We are now preparing for Parshas Naso, the Shabbos Nach Shavuos, in a week in which we hopefully achieved an appreciation of the Shavuos that just passed. Chassidim say that the Shabbos Nach Shavuos is like the lechem hapanim that is taken out of the Shulchan at the end of the week of the mishmar of kohanim.
Kohanim started their mishmar on Shabbos with the lechem hapanim, and then the following Shabbos, the lechem hapanim from the week before was taken out and shown to everybody. The kohanim showed the whole tzibbur that the bread was as fresh as when it went in. The message was that the kohanim were all excited when they started the mishmar, and a week later, they didn’t forget their original freshness, their original excitement.
In the same way, on Shabbos Nach Shavuos, we should remember the excitement with which we came to Mattan Torah, and when the seven yemai tashlumin of Shavuos come to an end, we should remind ourselves of that freshness of Kabbalas HaTorah. Certainly, Parshas Naso is a wonderful parsha from which to learn about the freshness of Kabbalas HaTorah. There are many extremely significant parshiyos in Parshas Naso; Birchas Kohanim is one of them. I would like to talk to you briefly about Nesi’as Kapayim.
It says after Birchas Kohanim in 6:27 וְשָׂמוּ אֶת-שְׁ מִי, עַל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂ רָאֵל; וַאֲנִי, אֲבָרְ כֵם. What is וְשָׂ מוּ – Place My name on the Jewish people? וְשָׂ מוּ is not a term of sam al kesaifav, of physically putting something on someone’s shoulder. It is a term like וְשמְתֶּם אֶת דְּ בָרַי אֵלֶּה עַל לְבַבְכֶם. It refers to tesumas leiv, havanah. Place My name on the Jewish people so that they will pay attention to the fact that HK-B”H’s name and His beracha is resting upon them. This is the pshat in the posuk and is found in some of the meforshim.
This may be a mekor for the halacha in Shulchan Aruch in Siman Kuf Chaf Ches, where it says that when the kohanim are bentching Klal Yisrael, when they are giving a beracha to the Jewish people, those in the audience (which is us) should be mechavein k’negged ha-kohanim. We should be thinking of what the kohanim are saying, paying attention to the kohanim. What is the source for that? If someone is giving you a beracha, do you have to be paying attention with kavanah? Yes. After the kohanim bentch you, you should know that I will give Klal Yisrael the beracha to the degree they have tesumas haleiv, that they pay attention. This is a general rule: The more a person recognizes and pays attention to something in ruchnius, the more real and meaningful it is to him. This is a pshat in וְשָׂמוּ אֶת-שְׁ מִי עַל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂ רָאֵל; וַאֲנִי אֲבָרְ כֵם.
RABBI YISRAEL REISMAN
