How Can I Be a Blessing?
Yael Eckstein | October 27, 2020
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great
and you will be a blessing.” — Genesis 12:2
Each week in synagogue, Jews read through the Torah from Genesis to Deuteronomy. The Torah portion for this week is Lech Lecha, which means “go to yourself,” from Genesis 12:1–17:27.
In the Jewish tradition, parents bless their children every Friday night as we begin the Sabbath meal. We place our hands on the heads of our children and recite the following: “May the LORD bless you and keep you; May the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; May the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace” (based on Numbers 6: 24-26).
As a child, this was always a special moment for me. I felt loved and cared for when my turn for my parents to say these words over me. But now, as a parent, I cherish this tradition even more. When I pray this over my own children, it is a beautiful moment of connection with each child, and I feel enormously grateful to have the ability to bestow blessings upon them.
The truth is that while every person wants to be blessed, there is something even greater — and that is to be a blessing.
In this week’s reading, God told Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great…” God promised that Abraham would become famous and the father of a great nation. However, the verse concludes with the best part of all: “…and you will be a blessing.”
While most people go through life asking, “How can I become blessed?” the question that we should be asking is “How can I be a blessing to others?”
When we bless others, it means that we have so much in our own lives, that we can share some with others; we can lend and not borrow. We receive a joy that, ironically, is even greater than when we are on the receiving end.
There are few things more gratifying than witnessing the happiness of someone else because of something that we did for them. Most significantly, when we bless others, we please God, and God blesses us even more in return.
Your turn:
We want to hear from you! What types of devotional readings do you enjoy? Do you like reading through the Torah, or would you like to explore other books of the Bible with our daily devotions? Let me know in the space below.