The “blessing”
febbraio 26th, 2013
We have examined the possible concrete meaning of a specific term which instead is traditionally assigned a spiritual value: the “kevòd. Such a shift in value has occurred in relation to the term for “blessing”.
Within the contemporary culture (both Western and Eastern) the concept of “blessing” invokes a set of gestures, formulas or rituals through which one invokes the protection of some supernatural, not ordinary force: God , deities, spirits, entities and/or energies of various kinds…
Seemingly, all of us think of specific operations such as the laying on of hands, drawing gestures and figures in the air, the pronunciation of sentences of spiritual, magical or shamanic value or power…
Above all, we know very well the most popular and superstitious aspects associated with these practices.
In the ancient Semitic culture there was nothing of this; before revising this process as one of spiritual orders, the “blessing” (berakhàh) was something real, material, objectively existing and verifiable; it was a concept expressing concreteness and referring to actions that had direct effects – not magical! – over its recipient.
The “blessing” was a real task, which produced direct and immediate results.
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