Rabbi Janine's Messages

Dear Community, 

This week we read Parshat Naso, the longest Torah portion, which contains one of our most ancient blessings: Birkat Kohanim, the priestly blessing. 

יְבָרֶכְךָ֥ ה' וְיִשְׁמְרֶֽךָ׃ 
May Gd bless you and keep you 

יָאֵ֨ר ה' פָּנָ֛יו אֵלֶ֖יךָ וִֽיחֻנֶּֽךָּ׃
May Gd’s face shine upon you and be gracious unto you

 יִשָּׂ֨א ה' פָּנָיו֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְיָשֵׂ֥ם לְךָ֖ שָׁלֽוֹם׃
May Gd’s face be lifted toward you and may Gd grant you peace.  (Numbers 6:24–26).

This ancient blessing, still used in Jewish liturgy today, is not just poetic—it is aspirational. It invites us to imagine a world in which the Divine is not distant, but intimately concerned with our well-being, our dignity, and our peace.

In our Reconstructionist tradition, we often read texts like these not as supernatural invocations, but as ethical blueprints. What would it mean for us, as a community, to be the agents of this blessing? To bless and protect one another—not through miracles, but through action? To make our communal face shine with graciousness? To uplift one another with presence and peace?

Parashat Naso is an invitation: to lift each other up, to find holiness in daily life, to question inherited systems, and to actively bless the world around us.

May this Shabbat offer you rest, reflection, and renewal. And may we, together, become vessels of blessing for one another.

Shabbat Shalom, 

Rabbi Janine Jankovitz