Establishing the Actions of Our Hands

In the first half of this week’s parshah, the Torah describes the event of the inaugural service of the Tabernacle. At the end of the inauguration, the Torah writes:

“Moses and Aaron came to the Tent of meeting, and they went out and they blessed the nation — and the glory of Hashem (God) appeared to the entire nation” [Leviticus: 9: 23]

What exactly did this blessing consist of? Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi, 1040-1105, famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentaries on the Torah) tells us that they said to the nation “ ‘May the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us…’ (Psalms: 90: 17), may it be the will that the Divine Providence rest in the actions of your hands”. It is interesting to note that this isn’t the first time that Rashi presents this as an explanation for a blessing. Previously, when all the vessels and utensils of the Tabernacle were finished being built, they were brought to Moses and the Torah states:

“And Moses saw the entire work, and behold! — they had done it as God has commanded, so had they done! And Moses blessed them.” [Exodus: 39: 43]

On this verse too, Rashi writes that the words of this blessing were “May it be the will that the Divine Providence rest in the action of your hands, and ‘May the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us…’ (Psalms: 90: 17)”

Rashi uses the same exact words! It is the identical blessing as the one that was stated by the inauguration of the Tabernacle! Firstly, we must ask ourselves what exactly is the meaning of this blessing, and furthermore why was it expressed by Moses at both of these episodes?


In order to understand the meaning of this blessing, we must look at the verse in Psalms that Rashi quoted. The verse reads in full: “May the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us — the actions of our hands, may He establish upon us; the actions of our hands, may He establish” [Psalms: 90: 17] What is the meaning behind the plea that God “establish the actions of our hands”? And what is the difference between “may He establish” and “may He establish upon us”?

The request before God to “establish the action of our hands” is a very profound prayer. What it means is that we ask God that every action we perform in our lives be made useful and be given value. We pray that our actions in this world should carry everlasting meaning and serve as building blocks throughout our lives. In the verse, we first beseech God that our actions be established upon us. We are asking God that everything we do should have an impact on ourselves, that we shouldn’t let our actions go to waste. We pray to find a way to integrate our daily actions into our being, and that they should become part of us in order to grow and build our character. And not only should our actions have influence on ourselves, but that the force of our actions be impressed upon others as well. We pray that our actions should spill out and provide an everlasting influence for mankind in general; those around us and those in future generations. This is the meaning behind the second “the actions of our hands, may He establish”!

Now, why was this blessing given to the Jewish nation twice? The first time Moses blessed the people in this manner was when Moses saw that the entire work involved in building the Tabernacle was complete. After all the hard work and manual labor that was put into fashioning the vessels and utensils, Moses gave the people a blessing that the “actions of their hands be established”; that their handiwork not only house God’s providence, but that it should serve as an everlasting influence upon themselves and the rest of the world. Evidently, this blessing was given at the end of a process.

The second time Moses repeated this blessing was at the end of the inauguration service for the Tabernacle. After 8 days of performing different rituals and offering various sacrifices, the Tabernacle was now fit to house God’s glory and was finally able to be used to serve God in the highest manner possible. It was at this point too that Moses blessed the people again, but this time the blessing was given at the start of a process. Although it was the end the inauguration process, it in fact marked the beginning of the Tabernacle’s use. In this blessing, Moses blessed the people that whatever action they would perform in the future, concerning the tabernacle, should carry eternal meaning and provide themselves and the world with spiritual impact.

Moses used the same exact blessing twice in two different instances to demonstrate that the prayer is applicable both prior to and following the actions of their hands. He was trying to convey two important lessons: Firstly, that whenever we complete a process or an action, we should pray that God make it meaningful, both for us and for others. And secondly, that even before we begin the action we should go in with the mindset of making it meaningful and we therefore pray in advance that God may establish it for us.

If one were to flip through the siddur (prayer book), he’d recognize that the verse from Psalms: 90: 17 appears to stand out in our prayers at two intervals. We say it every night before going to bed in the prayer of the “night time Shema”, and we also recite it once a week at the end of Shabbos in the evening prayer service. The “night time Shema” is said at the end of our day. In this prayer, we pray to God that every action we performed throughout the previous day be established and be given value in our lives and the lives of others. We say the verse again at the end of Shabbos, which is in fact the start of the new week. In this prayer, we are asking God in advance that all our actions in the upcoming week be done with proper intentions and that those actions be established in our lives and the lives of others as well.


“May the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us — the actions of our hands, may He establish upon us; the actions of our hands, may He establish”


Good Shabbos,


NZL