Nasso: The Land of Israel's Special Light, as Reflected in the Priestly Blessing

by Rav Moshe Tzuriel ZT"L, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Ashreinu – how fortunate we are, the residents of the Land of Israel, who get to fulfill the mitzvah of the Priestly Blessing (Bamidbar 6, 22-27) every single day, and sometimes twice! Outside the Land, this mitzvah is fulfilled only on the festivals and the High Holidays. It is hard to understand why this is so.

We read in the above verses that via the Priestly Blessing, the priests "place My Name upon the Children of Israel and I will bless them." That is, the priests bless Israel, and G-d gives his consent (Tr. Hullin 49a). Elsewhere, the Gemara even adds (Tr. Sotah 38a) that G-d very strongly desires the Priestly Blessing!

Given the great value and importance, for us and for G-d, of the Priestly Blessing, why do we barely perform it outside Eretz Yisrael?

Many answers have been offered over the past several centuries, but most of them can be easily challenged. For instance, the Rama (Shulchan Arukh O.C. 128,44) says that the Jews in medieval times were "very troubled with thoughts of making a living" and the like, "and even on Festivals, they only recite the Blessing in Mussaf when they are about to leave for home and for the joy of the Festivals."

In the Land of Israel's Galilee area, the Diaspora custom in this matter was perpetuated in most areas, except that they said the Priestly Blessing also during Mussaf on the Sabbath. This was because this was basically the custom of the students of the Baal Shem Tov who came to the Galilee and continued their practice.

The students of the Vilna Gaon, however, who came to the Land and settled in Jerusalem, made sure to recite the Blessing every day; and the Sephardim recited the Priestly Blessing throughout the Land, as noted by the Beit Yosef (Rav Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Arukh).

Rav She'ar Yashuv Cohen, long-time Chief Rabbi of Haifa and son of the famed Nazir, Rav David Cohen, long attempted to change the custom in Haifa and environs and restore the Priestly Blessing to its honored place – but largely to no avail. In an article in Volume 2 of Techumin in 1981, he collected several explanations as to why the Cohanim in the Galilee do not recite the Blessing, but they are all weak.

The Missing Joy

Let us concentrate on one aspect of the various explanations, which will highlight one of the great virtues of the Jews living in Eretz Yisrael. The Rama cited a custom that unmarried Cohanim do not recite the Priestly Blessing because, as the Gemara states (Tr. Yevamot 62b), they are "without happiness."

Yitzchak, Too
The Maharam Ben-Baruch notes, in this vein, that when our Patriarch Yitzchak wished to bless his son Esav, he asked him to first prepare a special meal that would bring him joy – because "without joy, how can I give a blessing?" We thus see that the Priests who bless the nation must do so not simply as a form of lip service, but rather with true joy.

A student of the Rama, known as the L'vush, wrote in kind: "Even though the Priests should by rights bless the people every day… the custom is to do so only on Festivals, which are days of happiness and good-heartedness. Even on the Sabbath they do not bless, because they are troubled by thoughts of making a living, etc."

No Yoke

Another aspect of the joy of being in Eretz Yisrael is noted by the Beit Efraim: "The Jews of the Land did not bear the yoke of the Exiles as did their brethren in the Diaspora, where they were scattered and banished throughout the generations from city to city and land to land, and they had no peace of mind."

Various Torah giants wrote clearly regarding the difference between the atmosphere of service of G-d abroad and that of Eretz Yisrael. The Shem MiShmuel explained: "The difference is that in the Land of Israel, the service is with love and devotion, like the [atmosphere of] Sabbath, while in the Diaspora the service is more of sur mera, trying to avoid the negative; they engage in compulsiveness and self-flagellation in trying to force the acceptance of holiness, as if it were against their nature."

And so too wrote Rav Kook: "In the Land of Israel, one can draw out the joy of holiness even from the place of the joy, but outside the Land, this cannot be done, because of the strength of the forces of strict judgement there" (Orot HaKodesh vol. III, p. 187).

In the Land, Joy is First
The Sfat Emet (Re'eh 5661) holds that "in the Diaspora, the primary element is fear of G-d, which then leads to joy. But in the Land, joy is the main thing, and from it we merit to have fear and awe… In the Land of Israel and in the Temple, the nation merited light of the soul…; the service of joy is that of the soul, while that of the body is fear/awe."

The Vilna Gaon said that if he only could, he would suspend his Torah learning and prayer and wander from place to place to institute the Priestly Blessing every day. He said that the Blessing includes and alludes to the seven basic elements of all blessing: wisdom, wealth, long life, finding favor in the eyes of men, ability to influence other, descendants, and peace.

How much great light is encapsulated in this special mitzvah, in which G-d turns to us and lights the way for all blessing. Let us concentrate when we fulfill it – both those who bless and those who are blessed. We must also recognize our great fortune in living here in the Land where we merit to fulfill it every day!