5 June 2025 · A sentence from the teachings of Rav Kook

Parashat Naso

„The entire essence of this lifting of the countenance comes only to remove the obstacle of the spirit's collapse.”From Olat Re'iyah, Birkat Kohanim

This week's portion mentions the Priestly Blessing. The priests are commanded to bless the people of Israel with love, and they do so as a heavenly mission that draws the divine light down into reality. Rav Kook writes that the blessing is conveyed in stages: blessing and keeping, illumination and grace, lifting of the countenance and peace. But when a person merits a great light, he may be frightened; as holiness increases, so too grows the sense of obligation, and the heart, which cannot always bear it all, may collapse. Here enters the lifting of the countenance – the Holy One, as it were, gazes upon the person and says to him: I am with you. The purpose of this great light is to illuminate you, not to frighten you.

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