(כב) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (כג) דַּבֵּ֤ר אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹן֙ וְאֶל־בָּנָ֣יו לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּ֥ה תְבָרֲכ֖וּ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אָמ֖וֹר לָהֶֽם׃
(כד) יְבָרֶכְךָ֥ יְהוָ֖ה וְיִשְׁמְרֶֽךָ׃
(כה) יָאֵ֨ר יְהוָ֧ה ׀ פָּנָ֛יו אֵלֶ֖יךָ וִֽיחֻנֶּֽךָּ׃
(כו) יִשָּׂ֨א יְהוָ֤ה ׀ פָּנָיו֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְיָשֵׂ֥ם לְךָ֖ שָׁלֽוֹם׃
(כז) וְשָׂמ֥וּ אֶת־שְׁמִ֖י עַל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַאֲנִ֖י אֲבָרֲכֵֽם׃ (פ)
(22) G<3d spoke to Moses: (23) Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them:
(24) G<3d bless you and protect you!
(25) G<3d deal kindly and graciously with you!
(26) G<3d bestow g<3d's favor upon you and grant you peace!
(27) Thus they shall link My name with the people of Israel, and I will bless them.
(2) אמור להם Saying Unto Them — so that all of them should hear the blessing (it would not suffice to pronounce the blessings upon the Israelites in their absence. (3) אמור is written plene (with ו after the מ) thus indicating: ye shall not bless them hurriedly and hastily, but devoutly and with a whole heart (Midrash Tanchuma, Nasso 10).
ושמו את שמי, “they (the priests during their blessing) are to place My name, etc.;” the fact that in each of the verses comprising the priests” blessings they pronounce the most holy name of the Lord, makes plain that they only act as conduits, and that the blessing stems directly from the Lord. The Torah, in order to underline this concept, adds:
ואני אברכם, “and I will bless them.” G-d will bless the Israelites in response to the priests invoking this blessing. The priests are never to take credit for having blessed the people, as the blessing stems from the Lord whose messengers they are. [There are commentators who understand the above words to mean that if and when the priests bless the people as prescribed, G-d, in turn will bless them. (Rashi). Ed.]
יברכך, with material wealth. The reason this is the first of the blessing is explained by our sages in Avot 3,15 אם אין קמח אין תורה, “if there is no flour, (no economic base) a Torah environment cannot flourish.”
(א) יברכך. שֶׁיִּתְבָּרְכוּ נְכָסֶיךָ: (ב) וישמרך. שֶׁלֹּא יָבֹאוּ עָלֶיךָ שׁוֹדְדִים לִטֹּל מָמוֹנְךָ; שֶׁהַנּוֹתֵן מַתָּנָה לְעַבְדּוֹ אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְשָׁמְרוֹ מִכָּל אָדָם, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁבָּאִים לִסְטִים עָלָיו וְנוֹטְלִין אוֹתָהּ מִמֶּנּוּ, מַה הֲנָאָה יֵשׁ לוֹ בְּמַתָּנָה זוֹ? אֲבָל הַקָּבָּ"ה, הוּא הַנּוֹתֵן, הוּא הַשּׁוֹמֵר; וְהַרְבֵּה מִדְרָשִׁים דָּרְשׁוּ בוֹ בְּסִפְרֵי:
(1) יברכך [The Lord] Bless Thee — that thy property may increase (Sifrei Bamidbar 40).
(2) וישמרך And May He Guard Thee — that no robbers come upon thee to take away thy property. For a human being who gives a present to his servant cannot guard him against everybody, and if a band of robbers attack him and take it away, what pleasure can he, then, derive from this present?! The Holy One, blessed be He, however, both gives and guards — against everybody (Midrash Tanchuma, Nasso 10).
"May God bless you." Included in this is whatever is appropriate for each person to be blessed with....For one who deals in Torah, in their study. For one who deals in commerce, in their merchandise. Thus is included in this general blessing "May God bless you" an additional blessing for each person about what they have.
"And protect you." For every blessing requires protection so that it does not become an obstacle, God forbid. A master of Torah needs protection from pride, desecration of God's name and the like. And similarly, that he not forget his learning. A property owner needs protection that his wealth not be to his detriment, like Korach and Navot the Jezreelite and the like. And similarly, protection from theft and loss. And likewise for everything that is in need of blessing, protection from whatever causes trouble is requested.
(1) יאר ה' פניו אליך The Lord Make His Face Shine Upon Thee — i.e. May G<3d show thee a friendly (more lit., smiling) countenance — a beaming countenance.
(1) יאר, may G<3d grant light to your eyes to see and appreciate all the wonderful things G<3d has done and keeps on doing. You should become aware that all that you achieve is due to g<3d's blessing.
(1) ישא ה' פניו אליך The Lord Lift Up His Countenance Upon Thee — This expresses the idea: May G<3d suppress g<3d's anger (Numbers Rabbah 11:7).
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks:
"Protection, grace, peace: these are God's blessings, communicated by the priests. We are what we pray for. If you seek to understand a people, look at its prayers. The Jewish people did not ask for wealth or power. They did not hunger after empire. They had no desire to conquer or convert the world. They asked for protection, the right to live true to themselves without fear; for grace, the ability to be an agent for good in others; and peace, that fullness of being in which each of us brings our individual gifts to the common good. That is all our ancestors prayed for, and it is still all we need."
From "The Priestly Blessings: Protection, Grace, and Peace"
Rabbi Reuven Bulka:
When the kohanim bless the people, they must be compassionate. They cannot simply rush the blessing; it must be heartfelt and they need to hear it. The priestly blessing is a love blessing to all of the people, sanctified with the holiness of Aaron.
Ideas from "The Wonderfully Enigmatic Priestly Blessing"
Rabbi Nehemiah Polen:
The S'fat Emet has a mystical view of the Priestly Blessing. He does not emphasize the uniqueness of the lineage of the Aaronide priesthood. We are all priests, working to cultivate the sublime spirit, the inner point, הנקודה הפנימית. "Reaching for the נקודה פנימית is what today is often called a spiritual practice." Shalom is the inner vitality that provides fulfillment and life. The S'fat Emet links inwardness to "shalom in a way that makes the Priestly Blessing a call to all-inclusiveness, an invitation to appreciate the soaring range and interconnectedness of all being."
From " Birkat Kohanim in the S'fat Emet"
All above from Birkat Kohanim, David Birnbaum and Martin S. Cohen, eds., New York: New Paradigm Matrix Publishing, 2016.
See Rabbi Jonathan Sack's commentary on the Torah portion (Naso) with the Priestly Blessing from this past May 2020. It is entitled "The Blessing of Love." In it he states:
"The ethic of holiness, taught by the Priests, is the ethic of love. This surely is the basis of Hillel's statement, "Be like the disciples of Aaron, loving peace, pursuing peace, loving people and bringing them close to Torah."
....
Thus the Kohanim set an example to the people by this public display of love - or what we would call today "the common good." They thus encouraged a society in which each sought the welfare of all - and such a society is blessed...
....
...we need love before we can bless. Love is mentioned in the blessing over the commandment, because love is how blessings enter the world..."
https://rabbisacks.org/naso-5780/