Blessing for Children
ברכה לבנים -
ברכת הילדים יְשִׂימְךָ אֱלֹהִים כְּאֶפְרַיִם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁה.יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהֹוָה וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ,יָאֵר יְהֹוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָ,יִשָּׂא יְהֹוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם.
ברכת הבנות-
ברכת הילדים יְשִׂימֵךְ אֱלֹהִים כְּשָׂרָה רִבְקָה רָחֵל וְלֵאָה.יְבָרְכֵךְ יְהֹוָה וְיִשְׁמְרֵךְ,יָאֵר יְהֹוָה פָּנָיו אֵלַיִךְ וְיָחֹנֵּךְ,יִשָּׂא יְהֹוָה פָּנָיו אֵלַיִךְ וְיָשֵׂם לָךְ שָׁלוֹם.
Blessing for girls – Blessing for children
"May G-d make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. May HaShem bless you and safeguard you. May HaShem illuminate His countenance for you and be gracious to you. May HaShem turn His countenance to you and establish peace for you."
All parents want to bless their home/daughter and offer them all the prosperity the world has to offer. The greatest blessing of all is that they grow up to be like the matriarchs of our great nation. The blessing expresses every girl's great wish to be like these great women, our four mothers.
The Book of Genesis tells the story of the noble and majestic mothers of our nation. Our matriarchs serve as models for the woman's role in the family. There is thus no greater blessing than to have one's daughter resemble one of the holy mothers of Israel.
Blessing for Boys – Blessing for Children
"May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh. May God bless you and keep you. May God shine His countenance upon you and be gracious to you. May God turn His countenance to you and give you peace."The Vayechi Torah portion is the blessings said by Jacob to his sons – "every one according to his blessing he blessed them". The most remarkable blessing of all was the one for Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh:
"The angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the names of my father Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow onto a multitude in the midst of the earth." The blessing has become a symbol for the prosperity of the sons for generation to come: "And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh…" In the words of Rashi "He who comes to bless the lads should do so with this blessing, calling upon Ephraim and Manasseh".
