The Priestly Blessing and the Land

          The prevailing Halachic opinion is that the mitzva for Kohanim to bless the congregation, as contained in our parasha, is in force today [Sefer haḤinuch 367; and subsequent Halachic authorities].

          In practice, the custom in Jerusalem and most places in Israel (except the Galilee) is for Kohanim to bless the congregation daily (and twice on Shabbat). Outside Israel, typically Kohanim bless the congregation only on Shalosh Regalim (the three pilgrimage holidays) and Yom Kippur [Rama, Oraḥ Ḥayyim 128:44; this, at least is the Ashkenazi custom].

          Rama himself suggests that outside Israel, the requisite level of joy required for the Priestly Blessing is achieved only on the holidays. My cousin Aytan haKohen Himelstein noted that in many sAynagogues in Israel, the custom is for Kohanim to bless the congregation at Minḥa of Tisha b’Av, indicating that the level of joy in Eretz Yisrael at Minḥa of Tisha b’Av exceeds the level of joy on Shabbat in the Diaspora! 

          Among the later Halachic authorities, including contemporary authorities, there is an apparent discomfort with the custom as noted by the Rama, and an attempt to offer a reasonable explanation for the failure to fulfill the mitzva outside Israel.

          The Shela haKadosh (1558 - 1628) writes that Jews outside Israel are blessed through the priestly blessing given in Israel.

          There are contemporary Halachic authorities who suggest that it is appropriate for Jews outside Israel to specifically request of a Kohain in Israel to have them in mind when delivering the priestly blessing. Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch did so in the years that he served as a rabbi in South Africa.

          In this mitzva we have another example not only of the primacy of Eretz Yisrael, but also of its influence on Jewish communities of the Diaspora as well.