Tamid Photo Essay in Lego® #26

The Shot

Blessed for Success

The Kohanim deliver the Birkas Kohanim.

The Story

Toward the end of the daily Tamid service, all of the Kohanim in the Azarah would gather to deliver the Priestly Blessing to the people. Standing on the steps of the Ulam with their backs to the building, the Kohanim would raise their hands above their heads and channel Divine blessing down to the Jewish people. The blessing that they recited consists of three verses (Bamidbar 6:24-26). Nowadays it is common to call the act of reciting this blessing "duchaning," from the word "duchan" which means platform. The duchan was a platform located to the east of the Mizbeyach where the Leviim would stand while singing and playing instruments for the Avodah. On those occasions where there were so many Kohanim that they did not all fit on the steps of the Ulam, the overflow crowd would stand on the duchan.

The Setup

This shot is modeled and rendered in Bricklink Studio with depth of field added in Photoshop (read more about this process in my introduction). The Kohanim are wearing an upgraded custom torso piece I've been trying lately that has more detail added to the belt and robe. And yes, one of the Kohanim is wearing an even more unique shirt and hat that look like they belong to a fellow named Waldo. Surprisingly, there is no official Lego Waldo torso or hat (at least that I could find in the Studio collection), so I had to design my own.

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