PHENOMENAL CANTORIAL CONCERT

at

CONGREGATION B'NAI ISRAEL OF WEST BLOOMFIELD

Congregation B`nai Israel of West Bloomfield and the Cantors Assembly of
America proudly present four of the world's most acclaimed cantors in concert.

The Priestly Blessing:
A Precious Legacy

RABBI RICHARD C. HERTZ

Special to The Jewish News

T

his week's Torah portion
contains the text of the
most precious benedic-
tion invoked in Judaism. In the
Orthodox ritual, the sight of the
kohen ascending the bema to
duchan on the festivals and
holy days is familiar to many.
The kohanim recite the bless-
ing with their prayer shawls
drawn over their heads, hands
stretched out at shoulder
height and palms facing for-
ward. The first two fingers of
each hand separate as the
words are intoned. This figure
of the kohanim is often inscrib-
ed on their tombstones.
In Conservative Judaism the
recital of the Priestly Blessing
by the kohanim is optional.
Reform Judaism discarded the

Shabbat Naso:
Numbers 4:21-7:89,
Judges 13:2-25

notion of special priestly
privileges. Instead, the Priest-
ly Blessing is invoked at the
close of services, or as a formula
of blessing at such ceremonies
as circumcision, confirmation,
bar mitzvah or weddings.
In the days of the Second
Temple of Jerusalem, the
Priestly Benediction was one of
the most impressive features of
the service. After the Temple's
destruction by the Romans in
70 CE, the kohanim, the priest-
ly caste of Jews, carried on their
prerogatives as the only eligi-
ble men who had the right to
invoke God's benediction. As
time went on and the priestly
caste lost its privileges, the no-
tion that all Israel was a
"kingdom of priests and a holy
nation" grew in strength.
The precise flavor of the
Hebrew text is not always
caught in the English transla-
tion. The Hebrew consists of
three short verses of three, then
five, then seven words which
mount in rhythmic cadence and
climax with the word Shalom,
peace. Only 15 words in
Hebrew, yet these three verses
from the Torah contain a world
of trust and faith in God! The
medieval philosopher, Babya,
reminds us that these numbers
refer to the three Patriarchs,
the Five Books of the 'Ibrah and
the seven heavens. Or is it the
seven days of the week God
created? Or the 7 branches of
the Menorah?

What is meant by each of the
three sentences? Each word im-

Dr. Hertz is rabbi emeritus at
Temple Beth El.

plies much and calls for
interpretation.
"May the Lord bless thee"
with enough possessions to sus-
tain you in body, mind and
strength; but not more than
enough. For the next word,
"and keep thee" means: keep
you not only from evil, sickness,

TORAH PORTION

poverty and calamity, but also
keep you from your possessions
possessing you. How important
that is in these days of
materialism, when Mammon is
worshipped as God and the
stock exchange as His
-Sanctuary.
"May the Lord let His
countenance shine upon thee."
This part of the benediction, has
been interpreted by the rabbis
in scores of ways. "May the
Lord let His countenance shine
upon thee" by giving you
enlightenment of the eyes, to
discern between good and evil,
right and wrong. Or so that the
radiant joy of God's
countenance may bring hap-
piness and contentment into
your lives. Or so that your eyes
and heart may be brighter
because of your study of the
Ibrah and God's law of life.
`And be gracious unto thee."
This means: May God give you
grace in the eyes of your fellow
men, for God delights in those
whom your fellow men delight.
"May the Lord lift up His
countenance upon thee and give
thee peace." This is the climax
of the benediction. Jewish
tradition has always regarded
peace as man's noblest state. By
"peace" is meant peace bet-
ween nation and nation, bet-
ween man and his fellow man,
bringing prosperity, good
health, wholeness, com-
pleteness between man and his
inner self. The Jewish ideal of
international peace, as enun-
ciated by the biblical prophets
and traced through an un-
broken line of Jewish tradition,
is well known. In a world
troubled by the lack of interna-
tional peace in our own time,
peace in the Middle East, peace
for Israel and her Arab
neighbors, becomes a modern
prayer in every heart.
The Hebrew word Shalom
means more than a mere
absence of the state of war.
Peace, say the ancient rabbis, is
one of the pillars of the world.
Without it, the social order can-
not exist. It means health for
every person, security from the
threat of fear and terrorism,
tranquility of mind and heart
for every human being,
peaceable social relations with
one's neighbor.

CANTOR
LOUIS DANTO

Beth Emet-Bet
Yehudah Synagogue,
Toronto

CANTOR
CANTOR CHAIM
DAVID BAGLEY
NAJMAN

Beth Shalom Synagogue,
Toronto

CANTOR
LOUIS KLEIN

B'nai Moshe
Synagogue,
Oak Park

Shaarey Zedek
Synagogue,
Southfield

WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 17TH, 7:30 P.M.

Congregation B'nai Israel

4200 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield

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-

The Cultural Commission of

CONGREGATION SHAAREY ZEDEK

proudly presents

THE ANNUAL
PETER and CLARA WEISBERG CONCERT

featuring renowned violinist

ARNOLD STEINHARDT

accompanied by pianist

VICTOR STEINHARDT
TUESDAY EVENING, JUNE 16 - 8 P.M.
CONGREGATION SHAAREY ZEDEK

VICTOR STEINHARDT

ARNOLD STEINHARDT

General admission is free. Tickets will be mailed upon receipt of written request and stamped,
,self-addressed envelope to Weisberg Concert, c/o Congregation Shaarey Zedek.

Patron tickets are available at $25 each. Patrons are entitled to reserved seating and attendance
at reception following the concert.

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