Parashat Naso: We Need Each Other to Be Blessed

May God bless you and keep you. May He shine the light of His face on you and show you grace. May He lift up His face toward you and grant you Peace.

The priests bless us through these words. The priests are the conduits through which God’s blessings -- blessings of prosperity, protection, light, grace and peace – physical and spiritual blessings, both – they are the conduits for these divine blessings.

Why do we need intermediaries? Why can’t we each simply say: “May God bless me and keep me. May He shine His light on me and give me peace. “ Why can’t we draw down these blessings by sincerely asking for them ourselves?

Because we can’t be fully blessed on our own. It doesn’t work that way. We are not each just separate individuals with a separate path to God. God created the world in such a way that we are dependent on one another to receive His blessings. Maybe there are some small individual pipelines to God, but the major pipelines are joint. We have to help each other receive blessing.

“I get by with a little help from my friends.” This week was Senior Night at Atlanta Jewish Academy. I was struck by how many seniors said about friends, family and teachers that “I wouldn’t be here today without you.” Hyperbole, I thought. Each of those kids did the work on their own, got themselves through high school.

But the past two weeks I have been having experience after experience that teaches me that those seniors are right, and I, too, am only here because of the kindness of others.

A few times, I have been thrown into the pit of my own anxiety, despair or insecurity by something that has happened, and each time, what brought me out – as much as I tried on my own – what brought me out was a kind word from a friend or partner. I felt like I was drowning and someone passed by and saw and offered me a life preserver ring, drawing me out, back to light and life, with kindness.

The Talmud in Brachot 5b tells three stories about Rabbi Yochanan and visiting the sick. In the first and last story, Rabbi Yochanan is the one who visits – he comes and helps “raise up” the sick person to wellness. But in the middle story Rabbi Yochanan is not the visitor, but the one who is sick and suffering. Another rabbi comes and helps him. The Talmud asks – if Rabbi Yochanan could help others, why couldn’t he help himself? Answer: “A prisoner cannot free himself from prison.”

We are all prisoners in some way, stuck in the trap of our own minds and egos. We cannot get out of these prisons ourselves – often, we can’t even see what is wrong on our own. We need another person to lift us up, to free us, to show us the way.

It is an old truth but one I am just beginning to really understand; it’s not that some people are great and can do it on their own. No one can, and it is a problematic myth to think that we can. We all need each other. We need each other to buoy us in times of trouble and we need each other to draw blessing down from above. We are all priests for one another, calling down the blessings of prosperity, light and peace, and freeing each other from prison in a way that only another person can do.

May God bless you and keep you. May He shine the light of His face on you and show you grace. May He lift up His face toward you and grant you Peace.

I am grateful to those who lifted me up this week and helped me see God’s shining face.