless you also protect, and when you protect you also bless. So why does the verse need to add "and may He protect you"--in order that God protects you from the evil inclination, so that it does not bring you out of this world.
Above we find various understandings of the very first line of Birkat Kohenim (a mere three words in Hebrew).
1. Describe some fo the different ideas about blessing.
2. Describe some of the different ideas about protection.
3. Which do you find most compelling and why