(כב) וַיִּשָּׂ֨א אַהֲרֹ֧ן אֶת־ידו [יָדָ֛יו] אֶל־הָעָ֖ם וַֽיְבָרְכֵ֑ם וַיֵּ֗רֶד מֵעֲשֹׂ֧ת הַֽחַטָּ֛את וְהָעֹלָ֖ה וְהַשְּׁלָמִֽים׃ (כג) וַיָּבֹ֨א מֹשֶׁ֤ה וְאַהֲרֹן֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וַיֵּ֣צְא֔וּ וַֽיְבָרֲכ֖וּ אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיֵּרָ֥א כְבוֹד־יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־כָּל־הָעָֽם׃ (כד) וַתֵּ֤צֵא אֵשׁ֙ מִלִּפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה וַתֹּ֙אכַל֙ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ אֶת־הָעֹלָ֖ה וְאֶת־הַחֲלָבִ֑ים וַיַּ֤רְא כָּל־הָעָם֙ וַיָּרֹ֔נּוּ וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ עַל־פְּנֵיהֶֽם׃
(22) Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them; and he stepped down after offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the offering of well-being. (23) Moses and Aaron then went inside the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the Presence of the Lord appeared to all the people. (24) Fire came forth from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar. And all the people saw, and shouted, and fell on their faces.
What questions could you ask about these blessings?
(1) ויברכם AND HE BLESSED THEM with the priestly benediction (Numbers 6:24—26): “May the Lord bless thee … May the Lord cause his face to shine … May the Lord lift up …” (cf. Sifra, Shemini, Mechilta d'Miluim 2 17; Sotah 38a)
Why do you think Rashi would suggest this blessing?
(2) And he blessed them. The three blessings of the Kohanim (Bamidbar 6, 24-26) correspond to three types of offerings: The first blessing corresponds to sin offerings, “and may He guard you” — from sin, as it says (Shmuel I 2:9), “The feet of His pious ones He will guard”; “May he cause His face to shine” corresponds to the burnt offering [olah], as it says (Shemos 34:24), “When you go up [ba’aloscha] to see”; “peace” corresponds to the peace offerings.
אזנים לתורה, ויקרא ט':כ"ב
יברכך יאר ישא. רש"י. בא להשמיענו, שברך ברכה א', ולא כמו בגבולין ג' ברכות, מפני שאין עונים אמן במקדש ולא הי' צורך להפסיק בין ברכה לברכה בעניית אמן. ואע"פ שבמקדש עונים בשכמל"ו, אבל מכיון שברכה זו היא לעם ולא לשם ה', אין עונים אחריה בשכמל"ו במקדש, כן כתוב בפי' הרא"ש סוף תמיד.
Oznaim LaTorah on Leviticus 9:22
May you bless. May God light. May God place. Rashi. This comes to tell us that he blessed one blessing, and not in three divisions, because "Amen" is not answered in the Tabernacle, and there was no need to pause between the sections of the blessing for people to answer amen. And even though in the Tabernacle people answer "Blessed is the Holy Name forever and ever," because this blessing was to the people and not to God, they did not answer that after it in the Tabernacle.
What question(s) does this answer?
(א) וישא אהרן את ידיו אל העם ויברכם ברכת כהנים יברכך יאר ישא לשון רש"י ואם כן תהיה פרשת דבר אל אהרן ואל בניו לאמר כה תברכו את בני ישראל שבחומש הפקודים (במדבר ו כג) מוקדמת לזה ואולי כן הוא כי סמוכה למה שנאמר שם (ז א) ויהי ביום כלות משה להקים את המשכן
ויתכן לומר כי אהרן פרש כפיו השמים וברך את העם כאשר עשה שלמה שנאמר (מלכים א ח כב) ויעמד שלמה לפני מזבח ה' ויפרוש כפיו השמים ושם (פסוק נה) נאמר ויעמד ויברך את כל קהל ישראל קול גדול לאמר ולפיכך לא הזכיר הכתוב שצוה אותו משה לעשות כן
ובברייתא של פרשת מלואים בת"כ (ריש פרשת שמיני ל) ראיתי ויברכם זו ברכה סתומה שאי אתה יודעה חזר הכתוב ופירש להלן יברכך ה' וישמרך יאר ה' פניו אליך ויחנך ישא ה' פניו אליך וגו'
ועדיין יש לי לומר שכך אמרו ברכה זו שברך אהרן את העם מעצמו סתומה היא ולא פירש לנו הכתוב מה היא אבל ברכה שנצטוו הכהנים לדורות נתפרשה והיא שוה בכל הכהנים לעולם
או שהם סבורים שכאן צוה אותו בנשיאות כפים ליום זה ולהלן נתנה ברכה זו לו ולבניו לדורות
If this was indeed the Priestly Blessing of Numbers 6:24-26, as Rashi thinks, then Num. 6:23, Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people Israel, must have preceded our passage. And perhaps it did, since the Numbers passage seems to be describing the day that Moses finished setting up the Tabernacle (Num. 7:1).
