
The Priestly Blessing, or Birkat Kohanim, comes from the Book of Numbers in Torah and, as a three-fold blessing, asks for the recipient or community to be blessed with grace, blessing and peace.
It is Jewish custom to bless children each Shabbat and on festival holidays. Historically, the blessings that parents bestow on their children on Shabbat and holidays have been gendered, and specific to boys and girls. The blessings offered here are appropriate and affirming for people of all genders, including trans, gender expansive, and nonbinary genders.
The child may choose to have you place your hands on their head, shoulders, or back, as you recite the words of blessing.
יְשִׂמֵךְ אֱלֹהִים כְּשָׂרָה, כְּרִבְקָה, כְּרָחֵל, וּכְלֵאָה.
Y'simeich Elohim k'Sarah, k'Rivkah, k'Rachel, ooch'Leah.
May God make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.
יְשִׂמְךָ אֱלֹהִים כְּאֶפְרַֽיִם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁה.
Y'simcha Elohim k'Efrayim v'chi-Menasheh.
May God make you like Ephraim and Menasheh.
Be who you are –
and may you be blessed
in all that you are.*
Some may add:
יְהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁשַּׁבָּת זוֹ תַּשְׁרֶה (שֶׁחַג זֶה יַשְׁרֶה) עָלֵינוּ אוֹרָה, שִׂמְחָה, וְשָׁלוֹם.
Y’hi ratzon sheShabbat zo tashreh [shechag zeh yashreh] aleinu orah, simcha, v’shalom.
Note: omit sheShabbat zo tashreh when saying this blessing for a holiday
May this Shabbat [holiday] bring us light, joy, and peace.
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְיָ וְיִשְׁמְרֶֽךָ.
יָאֵר יְיָ פָּנָיו אֵלֶֽיךָ וִיחֻנֶּֽךָּ.
יִשָּׂא יְיָ פָּנָיו אֵלֶֽיךָ, וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם.
Y'varechecha Adonai v'yish'm'recha.
Ya-er Adonai panav eilecha vichuneka.
Yisa Adonai panav eilecha
v'yaseim l'cha shalom.
May God bless you and keep you.
May God's light shine upon you, and may God be gracious to you.
May you feel God's Presence within you always, and may you find peace.
Source
From Miskhan T'filah: A Reform Siddur © 2007 by CCAR Press. All rights reserved.
*Additional blessing is from The Book of Blessings: New Jewish Prayers for Daily Life, the Sabbath, and the New Moon Festival (CCAR Press, 2017). Copyright © 1996, 2017 by Marcia Lee Falk. Used by permission.