Birkas Kohanim as a channel of blessing

בענין נשיאות כפים.

Concerning the matter of nesias kapayim (the priestly raising of the hands in blessing).

The Sefas Emes turns to Birkas Kohanim — the blessing the Kohanim bestow upon Bnei Yisrael.

כה תברכו אמור להם כד יימרון להון.

"So shall you bless... say to them" (Bamidbar 6:23) — which Targum renders "kad yeimrun lehon" ("when they shall say to them").

He notes the Aramaic translation of "say to them," which subtly shifts the emphasis and opens the way to his reading of the blessing as something drawn down by those who are connected to the source.

כי הקב"ה רצה כי כל עובד ה' ימשיך ברכה על בנ"י כמ"ש במד' עומד אחר כתלנו כו' שהקב"ה טוב ומטיב וחפץ חסד רק שצריכין התחתונים לפתוח פתח כחודה של מחט שיוכלו לקבל ברכה מעולם העליון הנבדל מעולם הטבע.

For Hashem desired that every servant of Hashem should draw down blessing upon Bnei Yisrael, as the Midrash says, "standing behind our wall..." — for Hashem is good and does good and desires chesed; it is only that those below must open an opening as small as the eye of a needle so that they can receive blessing from the upper world, which is separate from the world of nature.

Hashem overflows with goodness and longs to give; the bracha is fully ready. What is required is only a tiny opening from below — "the eye of a needle" — an act of arousal from man that creates a vessel to receive the shefa from the upper world, which lies beyond the realm of nature.

לכן בעבודת הכהן במקדש שמקרב ומדבק התחתונים להשורש אז נמצא מקום לקבל הברכה.

Therefore, through the avodah of the Kohen in the Mikdash, who brings near and attaches those below to the Source, then a place is found to receive the blessing.

The Kohen's service binds Bnei Yisrael back to their root in Hashem. That very connection forms the "vessel" — the place — into which the blessing can flow.

ולכן כהנים שלוחי דידן ודרחמנא.

Therefore the Kohanim are agents both of us and of the Merciful One (sheluchei didan u'derachmana).

The Kohen occupies a dual role of shlichus (agency): he acts on our behalf and on Hashem's behalf at the same time.

דידן לקרב אותנו לאבינו שבשמים ודרחמנא למשוך רחמים וברכה לבנ"י.

"Our agents" — to bring us near to our Father in Heaven; and "agents of the Merciful One" — to draw down mercy and blessing upon Bnei Yisrael.

The two directions of his shlichus: from below upward, drawing the people close to Hashem, and from above downward, channeling Hashem's rachamim and bracha back to Bnei Yisrael.

וז"ש אמור להם כשיש להם דביקות בשורש מלשון האמרת עשית חטיבה אחת שהיא בחי' הדביקות.

And this is the meaning of "say to them" (amor lahem) — when they have deveikus (attachment) to the Source — from the language of "he'emarta" ("you have set apart/declared") in "you have made [Him] one distinct entity," which is the aspect of deveikus.

He reads "amor" not merely as "speak" but in the sense of "he'emarta" — to single out and bind together as one. The Kohen's blessing is effective specifically when there is deveikus, when Bnei Yisrael and Hashem are bound as a single unit.

אז כשמרגישין איזה התקשרות בשורש מיד ימשיכו הברכה לעולם.

Then, when they feel some bond with the Source, immediately they draw the blessing into the world.

The moment one experiences even a touch of connection to the root, that is the channel through which blessing pours into the world.

וכזה כ' בזוה"ק שצריכין בכל יחודא לאמשכא ברכאין לכולהו עלמין.

And similarly it is written in the Zohar that in every yichud (act of unification) one must draw blessings down to all the worlds.

The Zohar teaches the same principle: every act of unifying oneself with Hashem should serve to draw shefa and blessing down into all the worlds.

והכהנים שנבחרו מכל ישראל היא ללמד על הכלל כולו וכן כתיב אשר תבחר ותקרב כו' ומסיים נשבעה בטוב ביתך.

And the Kohanim, who were chosen from all of Yisrael, serve to teach about the entire klal — and so it is written: "the one whom You choose and bring near..." and it concludes: "we shall be sated with the goodness of Your house." (Tehillim 65:5)

The Kohanim are not a separate elite; their being chosen and "brought near" is a model for the whole nation. The verse moves from the chosen individual to the collective satisfaction of all — "the goodness of Your house."

כי ע"י הנבחרים להתקרב אליו ית"ש. נמשך ברכה לכל הכלל:

For through those who are chosen to draw near to Him, may He be blessed, blessing is drawn down to the entire klal.

Those singled out to come close to Hashem act as a conduit: their nearness becomes the means by which blessing flows to the whole community of Bnei Yisrael.

Summary: Hashem overflows with goodness and longs to bless Bnei Yisrael, requiring only a tiny opening from below. Through the avodah of the Kohen — agent both of the people and of Hashem — who binds Bnei Yisrael to their Source in deveikus, that opening is made. The Kohanim, chosen from all Yisrael, model how those who draw near to Hashem become the channel through which blessing flows to the entire nation.