The text of the Blessing appears in the 4th book of the Torah in Chapter 6.
Verses 22 and 23 introduce the commandment. The blessing is in verses 24, 25 and 26. The commandment concludes with verse 27.
Verse 22:
The Lord spoke to Moses saying:
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָֹה אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר
Verse 23:
Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: This is how you shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them:
דַּבֵּר אֶל אַהֲרֹן וְאֶל בָּנָיו לֵאמֹר כֹּה תְבָרֲכוּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָמוֹר לָהֶם
Verse 24:
“May the Lord bless you and watch over you.
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָֹה וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ
Verse 25:
“May the Lord cause His countenance (face) to shine to you and favor you.
יָאֵר יְהוָֹה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ
Verse 26:
“May the Lord raise His countenance (face) toward you and grant you peace.”
יִשָּׂא יְהוָֹה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם
Verse 27:
And they shall bestow My Name upon the children of Israel, so that I will bless them.
וְשָׂמוּ אֶת שְׁמִי עַל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲנִי אֲבָרֲכֵם
Like all Biblical text, these wording of these lines can raise many questions. For instance,
- The first word of the blessing asks for God blessing – so what is the need for the rest of the words?
- The blessing uses an explicit name of God – but using that name in vain is prohibited (in the Ten Commandments) – so has the kohane transgressed, retrospectively, if the blessing fails to come to fruition?
- The words of the blessing, in Hebrew, are in the male form, and singular – so do we change the words when blessing more than one person, or blessing a woman?
- Is the English translation given here, or given in other translations, the only possible translation – can the words be legitimately read differently?
The questions can go on an on – and have for thousands of years. I believe that there are no definitive answers. Rather, all answers are correct and true if they are true to the actual Torah words.