Rabbi Rael Blumenthal

It was a question that arose from some pre-yom tov discussions a short while back. Truthfully, everything surrounding Birkas Kohanim is a little mysterious to non-kohanim. Everything is covered by a Tallis and no one is allowed to look.

Of course, the Kohen hand sign was made famous by Leonard Nimoy’s Spock who used it when bestowing the intergalactic greeting of “Live Long and Prosper”. He learned the sign as a child from peaking under the Tallis of the Kohanim in his grandfather’s shul.

But it brings to light the question of whether or not a non-kohen is permitted to use these hand signs.

Rav Ephraim Greenblatt (רבבות אפרים או”ח צג:ב) quotes from the Ateres Zekeinim that there is some prohibition in “straitening the fingers” for no reason. Ostensibly, he argues, this prohibition would apply to everyone – Kohanim and non-kohanim alike. Though he qualifies – perhaps this is only problematic if one raises both hands above one’s head. Simply to display the Kohen sign would not be prohibited.

Indeed, the Kohen sign itself only has meaning in the context of raising the hands during Birkas Kohanim. The source for this entire discussion is the Zohar in Parshas Naso, and it’s worth seeing it inside to gain a better appreciation of the question:

וְעַל דָּא, אָסִיר לֵיהּ לְבַר נָשׁ לְזַקְפָא אֶצְּבְּעָן בִּזְקִיפוּ לְמַגָּנָא, אֶלָּא בִּצְּלוֹתָא, וּבְבִרְכָּאן, וּבִשְׁמָא דְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא. וְהָא אוֹקִימְנָא, דְּאִינּוּן אַתְּעֲרוּ דִּשְׁמָא קַדִּישָׁא, וְרָזָא דִּמְהֵימְנוּתָא.

It is forbidden for a person to straighten their fingers for no reason other than in Tefillah, Brachos and in the Name of Hashem. And we have established that that doing so awakens the Name of Hashem and the secret of Emunah.

In order to understand this (on our level), we’ll turn to Rebbe Nosson (ליקוטי הלכות, אורח חיים, הלכות נשיאת כפים ה׳:ג׳) who explains the purpose of the Kohanim raising their hands in Birkas Kohanim:

הַיְנוּ שֶׁעַל-יְדֵי נְשִׂיאַת כַּפֵּיהֶם שֶׁל הַכֹּהֲנִים לְבָרֵךְ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵם מְנַשְּאִין הַלֵּב אֶל הַדִּבּוּר פֶּה שֶׁשָּׁם אַהֲבָה הַקְּדוֹשָׁה שׁוֹרָה כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּקַבֵּל הַלֵּב הֶאָרָה וְתִקּוּן מִשָּׁם כַּנַּ”ל Through lifting the hands, the Kohanim are raising their hearts upwards to the place of their words; the place where transcendent love resides such that their hearts can be inspired from there.

The obligation of a Kohen is to bless the Jewish people with love. This is often easier said than done, and so, the purpose of raising the hands an attempt to close the gap between what is said and what is felt.

We all experience this problem from time to time. There are many aspects of our lives where we believe things to be true, but we don’t feel them. We say them, but our hearts are not connected to the words we’re expressing.

The secret of Birkas Kohanim is that we can, in fact, close the gap between our heads and our hearts, so long as we are willing to take action. By acting in accordance with what we say, we have the ability to bring our emotions into alignment with our thoughts and speech.

Or, to put it simply, if you know that something is true but you’re not feeling it, the cure for emotional apathy is action.

One of my students recently asked “what should I do if I don’t feel like davening today?” I replied “what should you do if you don’t feel like working out today?” The answer is the same: If you know it’s important, the only way to feel like doing it, is by doing it.

That’s the power of action. We are what we do.

Perhaps now we can understand the Zohar. Any physical action, whether great or small has an effect on us. When we lift up our hands, we are raising our hearts to feel what we’re thinking and saying – and we best be sure that the things we are about to feel are positive and healthy.

This perspective is as informative as it is challenging. What words inspire use to “lift a finger”? Which thoughts drive us to action? Which habits are we trying to entrench in our daily lives?

Or, as James Clear writes in Atomic Habits: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

In a deep sense, what the Zohar is teaching is that we get to choose which ideas become the default systems of your life; our actions make them so.

L’halacha, it seems that there’s nothing wrong with showing the Kohen hand sign, but if we choose to, perhaps we should make sure that also we’re blessing each other to live long and prosper.