וַיִּשָּׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת־יָדָו אֶל־הָעָם וַיְבָרְכֵם וַיֵּרֶד� מֵעֲשֹׂת הַֽחַטָּאת וְהָעֹלָה וְהַשְּׁלָמִים׃

“Then Aharon lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he descended from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings.”

Leviticus 9:22

“And he blessed them. The three blessings of the Kohanim (Bamidbar 6, 24-26) correspond to three types of offerings: The first blessing corresponds to sin offerings, “and may He guard you” — from sin, as it says (Shmuel I 2:9), “The feet of His pious ones He will guard”; “May he cause His face to shine” corresponds to the burnt offering [olah], as it says (Shemos 34:24), “When you go up [ba’aloscha] to see”; “peace” corresponds to the peace offerings.”

Kitzur Ba'al HaTurim on Leviticus 9:22:2

“And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people.” ��Toward them. From here our ancients transmitted to us the form taken by the “raising of the hands.” �Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 9:22:1

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*According to the sages we learn here that the kohanim lift their hands when bestowing the priestly benediction. See Sotah 38a.

“You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Torah. They have been informed about you, that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moshe, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk after the customs. What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. Therefore do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow. Take them, and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses for them, that they may shave their heads. Then all will know that there is no truth in the things that they have been informed about you, but that you yourself also walk keeping the Torah. But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written our decision that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality. Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purified himself and went with them into the Temple, declaring the fulfillment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them.”�Acts 21:17-26

1. There were tens of thousands of believers in Yeshua who were zealous for the Torah.�
2. They were told that Paul was teaching Jews not to follow the Torah nor the customs – which was FALSE. �
3. The Jerusalem Council rules exactly as Judaism does, that non-Jews are only obligated to the 7 Laws of Noah, and are not required to convert to have a share in the Olam Haba (World to Come). However, since Moshe is preached in the synagogues every Shabbat, they are invited to participate. 

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• Paul himself participated in the Temple sacrificial system and supported it dispelling any notions to the contrary.  

“Even his hair is holy, because a Nazirite who has pledged himself to G-d draws his sanctity from the level of “The hair of his head was like clean wool” (Daniel 7:9), which corresponds to the level of Atik, the level of Keter. The Torah portion of the Nazirite is always read on the Shabbat after Shavuot, since Shavuot also represents the level of Keter, whose sanctity we attain by counting the Omer (Likutey Halakhot III, p. 218).”

Rebbe Nachman’s Torah: Numbers-Deuteronomy - Breslov Insights into the Weekly Torah Reading (Kindle Locations 441-445). Breslov Research Institute.

“On the day Moses finished erecting the Tabernacle, he anointed it and sanctified it and all its vessels. He also anointed the Altar and all its vessels, and sanctified them. On the day Moses finished The word KaLOT (כלות, finished) is read and studied as if the vav were nonexistent (כלת, KaLoT) (Zohar I, 236b). Therefore the phrase KaLOT Mosheh(כלות משה, Moses finished) can be read as KaLaT Mosheh (כלת משה, Moses’ bride).”

REBBE NACHMAN'S TORAH: NUMBERS - DEUTERONOMY - Breslov Insights into the Weekly Torah Reading (pp. 26-27). Breslov Research Institute. Kindle Edition.

^“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” ⁸ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, �for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”�Revelation 19:7-8, NKJV

“I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. . . He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, as if it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal; having a great and high wall; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.”

Revelation 21:2,10-12 HNV

“. . . when the Bride is destined the next day to be under the canopy with Her Husband - to be with her all night, delighting with Her in Her adornments in which she is arrayed, engaging in Torah, from Torah to Prophets, from Prophets to Writings, midrashic renderings of verses and mysteries of wisdom: these are her adornments and finery." Rabbi Shim'on opened, saying, "Heaven declares the glory of God . . . (Psalms 19:2). . . when the Bride is aroused to enter the canopy the next day, She is arrayed and illumined with Her adornments . . . as soon as they join together, and She sees Her Husband, what is written? Heaven declares the glory of God. Heaven - the Groom entering the canopy . . . The glory of God - glory of the Bride, who is called God, but now that She has entered the canopy, She is called Glory as well as God, glory upon glory, radiance upon radiance, dominion upon dominion."

Zohar 1:8a, translated by Daniel C. Matt, Pritkzer Edition, pg. 52-53

“ADONAI bless you and keep you,� �ADONAI make His face shine upon you,�and be gracious to you,� �ADONAI lift up His countenance upon you,�and give you shalom.”

