Blessing Children Friday Night

What is the Friday night blessing for children that I recently saw ?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question!

Yes, there is a widespread custom for fathers to bless their children Friday nights upon returning home from the synagogue. In most families, the blessing is given immediately upon returning from the synagogue, while in others, it is given just prior to Kiddush.

One reason for the custom is that Friday night is an especially auspicious time for blessings, as there are no evil forces on Shabbat. So the “fountains of blessings” are open on Friday nights. There are other explanations, as well.

The blessing for sons is “May Hashem make you like Ephraim and Menashe,” followed by the three verses of Birkat Kohanim. The blessings for daughters is “May Hashem make you like Sara, Rivka, Rachel, and Leah,” followed by the three verses of Birkat Kohanim.

There are a number of beautiful explanations as to why we bless our sons to be like Ephraim and Menashe rather than more distinctive figures like Avraham, Yitzchak, Yakov, or Moshe, to name a few. One answer is that although Ephraim and Menashe were born and raised in the spiritually hostile environment of Egypt they nevertheless remained faithful to Jewish tradition. So too, we bless our sons that they not be tempted by the evils of this world and remain faithful to Jewish tradition.

There is some discussion in halachic literature how it is permitted for parents to bless their children using the verses of Birkat Kohanim. This is because the verses of Birkat Kohanim belong exclusively to the Kohanim and are essentially forbidden to be recited by anyone else! So how can non-Kohen parents use the verses when blessing their children?

One answer is that a non-Kohen is only forbidden to recite the Birkat Kohanim in the manner that Kohanim recite it, such as with outstretched arms, and the like. However, reciting it with one’s hands on a child’s head is not a problem. Another answer is that it is only forbidden for a non-Kohen to recite Birkat Kohanim if the preliminary blessing is recited, as Kohanim do before actually reciting the blessing. There is also a view that the ban against non-Kohanim reciting Birkat Kohanim only applies in the Beit Hamikdash. As such, there would be no problem blessing someone with the Birkat Kohanim in the privacy of one’s home. There are other answers, as well.

Ketubot 24b; OC 128 and commentaries