We Each Possess the Power to Bless

This is a season for contrition and confession.

Starting with Selichot and culminating with ten times on Yom Kippur, we recite the Viduy, the confession. Most often “confession” is associated with articulating what we did wrong. That’s what makes the Viduy that acknowledges having completed the tithing of the third year of the seven-year Shemitah cycle so notable.

“I have cleared out the consecrated portion from the house; and I have given it to the family of the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, just as You commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor neglected any of Your commandments. I have not eaten of it while in mourning, I have not cleared out any of it while I was impure, and I have not deposited any of it with the dead. I have obeyed my God; I have done just as You commanded me. Look down from Your holy abode, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the soil You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers.” (Devarim 26:13-15)

This Viduy does not confess doing anything wrong. It is a Viduy delineating doing everything right. There is an important lesson inherent in this declaration. Just as we confess sins, we must also acknowledge the good that we do.

The final verse of the declaration strikes me as very powerful. After acknowledging that our ma’aser (tithing) mission is accomplished, we address God with something between a request and a demand to bestow blessing on the Jewish nation. The one who does right has earned the right to bless others.

Have you blessed someone recently?

In Judaism, the Kohen blesses. Parents bless children. At times, people seek the blessing of a tzaddik, righteous individual. The Rabbi blesses. The Rebbe gives a berachah. Here the Torah teaches that anyone who strives to be good has the right to bless. The Talmud (Berachot 7a) recognizes the value of the Average Joe’s blessing:

“Al tehi birchat hedyot kalah b'einecha - Do not view lightly the blessing of the ordinary person.”

Certain individuals may be in prioritized positions to bless, but each of us has the power to bless and should recognize the power of everyone else’s blessing.

[A woman approached Rabbi Yosef Rosen, the famed Rogatchover Gaon, and asked for a berachah. He said, "Nu, I'm not a rebbe!" A rabbi sitting next to him chided the great sage: “The Talmud says to take seriously the blessing of even ordinary people. How much more so a great rabbi like you should recognize your ability to bestow blessings and give the woman a berachah as she requests. The Rogatchover responded, “If ordinary people can bestow blessings, YOU bless the woman…”]

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach would often end his teachings and stories with the words, “I bless you – and please me right back – with all the goodness and sweetness in the world.” Reb Shlomo blessed and sought blessing at the same time. Each of us has that potential.

During this time of year, Jewish law validates our potential to bless. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (128) writes:

“Beginning with the month of Elul until Yom Kippur, when you write a letter to your friend you should mention, either at the beginning or at the end, that you pray for him and bless him to be worthy during the forthcoming Days of Judgment to be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Good Life.”

Similarly, on Rosh Hashanah itself, the tradition is to bless each other with a Shanah Tovah – a good year. Officially, there is a longer declaration:

“L’Shanah Tovah tichateiv v’teichateim l’alter chaim tovim u-l’shalom – May you be signed and sealed immediately for a new year of good life and peace.”

Imagine saying this to each person individually. We’d never get out of Shul.

Maybe that’s the point.

We should recognize our power to bless and how powerful it is to be blessed by others. I bless you – and please bless me right back – to strive to live up to our potential, to acknowledge what we do right, and we attempt to create for ourselves and others a happy, healthy, and sweet New Year!