PRIESTLY BLESSING - BERKAT COHANIM
This blessing was part of the daily service at the Temple.
Today, the Priestly Blessing, the last remnant of the Priestly Cult, is recited at the end of the Amida, at circumcisions and weddings, and parents recite this blessing over their children on Shabbat eve (Frankel, Ellen and Betsy Platkin Teutsch. 1992. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols.
Northvale: Aaronson. 130).
Hebrew Bible source - May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord let his countenance shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look kindly upon you and grant you peace (Numbers 6:24-26).
Kabbalah - The Name of Twenty-Two, Anaktam Pastam Paspasim Dionsim, which originally appeared in Sepher Raziel, is derived from the Priestly blessing. The first five words of this Benediction comprise 22 letters. The Name of Twenty-Two was frequently used in magic (Trachtenberg, Joshua. 1939. Jewish Magic and Superstitition New York: Atheneum. 92-93; Frankel, Ellen and Betsy Platkin Teutsch. 1992. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols. Northvale: Aaronson. 130).
Most of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are featured in this painting.
In this painting ALL 22 of the Hebrew letters are represented. The Rabbis of the Talmud regarded the letters as the basic elements of the universe, much as we think of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon (From the teachings of Rabbi Mitchell Chefitz, author of The Seventh Telling, The Thiry-third Hour, The Curse of Blessings.).
The word ET consists of the letters Aleph and Tav, which include between them all the letters, as being the first and last of the alphabet (Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:15b).
The story of ET...
Rabbi Dov Baer, the Maggid of Mezritch, and a follower of the Baal Shem Tov, explains in Or Torah the secret of the verse Bereshit Bara Eloheim Et - IN A BEGINNING GOD CREATED ET. These are the first words of Torah, Genesis 1:1, in a beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ET is a word that is not translatable into English. It is like a marker that says: a definite direct object is next. Thus there needs to be an ET before THE heavens and THE earth. If there was no the, there would not need to be an ET. But Dov Baer points out a deeper meaning. ET is spelled Aleph Tav. Aleph Tav is an abbreviation for the ALPHA-BET. Aleph is the first letter of the ALPHABET and Tav the last. So in a beginning God created the ALPHA-BET. And God did this before creating the heavens and the earth. God used the letters, the building blocks, to create the world Dov Baer, ( Rabbi. 1968. Or Torah. Jerusalem). (Book is available at Library at JTS.location: BS1158.H4 X34 D63).
R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe of Chabad explains that if the letters were to depart even for an instant, all of creation would become absolute nothingness (Zalman, Shneur. 1981. "Igeret Hateshuvah." Likkutei Amarim - Tanya. Brooklyn: Kihot. 289).
Some of you may read these words and laugh. Silly stories. But I challenge you to spend 5 minutes a day thinking about the letters. Perhaps you could practice drawing one letter for about a minute and then think about it of 4 minutes. See if you can do this every day for a few weeks. And watch what happens. They letters are ALIVE.
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This painting is accompanied by the kabbalistic explanation printed above.
The original 5x7 watercolor painting of this image is available.
This is great Bat Mitzvah gift.
This is great Bar Mitzvah gift.
mat color:: red
stock number:: pb30
