This week’s Torah portion, Naso, contains verses that should be familiar to you. Rabbis, priests and ministers have used what is called the Birkat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing, or the Birkat Shalom, the Blessing of Peace, when consecrating a marriage, in benedictions at important events, as well as other occasions.

“May God bless you and keep you.

May God’s countenance shine upon you and be gracious to you.

May God’s presence be with you and may God bless you with peace.”

In traditional synagogues it is said by the honorary kohanim on the festivals as they raise their hands with their talleisim over their heads. In the days of the wilderness sanctuary and the Jerusalem Temples, the kohanim had specific responsibilities including invoking this blessing.

The sages tell us that the blessing, while seemingly among the most holy words that can be intoned, is one that should be spoken face-to-face in a kind and loving manner.

How do they come to this conclusion? The text states that God instructs Moses to tell Aaron, the first kohen, “Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them (followed by the above benediction) …” The key word is “say.” They point to God’s communication to Moses, “And God spoke to Moses…” Here, however, we read SAY, not speak. The commentators continue to point out that “say” is soft while “speak” is hard. The kohen should be face-to-face with the person being blessed like “a person talks to his companion.” This will confirm the dignity of each individual.

This is such a great example of how the minds of our teachers of old worked. Textual interpretation, even based on one little word, is amazing. We might think it’s mumbo-jumbo, but there’s always some textual logic to their commentary; it doesn’t come out of thin air. We might not like the conclusions reached but in my opinion we certainly cannot, nor should we, dismiss them out-of-hand.