Parsha Nasso and the Priestly Blessing 5/21/10

Today we focused on the Torah portion for this coming Shabbat which discusses the priestly blessing given by the members of the Levite tribe. After reading the blessing, we began our session sharing things in our lives which make us feel blessed. Many participants shared that they felt most blesseed by their families, and some identified the simple blessing of being alive. One regular participant is a quadrapalegic and has began using her mouth to write, draw and paint. She shared that her blessing is being able to create art.

We discussed the uninterupted lineage of the priestly class of also known as Cohanim which stretches from these Torah stories to our present day.  Because of some skeptics in the group, we discussed the recent  DNA testing conducted on many of the Cohanim of our generation, and shared literature about thier unique genetic markers found worldwide amongst these particular Jews.

We then painted simple picture frames with watercolors, and placed our personal blessing in the center of the frame. The mood was jovial, and there was much laughter after the comment about letting the paints make you feel free. The woman painting with her mouth laughed so hard, she couldn't keep the paintbrush in her mouth. We sang the Sabbath Prayer song from Fiddler on the Roof which has a familiar feel to the Priestly blessing.

While we worked, we discussed the rituals of receiving the priestly blessing on the high holidays in synagogue, as well as the blessing a parent gives a child on Friday night dinner. Several people recalled giving their children blessings and even receiving blessings as children on Friday nights.

 Our discussion concluded with the idea of thinking about blessings as a way to combat depression, and the idea some people use of keeping a thankfulness journal as a way to elevate ones mood. One of the particpants in the group is a retired psychiatrist, and he found this idea very intriguing.