A column of girls lines up in front of me, each patiently waiting her turn to receive my blessing. The sun has set in Budapest, we have welcomed Shabbat with services, song and prayer, and now, just before we eat the first Shabbat 
meal, Rabbi Soskil invites each of the students to receive a blessing from their teachers and rabbis.
During my first trip to Budapest with the SOS International Morim Project, in 2017, I watched while Rabbi Soskil blessed students during our Shabbat dinner at the Moishe House, a place Jewish young adults live and offer programming to engage other Jewish young adults in their city. During that Shabbat, I watched as the Budapest Moishe House residents and their friends lined up to receive their blessing in a magical, mystical moment where each felt the beauty of Shabbat in the most personal and spiritual way I could envision.
Now, two years later, I look down the line of my own Beth Tfiloh students and Scheiber Sandor students who feel like my own, and wonder what I will say to each young woman standing in front of me. And then the most unexpected thing happens. As each girl bows her head to receive my blessing, the words just come, almost of their own accord. I see the beauty, the intelligence, the charm, the spirit, the warmth, the friendship, the laughter and the hope of each young woman and offer a blessing that is personal to her alone. The moment is spiritual in the truest sense of the word, transformational, one I know I will never replicate.
And then, the next day, I receive my blessing. I have gathered a group of girls and a few boys outside for an “alternative” davening experience following the first Aliyah during Shabbat services. We are talking about the concept of “religious” and “spiritual,” and the special moments that they are experiencing during our time together in Budapest.
One girl raises her hand and says that the best part of the week was receiving a blessing from me. I remember giving her that blessing, noticing that she was tall and needed to stoop down a bit for me to place my hands on her head. I remember wondering, when I saw the line of girls in front of me, how I would find something unique to say to each one, and how, facing them, felt the words flow almost of their own power, describing that spark with which each of these young women will surely light the world. I am again reminded, not only of the power that words carry, but of the blessings they enable us to offer one another.
