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A blessing is an act of speech that unites two beings. The intensity, quality and meaning of the blessing result from the relationships that are formed and expressed - the Scriptures abound with examples. In the Bible, blessings thread their way between trust and jealousy, between desire and greed, between fidelity and infidelity and between autonomy/independence and dominance. They intervene between fraternity and competition, between sterility and fecundity, linking father and son, the family and the people of Israel, the chosen one and the nations. The blessing becomes a sign that fosters the invigorating relationship between mankind and God, the latter revealing himself therein at the level of the former, whether they be biblical characters or readers.