The Blessing of Love. At 176 verses, Nassau is the longest of the Parishiot, yet one of its most

moving passengers, and the one that's had the greatest impact over the course of history, is very

short indeed, and is known by almost every Jew, namely Birkhat Kaanim, the priestly blessings. This is what the

parishes says. The Lord said to Moses, tell Aaronis and his sons, thus shall you bless the Israelites,

say to them, may the Lord bless you and protect you, may the Lord make his face shine on you

and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace. Let them set my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them. This is among the

oldest of all prayer texts. It was used by the priests in the temple, and it's said today by the

co-onym in the reader's repetition of the Amida in Israel every day in most of the diaspora,

specifically on festivals.

It's used by parents as they bless their children on Friday night,

and it's often said to the bride and groom under the chuppah.

It's the simplest and most beautiful of all the blessings.

It also appears in the oldest of all biblical texts

that have physically survived to today. In 1979, the archaeologist Gabriel Barcai was examining

ancient burial caves at Kethev-hinan, Hinnam, outside the walls of Jerusalem, in the area now occupied by the Monachembegian Heritage

Centre.

A 13-year-old boy who was assisting Barcai discovered that beneath the floor of one of the caves

was a hidden chamber. There the group discovered almost a thousand ancient artifacts,

including two tiny silver scrolls, no more than an inch long.

They were so fragile that it took three years to work out a way of unrolling them without causing them to disintegrate.

Eventually the scrolls turned out to be cameoot, namely amulets, containing, among other texts, the priestly blessings.

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