This week’s Parsha, Shemini, tells the story of what happened on the eighth day of the Tabernacl’s existence, the day following the seven day process of inaugurating the Kohanim, the Priests, to prepare them for Temple service.   On this eighth day, one of the first acts as Kohen Gadol, High Priest, that Aaron performs is the one we are most familiar with, he blesses the people: “And Aaron lifted up his hands towards the people and blessed them. He then descended from preparing the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering.”

We are so used to the Kohanim blessing the people with their hands extended that we take this gesture for granted, as an obvious and intuitive act of blessing.  But is it really?  Why not just bless the people by reciting the requisite words?  Why is an act of holding up the hands required?

The Nitivot Shalom, the former Slonimer Rebbe, points out that in addition to the outward act of holding up the hands and the words which must be said, there is an inner aspect to the blessing which the Kohanim give to the Jewish people:  love.  The blessing which is recited prior to blessing the people is, “Blessed is God..Who sanctified us with the holiness of Aaron and commanded us to bless His people Israel in love.”   Aaron is the High Priest because he is known for love.  As Pirkey Avot says, “Be one of the students of Aaron, love peace and pursue peace, love the creatures and bring them close to the Torah.”  The blessing only works if there is love behind it.   (For this reason a Kohen who is engaged in an argument with the people may not bless them.)  The Slonomer writes that because the hands are symbolic of doing and acting in the world, the raising of the hands is a reflection of the inner love the Kohen must have for the people in order to bless them.  But alas, he does not explain the connection between raised hands and love.

My daughter, Hava, suggested that the connection may be hinted at in Pesach. The metaphor for God taking us out of bondage is a “strong hand”.  The hand is the actor in the world.   The hand symbolizes reaching out to another.   Perhaps the Torah is teaching us that one can not have love without acting on behalf of another.  To love only in the abstract without actions of love is perhaps not love at all.   In Judaism we believe that our actions cultivate our inner states – perhaps only by acting in loving and caring ways can we truly love another – and then truly bestow blessing upon them.

This is an important message for our times of distance.  It is easier to feel love for the community when we are all together, but harder when we are isolated.  Let us take a lesson from the Kohanim and reach out at this time to others in love with a call, a smile, a letter, or an email.   This week let us reach out to another person in some way and thereby cultivate love and blessing in our world which needs it so much.