Our sedra of Naso - the longest single sedra of the Torah - contains three fascinating themes: the sotah, the nazir and Birkat Kohanim. Is there somehow a connection between these seemingly diverse subjects?


Three fascinating themes: the sotah, the nazir and Birkat Kohanim.



Consider:


The sotah represents a couple that overstepped their boundaries. He was a control freak, say Chazal (maybe not in those exact words), who did not give enough respect to his wife. She, in turn, was a bit too much "out there," falling a bit short in the discretion department.


The nazir lives on the exact opposite other end of the social spectrum. He shrinks his boundaries, by taking on self-imposed, extreme restrictions in how he interacts with those around him. He won't drink - at all. He won't shave or get a haircut. He won't even attend the funeral of his own family members.


The sotah gets too close; the nazir stays too distant.


Comes along the third side in this triangle - the kohen - to bring some balance to the equation, to provide a bridge between the extremes and an example of the "middle path" one should follow. The kohen, on the one hand, must also dwell a bit apart from the public at large. He has his own specific restrictions as to whom he can marry and where he can go, and he must always be on guard so that his personal purity and prestige remain intact.


Yet, at the same time, the kohen is required by law to be active within the community, to serve others and share with them his knowledge and spiritual strengths. He guides the people, heals the people, brings korbanot to atone for the people. And most of all, he blesses the people.


This blessing - still recited every day (in Israel), twice on Shabbat and chagim - allows the kohen to wish for all those around him the primary blessings of life: prosperity, security, wisdom, a relationship with G-d and peace. To prove that he does not "play favorites," the

To prove that he does not "play favorites," the kohen covers his face.

kohen covers his face, so as not to "single out" or "single in" anyone in particular; all of Klal Yisrael receives HaShem's bracha through him.


As he prepares to give this blessing, the kohen recites a unique "bracha before a bracha." He invokes the spirit of Aharon, who embodied an intense love of unity and peace between Jews. And he reminds himself that this bracha must be given "with love" - b'ahavah.


Where, you might ask, do we find a source for this last innovation? The answer is self-evident: a blessing is no blessing unless and until it is given with love.