Last week, I said I'd talk about the hand sign Rabbi Jem uses when giving a blessing. This is it:
If you are a Star Trek fan, you probably think this was stolen from Spock. No, the truth is Leonard Nimoy is Jewish and learned this from his grandfather who was a rabbi.
The fingers make the letter "shin" in Hebrew: ש
The letter shin is a the first letter of the Hebrew word "shomer" which means "guardian". The rabbi is the guardian of the synagogue.
Blessings are an important emphasis in Jewish life. I wrote about the blessing for wives and children, and today I'll share about the Aaronic blessing. The instructions for this blessing are found in Numbers 6: 23-26*
Speak to Aharon and his sons, and tell them that this is how you are to bless the people of Israel: you are to say to them,
May Adonai bless you and keep you.
May Adonai make his face shine on you and show you his favor. May Adonai lift up his face toward you and give you peace.
At the end of service, we gather in a circle. The men hold up their tallits over their family members and Rabbi Jem gives the blessing. What a wonderful way to end our time together - going home being blessed and feeling under G-d's wings.
Well, we don't all go home then. We have "oneg", which is a time of food and fellowship together. It's a great time with "mishpacha" (family).
Well, we don't all go home then. We have "oneg", which is a time of food and fellowship together. It's a great time with "mishpacha" (family).
Shalom (peace) to you all, and have a good week.
*quotations are from the Complete Jewish Bible
~~~~~~
I'm sharing this post at:
Spiritual Sunday
Let's Get Social Sunday
Modest Mom Monday Link-up
A Wise Woman BuildsWhole Hearted Wednesday
Wake Up Wednesday
Hearts for Home
Favorite Things
I love your blog
ReplyDeleteI love your blog
ReplyDeleteI love your blog
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm glad you stopped by.
ReplyDelete