The Priestly Blessing (birkat kohanim) seems like a lovely blessing with which to start the new year. If I were Jewish and surnamed Cohen, I would be trusted to give the benediction in the synagogue service. The blessing comes from Numbers (in proximity to the Promised Land but before the people's second-guessing about God's instructions that resulted in their forty-year sojourn). The high priest Aaron blessed the people, and the Lord promised to bless the priests who serve the people. The blessing is also called raising of the hands (nesiat kapayim). In synagogues, today, Kohanim (descendants of Aaron) raise hands and offer the blessing. I need to ask one of my rabbi friends to explain more about all this to me: interesting! Of course, Christianity adopts so many ideas, scriptures, and traditions of the Jewish scriptures and reconfigures them. Many Christian churches have adopted the blessing as a benediction, ending the worship service.
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