Shabbos Friday Night Bracha

Think of this while blessing your children Friday night

Next time you want to shower Hashem’s love and light remember to bless them with good thoughts and words; you serve as a ray of G-dliness onto others. We carry a spark of holiness that can literally change another person’s life simply by digging deep and accessing that light.

Bring down the blessings for others.

BS’D

How do we increase the potency of the blessings we give to others? It is more than muttering words, it is about reaching deep within and mustering up all the care and compassion that dwells inside and sharing it with another. It is a prayer. We pray that the other sees and experiences only good.

Blessing someone is an act of genuine chesed since we are ‘sharing’ our kindness with another. In addition, we heighten our level of sensitivity to them and thus are able to practice the mitzvah of ‘ve’ahavta l’rei’acha kamocha (loving thy neighbor as we love ourselves)’ in a more heartfelt way.

In order to uplift the blessings that we give let us take a closer look into the Hebrew word for blessing, bracha. Bracha shares the same root letters as the Hebrew word for pool, breicha. This implies that when we give a blessing we essentially draw from this reservoir of Divine abundance and act as a channel for it to spill forth onto others. Essentially we become the pipeline through which Hashem showers His goodness onto others in this world.

Orit Esther Riter