The Mishnah on the Priestly Blessing
3. They do not recite the Shema‘ responsively, and they do not pass before the ark; and they [the priests] do not lift up their hands [ . . . ] except in the presence of ten. [ . . . ]
7. A priest whose hands are deformed should not lift up his hands [to say the priestly blessing]. R. Judah says: Also one whose hands are colored with woad or madder should not lift up his hands, because [this makes] the congregation look at him.
Notes
Words in brackets appear in the original translation.
Credits
m. Megillah 4:3, 7, from Mishnah Yomit, trans. Joshua Kulp, www.sefaria.org. Originally from https://learn.conservativeyeshiva.org. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) License.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
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The Palestinian Talmud on the Priestly Blessing
y. Berakhot 3:1, 6a
The Mishnah on Priority in Reading
The Talmud on Priority in Reading
In Numbers 6:22–27, God commands Aaron and his sons to bless the people using a specific blessing that God provides. There is evidence that this blessing text was used during the First Temple period in protective amulets and that in the Second Temple period it was the blessing with which Aaron’s descendants, the priests, blessed the people in the Temple. After the destruction of the Temple, this practice was moved into synagogues. This passage from the Mishnah reflects the move of the priestly blessing into the sphere of the synagogue, where it was subject to rabbinic regulation. See also The Palestinian Talmud on the Priestly Blessing.
Related Guide
Priests (Kohanim) in the Early Synagogue
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The Palestinian Talmud on the Priestly Blessing
y. Berakhot 3:1, 6a