Birchat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing appears in the Book of Numbers. It contains fifteen words and sixty letters: “May God bless you and watch over you. May God cause His countenance to shine to you and favor you. May God raise His countenance toward you and grant you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).
יברכך י־הוה וישמרך
יאר י־הוה פניו אליך ויחנך
ישא י־הוה פניו אליך וישם לך שלום
Rashi informs us that although Birchat Kohanim only appears in the Book of Numbers, God had already taught it to Moses who then imparted it to Aaron and was used first in the portion of Shemini to bless the people on the day the Tabernacle was consecrated.
When the kohanim bless the people, they raise their hands before them as if the blessing is being channeled through their hands directly to the people. This is learned from the verse in Shmini: “Aaron raised his hands towards the people and blessed them…” (Leviticus 9:22).
The Mishnah states that there are thirty bones in each hand (Ohalot 1:8). Therefore, both hands have sixty bones, the same number as letters in Birchat Kohanim. Additionally, there are three joints in each of four fingers and two joints in the thumb, all of which are attached to the palm of the hand. Altogether there are thus fifteen joints in the hand, the same number of words in Birchat Kohanim. These numerical insights relate to many forms of healing that take place through the use of the hands, including the blessings channeled through the hands of the kohanim.
Birchat Kohanim, is an expression of God bestowing His grace on the people of Israel. The three verses of Birchat Kohanim are arranged in the symmetrical form of a triangle – the verses have 3/5/7 words and 15/20/25 letters:
יברכך י־הוה וישמרך
יאר י־הוה פניו אליך ויחנך
ישא י־הוה פניו אליך וישם לך שלום
Significantly, the middle of the 15 words is viychuneka – ויחנך, “and He shall grant you grace.” The root of this word, chen, means “grace,” and is interpreted in Kabbalah to represent a particular type of beauty manifest in a state of symmetry.
It is important to note that the relationship between 15 and 60, the words and letters of Birchat Kohanim is associated with the letter samech which is the 15th letter and whose numerical value is 60. The samech is shaped like a circle and thus represents a circular flow, in this case between the Kohanim and the people. The hand with its fifteen joints and sixty bones in both hands are the conduit through which the light and grace of God is channeled through the hands of the kohanim to the people.
Similar to how the ten sefirot are the conduit through which an infinite God channels Divine energy and light into progressive levels of finite reality, so too, the ten fingers of the kohanim direct God’s grace and light to the people of Israel. Tradition teaches that at the time the kohanim are blessing one should not look directly as them, especially their hands spread out as at that moment a powerful Presence of the Shechinah is present. For the same reason we are taught not to stare for a prolonged time at a rainbow due to the intense Presence of the Shechinah.
These ideas also relate to why God chose Ten Commandments to be engraved “by the finger of God” on the Tablets of the Law. These Ten Commandments actually encompass the entire Torah as we see in a beautiful numerical gem. There are 620 letters in the Ten Commandments and there are 620 commandments in total! The 620 mitzvot are comprised of 613 mitzvot actually mandated by the Torah and seven Rabbinic mitzvot that the Sages endowed with the status of Torah mitzvot. (Alternatively, some reach the number 620 by explaining that the additional seven mitzvot are the seven universal commandments known as the Seven Commandments of the Children of Noah).
The Torah is revealing the will of an infinite Creator to the finite, material world of humanity. The Ten Commandments can thus be compared to the ten sefirot and the ten fingers of the kohanim when blessing the people as all three examples share the idea of taking infinite Divine, light and energy and channeling it through increments of ten in order that the recipients will be able to receive and integrate the energy and lessons at hand.
Another very important place in the Torah where we see the incredible power that can be transmitted through the hands is when Israel fought Amalek soon after their exodus from Egypt. The Torah describes how Moses, Aaron and Chur ascended to the top of the hill where they witnessed the battle taking place:
“It came to pass that when Moses would raise his hand, Israel would prevail, and when he would lay down his hand, Amalek would prevail. Now Moses hands were heavy; so, they took a stone and placed it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one from this [side], and one from that [side]; so, he was with his hands in faith until sunset” (Exodus 17:11-12).
When Moses would raise his hands, it was not just a physical gesture but his raised hands not just symbolized but actualized his prayer for victory. The hands in general represents taking our thoughts and speech and transforming them into practical actions that create the reality we think and dream about. The idea of raising our hands in prayer and blessing first spoken about in the Torah in relationship to Moses is in a sense carried on in the Birchat Kohanim throughout all the generations.