But it might also be possible simply to understand Aaron doing the same here as did Solomon at the inauguration of the Temple, when he spread the palms of his head toward heaven... and in a loud voice blessed the whole congregation of Israel (I Kings 8:22, 55). That would explain why the text does not record that Moses commanded Aaron to do so.
In the Sifra, I have seen our passage explained as follows: "Aaron blessed the people, but you do not know what he said. Later the text comes and states explicitly, The Lord bless you and protect you! The Lord deal kindly with you and graciously with you! The Lord bestow favor upon you and grant you peace!
But I still say that this is what they meant: The text was silent about the blessing that Aaron gave the people, on his own initiative, but did state explicitly, later, the blessing that all the priests would offer ever afterward.
Or perhaps they thought that Moses had commanded him to offer the Priestly Blessing on this specific occasion, and that only later was the command given that this should be the Priestly Blessing throughout the generations.
Does Ramban agree with Rashi?
Kol Torah on Leviticus 9:22
... Torat Kohanim states that the content of the blessing remained obscure until the Torah revealed it (in Numbers). Indeed, we are told that blessings given by one human being to another always remain obscure for we do not know what really constitutes a blessing and we cannot foresee the eventual consequences of a blessing . Thus, the Torah reveals to us that the only way of approach a blessing is to pray that Hashem will give the person we would bless the appropriate blessing that only God knows: May God bless you and keep you.
What lesson(s) could you teach based on this comment?
(23) But when, after the oblations had been performed, the Shekinah did not reveal itself, Aharon was ashamed, and said to Mosheh, It may be that the Word of the Lord hath no pleasure in the work of my hands. Then went Mosheh and Aharon into the tabernacle of ordinance, and prayed for the people of the house of Israel, and came forth and blessed the people, and said, May the Word of the Lord receive your oblations with favour, and remit and forgive your sins. Then, instant, instantly the Glory of the Lord's Shekinah revealed itself to all the people:
What was the purpose of the second blessing, according to the Targum?
(2) ויצאו ויברכו את העם AND THEY CAME OUT AND BLESSED THE PEOPLE — They said the words that conclude “The Prayer of Moses” (Psalms 90:17): “May the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us” — i. e. May it be God’s will that the Shechinah may rest upon the work of your hands (see Rashi on Exodus 39:43). They invoked just this blessing and not another formula because during the whole seven days of the installation when Moses was setting up the Tabernacle and officiating therein and dismantling it daily the Shechinah had not rested upon it and the Israelites felt ashamed, saying to Moses: “O, our Teacher Moses! All the trouble which we have taken was only that the Shechinah may dwell amongst us, so that we may know that the sin of the golden calf has been atoned for on our behalf!” He therefore had said to them (v. 6): “This is the thing which the Lord commanded that ye should do so that the glory of the Lord may appear unto you” (i. e. only after these offerings will have been brought by Aaron (cf. v. 7) will God’s glory appear unto you). My brother Aaron is more worthy and excellent than I am, so that through his sacrifices and ministration the Shechinah will rest upon you, and ye will thereby know that the Omnipresent God has chosen him to bring His Shechinah upon you.
What questions does Rashi answer here?
(2) May it be [His] Will that [the Shechinoh] should rest. We should not say this was Birkas Kohanim, because Aharon had already blessed them. Furthermore, Moshe was a Levi; so how could he bless with the Birkas Kohanim?
And they blessed the people. That they should be found acceptable through their offering.
How is this very different from Rashi?