Numbers 6:24-26

Image Credit:

Tamar HaYardeni

Ketef Hinnom

Scrolls

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Earliest known artifact �written in Paleo Hebrew�circla 600 BC

Nesiat Kapayim

Raising of the Hands

נשיאת כפיים

Aliyah l’Dukhan

Ascending the Platform

Let them place My Name upon the Jewish people, and I will bless them.�"I will bless them When a person is blessed, he receives the blessing in a spiritual vessel called ANiY (אני , I). This word is composed of the letters aleph, nun, yod Aleph (אלף), which means “teach or study,” represents the tzaddik. Every Jew is conceptually a tzaddik, as the verse states: “Your people are all tzaddikim” (Isaiah 60:21). And the tzaddik is referred to as ALePh, as in "Our great ones (ALuPheinu) are acceptable" (Psalms 144:14). Nunנ connotes Malkhut, which corresponds to speech. Yod indicates Chokhmah, which refers to thought. When a Jew unifies his thought and speech (in particular, when he concentrates upon the words of prayer that he is reciting), he creates ANiY, a vessel with which to receive blessing (Likutey Moharan I, 73).”

Rebbe Nachman’s Torah: Numbers-Deuteronomy (Kindle Locations 550-560). Breslov Research Institute. Kindle Edition.

“I am the Aleph…”

אלף

פלא

Wonderful

“May God bless you and protect you”—bestowing upon you wealth and sparing you from harm because you guard the covenant, which brings blessing and bounty. “May God shine His Countenance upon you”—for you will merit to a shining countenance and purity of heart which illuminates your face. “May God show you His Countenance and grant you peace”—you will merit to break gluttony (and lose weight!), for with purity of the covenant and a holy tongue, a person can be sustained by the inner essence of the food, by spiritual nourishment. One merits to all this through "peace"–a guarded covenant ( Likutey Halakhot I, p. 182a).”

Rebbe Nachman’s Torah: Numbers-Deuteronmy (Kindle Locations 468-473). Breslov Research Institute.

“Koh refers to a holy tongue, a sign of blessing, a vessel which one can use to receive blessing. Thus, “Place My Name upon the Jewish people”—for a person’s name is his essence (cf. Genesis 2:19). When one has a vessel, he can receive God's Name—i.e., His Essence! Then the blessing will automatically be received: “I will bless them.”

REBBE NACHMAN'S TORAH: NUMBERS - DEUTERONOMY - Breslov Insights into the Weekly Torah Reading (p. 22). Breslov Research Institute. Kindle Edition.

“…no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.  Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.”

Yaakov 3:8-12, NKJV

“The blessing must be pronounced in the Holy Tongue �(Sotah 38a) . Blessing comes about only through a holy tongue (Likutey Moharan II, 2:5) meaning, a tongue that does not engage in speaking vulgarity, slander, mockery, and so forth. Only a person with such a tongue can bring about blessing.”

Rebbe Nachman’s Torah: Numbers-Deuteronomy (Kindle Locations 476-481). Breslov Research Institute

“The three blessings of the Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing) allude to the three basic “points” that a person must arouse each day in order to experience Godliness. One is the person’s own “point,” which is unique to him. The second is his friend’s point, which is unique to his friend. The third is that of the tzaddik, whose point is an encompassing one for all people.”

REBBE NACHMAN'S TORAH: NUMBERS - DEUTERONOMY - Breslov Insights into the Weekly Torah Reading (p. 24). Breslov Research Institute. Kindle Edition.

“Receiving the first blessing, “May God bless you,” corresponds to receiving the tzaddik’s point. The tzaddik is the channel for all blessings, since all bounty flows through the sefirah of Yesod (which corresponds to the tzaddik). Receiving the second blessing, “May God shine His Countenance upon you,” corresponds to receiving one’s friend’s point, since whatever love develops between people reveals more of God’s Countenance in the world. Receiving the third blessing, “May God…grant you peace,” corresponds to receiving the benefits of one’s own point, which, when developed properly, brings inner peace (Likutey Halakhot I, p. 189a-378-190a).”

REBBE NACHMAN'S TORAH: NUMBERS - DEUTERONOMY - Breslov Insights into the Weekly Torah Reading (pp. 24-25). Breslov Research Institute. Kindle Edition.

“Shalom I leave you, My shalom I give to you but not as the world gives! Do not let your heart be troubled or afraid.”

John 14:27

“. . . and give you peace (6:26)

If there is no peace, there is nothing.”

Torat Kohanim, cited at Chabad.org

וַיִּשָּׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת־יָדָו אֶל־הָעָם וַיְבָרְכֵם וַיֵּרֶד� מֵעֲשֹׂת הַֽחַטָּאת וְהָעֹלָה וְהַשְּׁלָמִים׃

“Then Aharon lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he descended from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings.”

Leviticus 9:22

“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father �upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until �you are endued with power from on high.” �And He led them out as far as Bethany, and �He lifted up His hands and blessed them. ^�Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.”�Luke 24:49-50, NKJV