Priestly Blessing

Parshat נשא also included the ברכת כהנים. The priestly blessing begins with the words, אמור להם, "Say to them." Because the word להם is written in the plural, we only call out the word, "כהנים" if there are a minimum of two Kohanim. If there is only one Kohein present, he recites the blessing with the completion of the Bracha הטוב שמך ולך נאה להודות.

Rav Nachman Kahane once wrote that in Israel, the Kohanim bless the people about 450 times a year. And outside of Israel, around ten times.

There is something magical about ברכת כהנים. The שכינה, Divine Presence, passes through the fingers of the Kohein as he blesses the Jewish nation. For this reason, there is a prayer recited during ברכת כהנים, to nullify a very frightening dream. We should pay closer attention to the specialness of the Priestly blessing.