Timeless Torah

Few are the ancient Temple ceremonies that survived the post-destruction era of exile. One glaring example is the Priestly Benediction. Even its name conjures up images of bearded, old men whose countenance bore testimony to their noble purity, holy zeal and sacred calling. Thus while our present-day, modern dressed Kohen in his three piece suit (New York) or open shirt and slacks (Florida) hardly evokes the same feeling of awe, nonetheless that moment during childhood when you were wrapped under your dad’s tallis and hearing the old chant still served up a spiritual tingle.
This week’s Torah portion announces the Priests’ obligation to deliver the 15 word blessing. Each of the commentaries in turn expounds upon its meaning and significance, including dismissing the notion that the kohanim had magical powers. In fact, the priestly family did not confer its own blessing, but followed a specifically structured formula, so that they could act as the proper conduit for G-d’s beneficence to His people.
Among the many questions raised regarding this Temple rite is why were the priests compelled to raise their hands during the benediction? In Jewish literature the “lifting up of the hands” usually indicates spiritually clean hands. One therefore raises his hands to show that they hide nothing corrupt or immoral. Thus the kohanim of old presented themselves before the public and elevated their hands to remind us all that a prior condition in order to speak to G-d (prayer) or to speak in His Name (blessing) are clean hands and a life of integrity.
This point is underscored in the Talmud (Megillah 24b) that rules that a kohen who had a defect on his hands was not fit to participate in the ceremony. Another Rabbinic decree similarly disqualifies any of the sons of Aaron from performing the Duchening (as this ceremony is known in Yiddish) when there is paint on the hand.
Besides the literal meaning of the law, it symbolically confirms that which was stated before. If the kohen’s hands were not clean; in other words, if his record or his reputation was blemished, then he was not fit to stand before us. Likewise, if his hands were covered with paint, meaning that even if he tried to hide his defects and the public was not aware of his immoral behavior, he however knowing the truth should disqualify himself.
Perhaps we can utilize this insight to discover additional meaning to the statement of our Sages (Chagigah 16) that the congregation should not look at the hands of the priests lest their own eyes become dim. Originally this prohibition against peeping under the tallis was to guard the sanctity of G-d’s ineffable name that was pronounced by the kohanim when they recited the priestly blessing. At such a moment the Divine Presence, (what we call the Shechina), would rest upon the hands of the kohanim. At those rare junctures in time when G-dliness manifests itself physically here on earth by attaching itself to a human being, in this case, the priest, one is not allowed to gaze at such a holy sight.
At present, without a Temple this unfortunately is a moot point. Nonetheless, the law still contains lessons that still resonate with relevance to our lives. True, the kohanim raise their hands to show that they are free from any corrupting blemishes; however it is for G-d alone to judge their actions. The congregation by not looking, even in our day and age, indicates that it has no right to assess, review and vote on the holiness or non-holiness of others. On the contrary, while the priests have their hands lifted for all to see, we instead of staring at them should be hidden under the tallis examining our own hands.