Berakhot 109

1:
This mishnah is also concerned with the problematica of the cantor ("someone leading the prayers") having to recite the Amidah extempore and impromptu. The last berakhah of the Amidah is sometimes prefaced with the blessing that the Torah requires the priestly descendents of Aaron [kohanim] to offer for the congregation [Numbers 6:22-27]. The Kohanim present in the synagogue ascend the dukhan [platform] in front of the Ark. When summoned by the cantor, they recite a berakhah and then turn to face the congregation. Their raised hands and their heads are covered by their Tallit and people are encouraged not to look at them at this time: two precautions to avoid as much as possible the mistaken impression that it is the priests who are blessing the people, when, of course, God is the source of the blessing. (The Torah actually says: "They [the priests] shall thus set my name upon the Israelites and I [God] shall bless them".) The cantor then dictates the special blessing word for word – another precaution to avoid the impression that the priests are anything but God's instrument: we tell them what to say, thus they are truly fulfilling a mitzvah [commandment].

2:
Ideally this ceremony should take place daily at both Shaĥarit and Mussaf (and on fast days at Minĥah as well). This is the established custom in the State of Israel. The agony of living in exile in the Diaspora during the middle ages, created the custom that the priests only dukhan during Mussaf on festivals, when there is excessive joy.

3:
In times gone by, when the cantor was reciting the Amidah extempore, he could easily become confused and lose his place during the interruption caused by the insertion of the Priestly Blessing. Our mishnah teaches two points, both aimed at minimizing possible confusion. The cantor should not respond to the Priestly blessing and if he himself is a kohen he should not take part. All modern poskim [decisors] are agreed that neither of these rules apply today, when there is no danger that a cantor, using a printed siddur, would become confused or lose the place.

I have received two items of comment that relate to matters discussed many days ago, but I think they are of sufficient interest to warrant me bringing them to your attention. I shall present the second item tomorrow and the first item today.

In Avot 091 Rick Dinitz had sent a piece on how we can see angels as instruments of Divine purpose working through nature. In Avot 095 Mitch Bruntel demurred at a certain aspect of Rick's thesis. In Avot 097 Rick enjoyed the right of response, and among other things he wrote as follows:

As we can view the cellular machinery as a Mal'akh – an agent of God's will – we can also view infertility as the work of a Mal'akh – equally an expression of God's will. In what way do such angels do God's will? We cannot know for certain. God's will is often opaque to us. When one is accustomed to seeing angels, one sees them everywhere. This outlook helps us remember that everything that exists, every process that unfolds, every event that happens in the universe is an expression of God's will – whether or not we understand it, expect it, like it, or notice it.

David Bockman takes exception:

This talk is very disquieting. I understand that it is an attempt at a modern view of hashgacha pratit (Divine Providence), but I think it goes too far. After all, this says that the way everything turns out is God's will. I don't know of any reasonable person who believes that! Perhaps we can learn from the term hashgacha (supervision) itself. Like a kashrut inspector, God watches everything and approves or disapproves of it, knowing what it becomes. This is not to say that it is all in the divine plan le-chatchila [originally – SR]! God forbid! What God "allows", "sees", "understands", or even "suffers to allow" is quite different from "what God wills". When the Talmud speaks of blessing God in the midst of evil as in good, mightn't that more probably be a statement of our relationship to God rather than an objective statement about the "cause of evil"?