An ancient amulet

Every year on Yom Kippur morning there is a moment when we invite the entire community to open up their tallitot and extend them out creating a shared canopy. Some years a member even lowers a tallit down from the balcony so that someone can grab hold of a tzitzit from above. The entire room is connected. It is in this moment that we imagine ourselves as the high priests and offer each other the oldest blessing in our tradition, the Priestly Blessing.  

The earnest voices of 600 people fill the room with the echo of these ancient words.
Words that come directly from this week’s Torah portion, Naso.

יְבָרֶכְךָ֥ יְהֹוָ֖ה וְיִשְׁמְרֶֽךָ׃  
יָאֵ֨ר יְהֹוָ֧ה ׀ פָּנָ֛יו אֵלֶ֖יךָ וִֽיחֻנֶּֽךָּ׃    
יִשָּׂ֨א יְהֹוָ֤ה ׀ פָּנָיו֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְיָשֵׂ֥ם לְךָ֖ שָׁלֽוֹם׃ 

The biblical poetry can hardly be translated. But what I understand them to mean is the feeling of connection and protection I experience every year on Yom Kippur. It stays with me all year long. I recall it on Shabbat mornings and in moments of fear, and it soothes me.

Yesterday I received a short message from a kt member: 
Any quick tips for feeling overwhelmed with the capacity for human evil? 

It was not the first time I had been asked some version of this question. In fact, it has been a theme of recent spiritual care meetings. 

The core practice I have been sharing when folks ask is the Buddhist practice of metta/lovingkindness. It is a very simple practice of wishing oneself or someone else well. Literally, reciting in your heart,  “May I be well. May I be safe and protected. May I live with ease.” The exact wishes may vary depending on what you connect with and who you are directing the metta towards. The practice of metta is very effective at strengthening the heart, increasing our sense of safety and our capacity to express love.

Only recently have I realized that the priestly blessing is a kind of metta practice.. 
May The Holy One bless you and protect you. 
May The Holy One turn towards you and be gracious.
May The Holy One turn towards you and place within you shalom. 

The priestly blessing is thought of as the oldest blessing in Jewish tradition. In fact, it predates the entire rabbinic concept of blessings altogether. The blessing’s three refrains were once recited by the high priest to the entire congregation after the daily sacrifice (Numbers 6:23). We preserve a piece of that tradition on Yom Kippur and more recently, on Shabbat mornings. The words were later adapted and included in birkat yeladim - inviting parents to bless their children with these three wishes every Friday night. 

The practice of blessing ourselves and sending blessings to others, it really works. These words are an ancient amulet, eager to purify and protect the heart. It's the only quick fix I have encountered to metabolize the overwhelm of suffering in our world. 

Over the past months I have learned to trust that reciting the priestly blessing, quietly and regularly, can awaken a steady calm, a courageous heart, and an increased capacity to forgive, to heal, and to hope again. 


May the Source of Life bless and protect you always.
May you feel seen and cared for in this world. 
May you experience the Divine in everything and everyone, and may you know within you wholeness.

Ken yehi ratzon. 
May it be so.