<b>And Jacob called unto his sons (Gen. 49:1).</b> May it please our master to teach us whether the one who leads the congregation in prayer may respond “Amen” after the priests. Thus did our sages teach us: The person who leads the congregation in prayer is not permitted to respond “Amen” after the priests.<sup class="footnote-marker">12</sup><i class="footnote">He might become confused by the interruption and err in his prayers (see Bava Batra 34a). He might also be considered inferior to the priests.</i> The fact that the person who leads the congregation in prayer may not respond “Amen” after the priest proves how precious he is to the Holy One, blessed be He. R. Hanan said: When ten men enter a synagogue, the one who recites the prayers preceding the Shema is called <i>a lily among the thorns</i> (Song 2:2).
The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Previously I blessed My creatures, as it is said: <i>And God blessed Noah</i> (Gen. 9:1), and the Lord blessed <i>Abraham in all things</i> (ibid. 24:1); and <i>God blessed Isaac, his son</i> (ibid. 25:11), <i>And God appeared unto Jacob again when he came from Padan-aram and blessed him</i> (ibid. 35:9). Henceforth, however, the priests and the righteous ones shall bless you.
From whom did the priests receive the privilege of pronouncing the blessing over Israel? R. Eleazer the son of Azariah said: They received this privilege from Jacob, concerning whom it is written: <i>And the lad will go yonder</i>(<i>koh</i>) (Gen. 22:5). The word <i>koh</i> is also contained in the words spoken by Moses to the priests, as it is said: <i>Thus</i> (<i>koh</i>) <i>shall ye bless</i> (Num. 6:22). The rabbis maintained: They obtained this right at the time of the giving of the Torah, since it is said there: <i>Thus</i> (<i>koh</i>) <i>shalt thou say to the house of Jacob</i> (Exod. 19:3).