Rav, I very much enjoyed your shiur on this topic which I listened to on the YUTORAH website (circa 2006). I wondered where the minhag originated and why it was permissible to use Birkas Kohanim for the blessing Friday night -- so your shiur was illuminating. (I also have a tangential trail of wonderment about the minhag adopted by mostly Modern Orthodox to bentsch daughters using an apparently made up posuk that parallels Ephraim & Menasheh -- but that's another inyan fro another time perhaps.) I understand your explanations which I've seen parts of in various places -- you tied them together very nicely I thought. My question: Even if it's ok to say the posukim of Birkas Kohanim, why do we use the blessing for bentsching our children? Especially since Yaakov's brachah for Ephraim & Menasheh (Ha'malach Ha'goel) follows shortly after the posuk of yesimchah and is such a beautiful brachah that most Jews relate to because of it's frequent use and emotional tone. Why not use this brachah, instead of wondering off into Parshas Naso to find a brachah that, while permissible perhaps, is marked clearly with as "for Kohanim only, do not try this at home?" Again thank you for the excellent shiur. It would have been better with the chulent that was available in person, but it was excellent nonetheless. I hope to hear back from you. Until then, kol tuv and yasher koach. Sam

Rav, I very much enjoyed your shiur on this topic which I listened to on the YUTORAH website (circa 2006). I wondered where the minhag originated and why it was permissible to use Birkas Kohanim for the blessing Friday night -- so your shiur was illuminating. (I also have a tangential trail of wonderment about the minhag adopted by mostly Modern Orthodox to bentsch daughters using an apparently made up posuk that parallels Ephraim & Menasheh -- but that's another inyan fro another time perhaps.) I understand your explanations which I've seen parts of in various places -- you tied them together very nicely I thought. My question: Even if it's ok to say the posukim of Birkas Kohanim, why do we use the blessing for bentsching our children? Especially since Yaakov's brachah for Ephraim & Menasheh (Ha'malach Ha'goel) follows shortly after the posuk of yesimchah and is such a beautiful brachah that most Jews relate to because of it's frequent use and emotional tone. Why not use this brachah, instead of wondering off into Parshas Naso to find a brachah that, while permissible perhaps, is marked clearly with as "for Kohanim only, do not try this at home?" Again thank you for the excellent shiur. It would have been better with the chulent that was available in person, but it was excellent nonetheless. I hope to hear back from you. Until then, kol tuv and yasher koach. Sam

Rav, I very much enjoyed your shiur on this topic which I listened to on the YUTORAH website (circa 2006). I wondered where the minhag originated and why it was permissible to use Birkas Kohanim for the blessing Friday night -- so your shiur was illuminating. (I also have a tangential trail of wonderment about the minhag adopted by mostly Modern Orthodox to bentsch daughters using an apparently made up posuk that parallels Ephraim & Menasheh -- but that's another inyan fro another time perhaps.) I understand your explanations which I've seen parts of in various places -- you tied them together very nicely I thought. My question: Even if it's ok to say the posukim of Birkas Kohanim, why do we use the blessing for bentsching our children? Especially since Yaakov's brachah for Ephraim & Menasheh (Ha'malach Ha'goel) follows shortly after the posuk of yesimchah and is such a beautiful brachah that most Jews relate to because of it's frequent use and emotional tone. Why not use this brachah, instead of wondering off into Parshas Naso to find a brachah that, while permissible perhaps, is marked clearly with as "for Kohanim only, do not try this at home?" Again thank you for the excellent shiur. It would have been better with the chulent that was available in person, but it was excellent nonetheless. I hope to hear back from you. Until then, kol tuv and yasher koach. Sam