Tanach · Acharonim on Tanach · Or HaChaim · Torah

Or HaChaim on Numbers 6:24/אור החיים על במדבר ו׳:כ״ד

איְבָרֶכְךָ ה׳ וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ. הִקְדִּים הַבְּרָכָה וְאַחַר כָּךְ הַשְּׁמִירָה, לוֹמַר שֶׁיְּצַוֶּה ה׳ שְׁמִירָתוֹ לָהֶם לְפִי עֵרֶךְ הַבְּרָכָה וּגְדֻלָּתָהּ. עוֹד יִרְצֶה שֶׁכָּל כָּךְ תִּהְיֶה גְּדֻלַּת הַבְּרָכָה עַד שֶׁיִּצְטָרֵךְ ה׳ לִשְׁמָרְךָ. עוֹד יִרְצֶה יְבָרֶכְךָ וְלֹא יְסֻבַּב רָעָה מֵהַבְּרָכָה כְּדֶרֶךְ ״פֶּן תֹּאכַל וְשָׂבָעְתָּ״ וְגוֹ׳ (דברים ח:יב).
1 יברכך וישמרך. "May the Lord bless you and preserve you." The order of 1) the blessing, 2) preserving the people who received the blessing, means that the degree of שמירה, protection, will be commensurate with the extent of the blessing previously received. Moreover, there is an implication here that the blessing will be so comprehensive that G'd has to make a special effort that all of it will be preserved. The wording יברכך may also imply that there should be no negative side effects to this blessing such as is referred to in Deuteronomy 8,12: "lest you eat, become sated etc…. and become haughty, forgetting the Lord your G'd."