Avoid Rebbe Worship

The ברכת כהנים, the blessing of the Kohanim is also found in פרשת נשא. This section begins with the words, כה תברכו, “So shall you, (Kohanim) bless the people. The end of this commandment says, ואני אברכם, “And I will bless them.”

There seems to be a bit of a contradiction here. On the one hand, the Kohanim are told to bless the nation, but we are reminded that it is really Hashem giving the blessing.

There is a story of a distraught woman who begged a holy Tzaddik to pray for the welfare of a loved one. To her surprise, the rabbi initially refused. The rabbi explained that his refusal came because she was putting too much faith in him. He wanted to see that she would also reach out to Hashem and pour her heart out to him. Only then, did the Tzaddik agree to pray.

We must remember that the Kohanim do utter the words of their priestly blessing. But it is Hashem that is actually making that blessing come to be.

This is especially true today when there is so much “Rebbe worship.” People must be reminded that the Rebbe is only a messenger and he should be made into more than that. This lesson is learned from the ברכת כהנים.