By the Grace of G-d
Dear Friend,
The power of blessing is amazing!
We hear stories of great Tzadikim, saintly people who blessed people who were in situations that seemed unsolvable, and the blessing brought down G-d’s miraculous turnaround.
Click here for a story where the blessing the Rebbe gave led to four miraculous births.
Stories of great people giving blessings abound.
But today I would like to talk about the blessings of regular people.
We all have the ability to bless others.
Have you blessed someone yet today?
Try it.
It may just work. Your blessing may come into actuality.
Giving blessings is a win-win. Here’s why.
But first a short word of explanation what prompts me to speak about blessings just now.
It started when someone blessed me yesterday. I unexpectedly saw an acquaintance, and when we parted, he said very energetically, ‘may you have a very successful day’!
As the day came to a close, I realized that indeed his blessing had come to fruition. I had an extraordinarily successful day. In varying things. Material as well as spiritual.
Then I realized that the reading of the Torah on THAT VERY DAY, (it was a Wednesday) was the fourth portion of this week’s portion of Nasso.
It’s the portion of the Torah in which Hashem instructs Moshe to tell Aharon and his Cohen children to bless the children of Israel daily.
Click here for info about this special mitzvah.
Afterwards I also realized that the guy who blessed me is a Cohen.
While only the Cohen can do the ‘Birkat Cohanim’ in the formal sense, one doesn’t need to be a Cohen to bless others in a general sense. And you don’t need to be in a Synagogue setting praying with a minyan to give blessings.
Anyone can give blessings. And blessings can be given in every setting.
If everyone can give blessings, then it seems plausible that everyone should give blessings. We need more blessing in our world.
What happens to the blesser who blesses others?
Hashem said to Avraham our Patriarch that ‘I will bless those who bless you’.
Anyone who blesses one of Avraham’s family will be blessed by the Almighty Himself.
This means that if you bless your fellow Jew, Almighty G-d makes sure to bless you too.
As I said, its win-win.
Give blessings and you receive blessings at the same time.
For some reason, this power and potential that we have, to give each other blessings is underused.
Perhaps some think that you need to be a holy person to give blessings.
Definitely it helps to be holy. The blessings are more powerful and effective. Click here for more on this.
However, the truth is that everyone has the power to give blessings.
You and I too.
Let’s use it!
May you have a blessed Shabbat.
A HEALTHY Shabbat, especially in Thailand and nearby countries which are facing outbreaks of Covid like never before.
A PEACEFUL Shabbat, especially for our brothers and sisters in Israel who have been under the barrage of missiles for almost two weeks now.
May you have a stress-free Shabbat.
May you give loads of blessings and may you be blessed as well.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yosef Kantor