This paraliturgical prayer-poem, “Gebet während des Priestersegens (Ribbaunau schel aulom)” by Lise Tarlau, can be found in Rabbi Max Grunwald’s anthology of Jewish women’s prayer, Beruria: Gebet- und Andachtsbuch für jüdische Frauen und Mädchen (1907), pages 318-319.

The transcription of the German provided machine-readable text for machine translations by DeepL, which we then edited for accuracy and clarity. We welcome any/all corrections, improvements, and additional transcriptions and translations of this work’s contents. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

The inscriptions on these amulets conclude with parts of the Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing), the three-part blessing in which the Kohanim are instructed to bless the people of Israel in Numbers 6:22-27. The script in the amulets dates them approximately to the reign of King Yoshiyahu (late 7th or early 6th century BCE) predating the Nash papyrus, and the earliest of the Dead Sea Scrolls by four centuries.

The Birkat Kohanim may have been a well-known liturgical formula in Ancient Israelite religion, and so was recorded both in amulets and in the Torah. Here is the Birkat Kohanim according to the Masoretic text of Book of Numbers 6:22-27:

The wording of the blessings in the amulets is not exactly the wording as found in the Masoretic text of the Torah. Note that the formulation veyichunekha (be gracious towards you) is not present in either of the scrolls below. The formula of the Birkat Kohanim begins on the 5th line:^[1] Gabriel Barkay, “The Priestly Benediction on the Ketef Hinnom Plaques,” Cathedra 52 (1989), p. 58  

[Top line(s) broken: For PN xxxx]
1) -h/hu. May be blessed h/sh-
2) -[e] by YHW[H,]
3) the warrior/helper and
4) the rebuker of
5) [E]vil: May bless you,
6) YHWH,
7) keep you.
8) Make shine, YH-
9) -[W]H, His face
10) [upon] you and g-
11) -rant you p-
12) -[ea]ce.
[Bottom line(s) broken.]

Ketef Hinnom Amulet II recto (collage: Aharon Varady; from image by Ardon Bar Hama, COJS, and drawing by Gabriel Barkay)

The formula of the Birkat Kohanim begins on the 14th line of the first amulet. All of Numbers 6:25-26 may have appeared on KH1 after line 18 where the scroll has disintegrated. ^[2] Gabriel Barkay, “The Priestly Benediction on the Ketef Hinnom Plaques,” Cathedra 52 (1989), p. 52  

[Top line(s) broken]
1) …] YHW …
2) […]
3) the grea[t … who keeps]
4) the covenant and
5) [G]raciousness towards those who love [him] and (alt: [hi]m;)
6) those who keep [his commandments … ^[3] Compare lines 3-6 to:
Exodus 20:6—showing mercy to thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments
Deuteronomy 5:10—showing mercy to thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments
Deuteronomy 7:9—keeping covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations
Daniel 9:4—keeping covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments
Nehemiah 1:5—keeping covenant and mercy for them that love Him and observe His commandments  
7) …]. ^[4] The omission of “thousands” may have originally appeared on line 7 as in Deuteronomy 7:9.  
8) the Eternal? […].
9) [the?] blessing more than any
10) [sna]re and more than Evil.
11) For redemption is in him.
12) For YHVH
13) is our restorer [and]
14) rock. May YHVH bles[s]
15) you and
16) [may he] protect you.
17) [May] YHVH make
18) [his face] shine …
[Bottom line(s) broken.]

Ketef Hinnom Amulet I recto (collage: Aharon Varady; from image by Nahum Slapak , Israel Museum, and drawing by Gabriel Barkay)

In some communities, especially in more liberal-leaning circles, the Musaf service is often abbreviated in a form known as the הױכע קדושה Heykhe Ḳedushah – wherein the prayer leader recites the first three blessings in public, and the rest of the Amidah is prayed individually. Since dukhening occurs before the last blessing of Musaf, in communities where the Heykhe Ḳedusha is practiced dukhening is impossible. As well, if no minyan is available there may be no repetition of Musaf at all.

This text is a version of the concluding three blessings (Avodah, Hoda’ah, and Shalom) for kohanim to use during the silent Amidah of a festival Musaf where dukhening is, for one reason or another, impossible. It is largely based on the traditional ritual for dukhening, carefully modified to avoid any brakhah levatalah (unnecessary blessing). The full traditional silent prayers are included, along with the additions. It is a generally accepted halakhah that one is allowed to add personal prayers to the Amidah — in fact, Rabbi Eliezer says that if one fixes his prayers, it is not true prayer (Mishnah Brakhot 4:4)!

Some notes regarding the additions:

• The added paragraph in the Avodah blessing is exactly the same as the traditional added paragraph in a repetition where dukhening is performed. The altered ḥatimah in this case is preserved because much of the Priestly Blessing ritual, and the kehuna in general, revolves around divine service. Those who follow the custom not to ever use a variant ḥatimah can continue to use the standard “returning the Presence to Ẓíōn ” if they so prefer.
• A second paragraph is included in the Hoda’ah which is largely based on the “Modim d’Rabbanan” traditionally recited by the community during the repetition, since said paragraph would usually be not included during a silent personal Amidah but (in the author’s opinion) helps the kohanim get into the mood per se for the blessing. It is grammatically altered to remove every usage of “Modim” in order not to break the rabbinic ordinance that one may not say “Modim” twice (Berakhot 33b). This paragraph could be used outside of this passage’s context – i.e. for any silent Amidah without a repetition – if one desires.
• As previously mentioned, most of the passages surrounding the blessing itself are taken directly from the standard repetition liturgy, just placed in the subjunctive mood. The Divine Name is removed from the blessing of the priests so as to avoid a brakhah levatalah, and the passage is moved earlier (preceding the introduction rather than directly preceding the blessing). Then a short passage of hope leads into the traditional introduction to the Priestly Blessing, only written in first person for the kohen themself to recite.
• After the priestly blessing, which is uninterrupted as a personal prayer, three verses from Psalms (41:14, 72:19, 89:53) are included. These three verses end with a repeated “amen.” Since each line of the Priestly Blessing is followed by a communal “amen” if and only if recited while dukhening, this threefold “amen v’amen” in a sense “fills the gap” left by the absence of communal dukhening. This is then followed by a threefold “ken y’hi ratson,” the traditional response for each line of the Priestly Blessing when not recited as a part of dukhening.
• The concluding paragraph is again taken almost directly from the standard paragraph recited by the kohanim after dukhening, the only difference being the line “We have done as You have requested” removed.

In the translation below, “the Cause” is used in place of the Divine Name YHVH, based on the philosophical idea of God as the Prime Mover and on the interpretation of the Name as a causative form of the copula – “causes to be.”