Everything is from Hashem
[Editor’s note: As a memory of my beloved brother Shaya, I would like to continue sending out his pearls of wisdom that he has shared with all of you in the past. For some of you this may ring a bell and for others it may appear to be totally new. May the learning of Shaya’s Divrei Torah inspire us to change our ways and thereby give an Aliya to the neshama of our dear beloved Shaya whom we miss so much. A special thank you to Aaron Friedman for always looking over the divrei torah.]
This week’s Parshah, Parshas Naso, lays the exact wording of Birchas Kohanim. The simple understanding of Birchas Kohanim is that the Kohanim are blessing us. The Akeidas Yitzchak asks several questions on this: 1. Why do we need an intermediary between us and Hashem to give us Brachos? 2. If the blessing comes from the Kohanim THEMSELVES, why, in this short three-stanza bracha, do they mention HASHEM’S name THREE times, once in EVERY stanza? 3. Why is there a rule that they can’t add to the bracha if it’s their own bracha anyway?
The Akeidas Yitzchak therefore understands that the Kohanim are conveying to us that Hashem is the source of all blessing. They are reminding us to recognize that everything is from Hashem. Hence, they keep saying Yivarechicha HASHEM…, Ya’air HASHEM…, Yisa HASHEM…, teaching us that all that we have is from Him.
If this is true, then the question arises: why is it specifically the Kohanim who teach us this concept?
I’d like to suggest that since the Kohanim had no nachala [inheritance] in Eretz Yisroel, they didn’t have material wealth and security which might have led them into thinking that their talents and wisdom were the reasons for their successes. They were totally dependent on Hashem to provide for them. Hence, it was much easier for them to recognize and live with this fundamental concept. Therefore, Hashem specifically chose them to convey this message to the rest of us.
Editor’s note- As I was looking over the dvar torah, I couldn’t help but think how timeless Shaya’s words are. I think that this lesson was ingrained in many people this year due to the total disruption of the world caused by Covid-19. People lost savings in stocks; many people who were secure in their jobs found themselves without any jobs etc. A complete upheaval from anything that people were used to. This lesson was then imbedded within us that it is not our successes that determine what money we bring into our homes, rather, it is all dependent on Hashem.
May we take this lesson to heart, to internalize within us as we get back to our daily lives and ‘normal life again,’ that Hashem is the source of all blessings and that He wants to give, and all Hashem wants is for us to ask for it.}
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